A/N: This epilogue is dedicated to Kathe -- because without her, I never would have made it through chapter twelve or broken my writer’s block. You’re awesome.
Epilogue
Brian Littrell quietly unlocked the front door to his house and carried his luggage into the living room. He caught the door before it could slam and closed it softly. He took out the flowers he’d bought for Leighanne and put them in water, setting the vase on the kitchen table so she would see them in the morning.
Deciding to unpack later, he unzipped one of his bags and dug around for PJs. He removed his sneakers and softly padded up the stairs to the bedroom. He managed to turn the handle silently and slid into the room, attempting not to wake his wife. To his relief, she remained asleep, breathing deep and slow.
Brian smiled to himself, watching her sleep in the moonlit room. He wasn’t sure how long he stood there, lost in thought. He’d missed her much more than he’d realized.
After a few minutes, Leighanne’s brow furrowed and she turned restlessly onto her side. “Nnoo . . . Brian . . .” she whispered softly.
Brian’s face was soaked with tears in the time it took him to cross the room and sit on the edge of the bed next to her. “Not you, too, baby . . . I didn’t want you to have dreams like me . . .”
“Brian, don’t jump!” his wife pleaded in her sleep.
Brian couldn’t stand it any longer and cradled his wife in his arms. “Leighanne, I’m here, it’s all right.”
Leighanne’s beautiful wide eyes fluttered open and gazed up at her husband. “Brian?” She put a hand to his wet face. “When . . .?”
“I just got home,” he told her. “I wasn’t going to wake you, but you . . .” He looked away, his eyes guilty. “You’re having nightmares like me.”
Leighanne sat up and drew him close, kissing him tenderly. “But now that you’re here, those dreams will stop. You’re home again.”
Brian nodded, kissing her in return -- drinking her in. “I didn’t want to leave you . . . but I needed --”
“It’s okay,” she soothed. “I understand. It’s all right now.” They held each other for a long moment. Leighanne finally managed to make herself whisper, “You almost killed yourself. For Nick. That night -- on the warehouse . . .”
“I know,” Brian said. Part of him was kicking himself. The other part knew he’d done the right thing. He knew he couldn’t apologize whole-heartedly. Instead, he told her truthfully, “I won’t do it again. None of us will.”
Leighanne nodded and seemed content with his reply. “I love you,” she murmured, nuzzling his neck affectionately.
Brian growled very softly and gently pushed her back down onto the bed; he trailed delicate kisses down her neck, still crying just a little.
Leighanne took his face in her hands and carefully kissed away his tears. “Welcome home, baby.”
Brian answered her with a long, deep kiss.
~~~
Nick nervously walked up to the unfamiliar house and rang the doorbell. He distractedly straightened his hair and checked the bouquet of flowers in his hand.
I’m still nervous, he thought. Even though this is the third time I’m doing it.
After a minute, a teenaged girl with long red hair opened the door. Her jaw dropped as she recognized his face.
“Hi,” Nick said, a little awkwardly. “They told me you were one of the girls that saved my life.”
If possible, the girl looked even more shocked. “Well, we . . . I mean, uh, we didn’t . . . the other guys saved you . . .”
“Yeah,” he said. “But if you hadn’t been following me, they never would have known where I was and I would’ve jumped. And you were smart. You didn’t try to save me yourselves; you got help. I don’t know how to thank you, but I thought I’d start with this.” He handed her the flowers.
The girl blushed, accepting them. “Thank you . . . there was really no need, but thank you. Have you been to see my two friends who were with me?”
“Yep,” Nick replied. “They were just as shocked as you. They were tempted to call you and warn you that I was coming, but I asked them not to. I wanted you to be surprised.” He smiled his trademark half-smile/half-smirk. “So, what’s your name?”
“Kealy,” she answered. “Would you like to come in for a bit?”
Nick grinned. “Sure.”
~~~
Krisitn Richardson listened to her husband play the piano for the first time since his return.
She came up behind him and wrapped her arms around him as he finished. “That was beautiful,” she whispered, kissing his ear lightly. “I think you should use it on the next album.”
Kevin shook his head. “It’s too sad,” he told her. “And there’s no way I could put lyrics to it. It’s just something I wrote for me and the guys. I just thought about how I felt when we were captured and let the song flow from that. It was Brian’s idea. It ended up being really therapeutic.”
“Well, that’s good then,” she said.
“Strange that something beautiful came out of all that,” he sighed.
“There’s always a silver lining,” his wife told him. “You guys are closer than you’ve ever been before.”
Kevin smiled. “Yeah, I know. I miss them already; it’s kind of weird.” He turned to face Kristin and kissed her lightly. “But it’s good to be home.”
“I should get dinner started,” she said, running a hand through his dark hair.
Kevin pulled her closer. “No, you shouldn’t. You should stay here with me.”
She laughed and playfully tried to squirm away. “But if I don’t, we’ll go hungry . . .”
Kevin stood up and swept his wife into his arms romantically. “We’ll order take out.” He turned and carried her upstairs.
~~~
“You sure you want to do this?” Howie asked as he and AJ walked down the pier late at night. He kept looking around nervously for passerby’s.
“Yes,” AJ said, walking forward confidently. “And stop looking like we’re doin’ something illegal.”
“Well, I don’t want anyone to recognize us . . .”
“Howie. There’s no one around. Relax,” AJ told him.
The two reached the end of the pier and looked down at the ocean below. The ocean was fairly calm.
AJ pulled his butterfly knife from his pocket, flicking it open, then closed. “I’m gonna miss this thing.”
“You don’t have to do this,” Howie said.
“Yeah, we do,” AJ replied. “It’s like . . . symbolic shit.”
“That was deep,” Howie commented.
“Yeah, yeah, shut up,” AJ said. He looked out at the ocean. “Since we both had the same desire, we have to get rid of it. This is our promise.” He held the knife at eye level. “I promise never to relieve my emotional pain with physical pain.” He looked at Howie expectantly.
It took the other man a minute to be able to bring the words out. “I’ll never use physical pain to deal with emotional pain.”
AJ smiled and handed him the knife.
Howie was surprised. “You want me to do it?”
AJ just nodded.
Howie looked at his friend, then drew his arm back and threw the knife as far out as he could.
It arced gracefully before landed in the green water with a satisfying splash.
The two Backstreet Boys stood on the pier in companionable silence.
“That was harder than I thought it would be,” Howie remarked.
“That’s why I made you do it with me,” AJ replied. “I was worried you’d do it again.”
“Thanks,” Howie whispered.
AJ hugged him tightly. “No problem, bro.”
~~~
The five Backstreet Boys relaxed after eating dinner together.
“Wow, it’s been a while since we’ve done this,” Kevin commented, reclining at the head of the table.
“Yeah, not since we stayed at Nick’s,” Howie confirmed.
“How long has it been?” Nick asked.
“Almost eight months,” AJ answered.
“It doesn’t seem that long,” Brian said with a smile. “Since we all keep in touch, it’s like we never left.”
“The house is a lot quieter,” Nick remarked. “And the puppies miss you guys.”
The guys laughed.
“I’ll come by and play with them someday,” AJ told him. He paused to drop a scrap of pork to his own puppy.
“Man, I’m so full,” Howie moaned, rubbing his belly.
“Hey, don’t forget dessert,” Kevin said, rising to get it from the kitchen.
“Kev, I told you not to make anything,” AJ scolded. “You guys were just supposed to take it easy . . .”
“Don’t worry,” Kevin said, coming back in with a bag. “I didn’t make them. They’re a gift from a fan. Chocolate chip cookies.”
The guys eagerly dug in.
“Oh, maybe just one . . .” Howie said, reluctantly eating his.
“Mmm, these are good. Man, we have the best fans in the world,” Nick said with a grin.
“Yeah, Kristin had one just before I left and said they were good,” Kevin said. “She wasn’t kidding.”
“Well, since you cooked, AJ, that means we at least have to do the dishes,” Brian announced, getting up.
The other four cleaned up, amid AJ’s continued protests.
When they were finished, they relaxed in the living room.
“We have to do this more often,” Howie stated with a smile.
“Definitely,” Brian agreed.
Kevin yawned. “All that good food made me sleepy.”
A second later, Howie yawned. “Damn it, Kevin, don’t do that. Those things are contagious.”
“Yeah, no kidding,” AJ agreed, also yawning. His puppy jumped up onto his lap. “Ack! Okay, that woke me up.” He pet the puppy affectionately.
“Man, I really am tired,” Howie said, reclining in his chair. “Maybe I didn’t get enough sleep last night.”
“Speaking of sleep, have you been sleeping okay, B-Rok?” Nick asked.
Brian half-smiled. “Didn’t I tell you I’d call you if I wasn’t, Frack?”
Nick blushed. “Yeah. Just wanted to make sure.”
“The nightmares stopped?” AJ asked.
“Pretty much,” Brian answered.
“That’s good to hear,” Kevin said thankfully.
“What about you guys? I couldn’t have been the only one with bad dreams,” Brian said.
“I get them occasionally,” Nick replied. “I either call you or my family when I do. Or I hug my puppies. It helps.”
“I’ve only had a few,” Kevin said. “I got lucky, I guess.”
“I was getting them once a week,” AJ said. “But now it’s only about once a month. Still scares the shit of me every time.”
“Yeah,” the others concurred.
“What about you, How --” Nick stopped as he realized his friend was fast asleep in his chair.
“Wow. Guess he really was tired,” Kevin said, rubbing his eyes. “Come to think of it, so am I.”
“Man, Howie, can fall asleep anywhere,” AJ remarked, shaking his head. “I’m a little tired myself.”
“Uh, guys?” Nick asked. He pointed nervously at Kevin.
The oldest BSB was sound asleep on the couch.
“I think we’ve been drugged,” AJ suddenly realized.
“Fuck,” Nick whispered. He looked over at Brian, who was starting to nod off. “Brian! Brian, wake up! Don’t fall asleep, damn it!”
Brian looked up dazedly. “Whaa?”
AJ frantically shook Kevin. “Kev! Kevin, wake up! C’mon, this isn’t funny! Wake UP!”
Kevin didn’t respond.
“Damn it!” AJ cried.
“Brian, STAY AWAKE!” Nick shouted, getting up and shaking him.
Brian opened his eyes, but couldn’t focus. “Nick . . .”
Nick tried to keep his balance as the drug started to affect him. “Fuck . . . AJ, didn’t you cook all the food?”
“The cookies,” AJ said. “It must have been the cookies. They’re the only thing I didn’t make.” He tried to stand, but lost his balance and hit the floor. “Shit, the room won’t stay still . . .”
“Police . . . we’ve gotta . . .” Nick joined AJ on the floor. “We’ve gotta call the cops.”
“Right,” AJ said, starting to crawl forward. “Stay with me. We need to make it to the phone.”
“Okay,” Nick replied, trying to crawl. “Damn, I wish the room would stop spinning . . . I’ve never been so dizzy in my life . . .”
“Just hang on,” AJ told him. “Stay with me. Stay awake.”
“I’m trying,” Nick moaned. “This is strong shit.” He looked over his shoulder to check on Brian, but the Southerner was out cold.
AJ was operating on touch alone. His vision was completely blurred. Gotta make it, gonna make it, gotta help the others . . . “Nick? You still there?”
Nick didn’t answer.
“Fuck,” AJ groaned. His hand slapped against tile. The kitchen. “Just a little further,” he told himself. His legs had stopped worked completely. He dragged himself onward with his arms.
His body stopped obeying his commands a couple seconds later; his arms gave out, leaving him face down on the floor. He laid still, cursing softly. After a minute, he blacked out, unable to fight any longer.
~~~
Brian came to his senses slowly. He was sitting up, leaning against something. After a minute, he came to the startling revelation that his arms and legs were immobilized. His eyes shot open. He was in AJ’s living room. His hands were cuffed behind him, attached to something else. He turned to see what he was leaning against.
“Nick! Nick, wake up!” he cried. “Nick, wake up, we’re in trouble!”
Nick groaned and stirred. “Brian?” He opened his eyes and tried to move. “What the hell?”
“Are your legs cuffed together, too?” Brian said, squirming against the metal bonds.
“Yeah,” Nick answered, trying to pull his hands free.
“Ow!” Brian cried. “Don’t pull so hard!”
“Sorry,” Nick said. He looked up and saw Kevin and Howie, cuffed to each other across from him. “Kevin! Kevin, wake up!”
Kevin’s limp head stirred, then lifted. “Nick?” Kevin immediately read the look of complete panic on Nick’s face. He tried to move, but quickly discovered his situation. “Shit.” He looked behind him. “Howie. Howie, wake up. Oh man, we’re in deep.”
“What? Kevin?” There was a pause as Howie took in his surroundings. “Fuck.”
Brian looked to his left and saw AJ lying on the sofa. “AJ! Wake up!”
AJ didn’t respond.
“He’s not even tied up!” Howie observed.
“Ready? On three,” Kevin said. “One. Two. Three.”
“AJ!!!” the four shouted.
AJ nearly fell off the couch as he sat up quickly. “What?! What the hell --” He drifted off as he observed the other four, chained in pairs. “Shit.”
“That about sums it up,” a female voice said from behind him. She held a gun, aimed at his head.
“Who the hell are you?!” Howie cried. “What’s going on?!”
“I know you,” AJ whispered, shivering involuntarily.
“Who is she?” Kevin asked.
“You were the one who gave me the knife,” AJ said, staring at her.
“I’m touched you remembered me, Alex,” she purred. She flicked her black hair off her shoulder, revealing an ample chest, accented by her low-necked black vinyl dress.
“You bitch,” Nick growled. “What do you want with us now? Haven’t you done enough?”
“No, Nicky, I haven’t,” she answered simply. Her gaze never left AJ. It was making him squirm. He was still afraid of her.
“Why did you do it?” Brian asked, praying she would answer the question they’d all wondered for nearly a year.
“Do you really want to know?” she asked all five of them. “The answer will give you no satisfaction. It will only make you angry.”
“We want to know,” Howie said, speaking for all of them.
“Very well,” she said with a dramatic sigh. “If you must know, I’m a sadist.”
There was silence.
Kevin was crying when he finally spoke. “You . . . you tortured . . . all five of us . . . because you enjoyed it? Because you got off on it?”
“Correct,” she answered, matter-of-factly. “It was my dream.”
“You fucking bitch . . .” AJ started.
She took a step closer, holding the gun in front of his face.
He stopped.
“It may seem I went to a lot of trouble to capture you and have you tortured. It was a lot of work. And a lot of money for all of my . . . assistants. But it was worth it, believe me.”
“Then why did you let us go?” Nick asked. “Why leave the riddle at all?”
She smiled. “If I had continued to torture you physically, you may have died. I let them find you. And then I waited for the psychological torture to begin. It was very effective, judging by your suicide attempt, Nicky.”
Nick’s jaw dropped as tears streamed down his face.
“You, shut the fuck up!” Brian screamed, pulling against the cuffs. “Don’t say another FUCKING word! He’s been through ENOUGH! I won’t let you torture him anymore!”
“You don’t have a say in the matter, Brian,” the stranger said calmly. “And you’re only hurting him by struggling like that.”
Brian stopped and glared at her.
She didn’t meet his eyes, still focusing on AJ.
“So, now you’re gonna kill us?” Howie asked.
“Howard, I thought you would have thought more of me than that. My work is never that simple. I wanted to finish everything with a game. Alex is going to play with me.”
“I’m not playing any more of your games,” AJ said, having found his confidence.
“If you play, you can save them,” she said, going over to the table and rummaging in her purse. “If you decline, I’ll just kill all of you.”
AJ looked at his four brothers. “All right, I’ll do it.”
She grinned. “Good.” She pulled out a second gun and walked back over to him. She held it out in front of him. “Take it.”
AJ just looked at her.
“It’s a trick,” Nick said.
“It’s probably not even loaded,” Kevin added.
The stranger sighed and fired the gun into the ceiling, showering a small amount of plaster. She offered it again.
AJ took it and leveled it at her.
She turned and held her gun to the side of Nick’s head.
“No!” Brian cried. “Leave him alone!” He renewed his efforts to get free, even though he knew it was in vain. His wrists bled, dripping onto the carpet.
AJ held his gun steady, getting to his feet. “Don’t --”
“This is the game, Alex,” she said, still looking only at him. “I’m going to count to three. If you haven’t shot me by then, I’m going to shoot Nick.”
Nick’s stomach dropped. He tried to get his wrists free, but couldn’t manage it. Shit, I don’t wanna die!
“One.”
“AJ, don’t do it!” Kevin shouted as he and Howie also tried to get loose. “You can’t be a murderer!”
“Are you crazy?!” Howie cried. “You can’t let her kill Nick! She’ll do it!”
“Two.”
“She might be bluffing!” Kevin countered.
“He can’t take that chance! AJ, shoot her!”
“AJ, DO SOMETHING!” Brian screamed.
AJ drew back his gun and smacked it across her face.
Blood spurted from her nose and mouth as she hit the floor.
AJ snatched up her gun as it fell and aimed both at her.
She looked up at him and smiled. “Well played.”
“I passed up one chance to kill you,” AJ said steadily as a tear crept down his pale face. “Don’t think I’ll pass up another. You’ll do what I tell you.”
She nodded, still smiling.
“Do you have the keys for those things?” he asked.
She nodded again.
“Good. Get the keys and free them. Nice and slow.”
The stranger slowly rose and went to the table. She picked up the keys, then crossed the room and knelt beside Nick and Brian. As soon as she had freed Brian’s hands, he took the keys and shoved her away. He unlocked the cuffs at his ankles before freeing Nick.
“Are you all right?” Brian asked.
Nick, who was still shaking, nodded uncertainly.
Brian hugged him fiercely.
AJ motioned for the stranger to sit on the couch.
She complied, ignoring the blood still oozing slowly from her nose.
“I’m okay,” Nick finally managed to say, pulling away. “Get them loose.”
Brian nodded and knelt beside Kevin.
“Nick, call the police,” AJ ordered.
Nick nodded and went into the kitchen.
Once freed, Howie and Kevin stood and stretched. All four of them had bloody wrists from fighting against the metal cuffs.
“Why bother with the police, Alex?” the stranger asked. “You five can do what you like with me. Get revenge, even the score. No one would blame you.”
Howie moved forward, but Kevin held him back. “No. That’s what she wants. She’d probably enjoy it.”
“I assure you, I would not,” she replied. “I’m a sadist. Not a masochist.”
“Don’t,” Brian said as Nick came back after making the call. “We’re not gonna sink to her level.”
“Oh, fuck that!” Howie shouted. “This isn’t a movie or some shit like that! This is real life! She’s the one responsible for ruining our lives! Maybe she doesn’t deserve to die, but she at least deserves a little of what she gave!”
Brian shook his head. “She’s sick because she got joy out of our pain. I won’t do the same.”
Howie pulled loose from Kevin and grabbed one of the guns, aiming at her. “I’m not gonna give up this chance for revenge. I can’t!”
“She’s gonna get what she deserves, Howie!” Kevin cried. “She’ll go to jail! She’ll never hurt anyone again!”
“That doesn’t erase what she did!” Howie screamed.
“Nothing will!” Brian shouted. “Nothing will, Howie, even if you kill her. Even if she’s dead, that won’t change anything. You’ll still have to live with the memory!”
The stranger watched the exchange in rapt fascination.
“Stop SMILING!” Howie yelled.
Her smile did not fade.
“Howie,” Nick said, putting a hand on his friend’s arm. “Put the fucking gun down.”
“No,” Howie said, shaking his head. “No, she deserves it . . .”
“Howie, she tried to kill me, and even I don’t want her dead,” Nick said.
“I don’t wanna kill her . . . I just wanna hurt her . . . she deserves it . . .”
“Brian’s right. If we get pleasure from hurting her, then we’re just like her. It won’t make you feel any better. Put the gun down.”
Tears trickled down Howie’s face. “But . . .”
“Shh, just put it down,” Nick coaxed. “The police’ll be here any minute. It’ll be over soon.”
Howie’s hold started to waver.
“She won’t get away with it,” Kevin soothed. “She’ll be locked up for the rest of her life.”
The four looked at their friend, holding their breath.
The door burst open. “POLICE!”
A gun shot rang out.
Howie dropped his gun, shaking. “Oh shit . . .”
Everyone stared at the corpse on the couch.
“I didn’t mean to!” Howie started to explain, stumbling over his words. “They just startled me and it went off! I wasn’t going to! I was gonna put it down!”
AJ dropped his own gun and caught Howie as he slumped to the floor.
“I killed her . . . oh, God, I didn’t mean to . . . I wasn’t gonna --” He broke off in hysterical sobs.
The police slowly entered the house. “Was she the only one?” an officer asked.
Kevin nodded, fighting to urge to throw up. “She drugged us and then . . . she was gonna kill Nick if AJ didn’t shoot her. So AJ hit her . . . and then . . . oh, God . . .” Kevin backed away to the kitchen and sat down.
Brian followed him, pulling Nick with him. “Are you all right?” he asked the youngest BSB.
Nick just stood there, shaking.
Brian hugged him tightly. “It’s all right, it’s over.”
The cop sat across from Kevin. “Listen, it’s all right. We can see it was accident. No one’s going to jail here, all right? Now, just back up and start from the beginning.”
“Kristin,” Kevin realized. “Krisitn ate one of the cookies! Shit, I need to see if she’s all right!” He stood up and grabbed the phone.
The cop sighed and went back into the living room.
Another officer talked to AJ as he tried to calm Howie.
“Looks like it was self defense, Dan,” the officer said, standing up. “They were holding the guns for protection and one went off when we startled them.”
Dan nodded. “That’s what I thought.”
“Howie, it’s okay,” AJ soothed. “You didn’t mean to kill her. It’s okay.”
After a few minutes, the other three came out from the kitchen.
“Is Kristin all right?” Brian asked his cousin.
Kevin nodded. “All that happened was that she fell asleep. I woke her up when I called.”
“Is he gonna be all right?” Nick asked, looking down at Howie.
AJ shrugged, still just hugging him.
Brian knelt beside them. “Howie, it’s okay. We know you didn’t mean to kill her. It was an accident.”
“I was gonna put it down . . .” Howie sobbed.
“We know,” Kevin told him. “We know you didn’t mean it. It’s over now.”
“Don’t let her screw you up anymore,” Nick said. “Her plan was to hurt us as much as she could because she got pleasure out of it. But she can’t hurt us now. You have to let it go and heal so she doesn’t win the game.”
Howie looked up at his four brothers; he could read the understanding and love in each of their faces. They weren’t glad their tormentor was dead, but they were eager to go on living.
“I’ve got an idea,” AJ said, standing up and going into the kitchen. Brian helped Howie to his feet.
AJ returned with a knife.
Howie looked nervous. “AJ . . .”
“Trust me,” he said as he nonchalantly sliced his wrists open.
“What the hell are you doing?!” Brian cried.
“Look,” AJ explained. “You’re all bleeding. Now that I am too, we can be blood brothers.”
The five guys looked at each other, then joined hands in a circle. Their blood ran and mixed together as tears streamed silently from their eyes.
“We’re not just the Backstreet Boys anymore,” Nick said softly. “We’re the Backstreet Brothers.”
“Now and forever,” Howie added.
“If all we’ve been through didn’t tear us apart, nothing will,” Kevin finished.
~~~
the end