(AN: Ok so here's another attempt at a good story. I hope you guys like it! It's not like Dear Howie, even though there are letters in the story.)


Dear querida,

I pray that one day I will be able to give these letters to someone someday. Someone who will hopefully love me for me, god knows I haven't met anyone like that since we were still singing on street corners.

My last girlfriend seemed to have a great animosity for my fellow band mates. Why? (I have yet to understand.) Thank the lord I finally saw through her extremely bad personality and dumped her. I also thank God that my friends were supportive of me while I was moping after the arduous break-up, even though I know that they were ecstatic. Obviously they had an distaste for her as well.

Oh well, I guess my agenda is too full to have a girlfriend.

That's a lie!

The others have girlfriends, even wives! (And I’m supposed to be the ladies man!) Maybe I just have to decide what I want in a girlfriend, and settle for nothing short of my requirements. Yeah, that's what I’ll do!

1. She should be smart. Able to have a conversation with me, and not just let me carry on a one-sided discussion like a buffoon.

2. She should have an unselfish personality. Caring, sweet and funny.

3. Beautiful, inside and out, with an aesthetic way of looking at life.

That's all I really want in a woman. What every man basically wants, but it's so hard to find those characteristics now that our fame has amplified over the past two years.

The other guys are getting worried about me, I can tell by the way they look at
me. I've been distant with everyone lately. When they tried to broach a conversation with me about it, I just told them I was fine, and walked away. I know the guys don't believe me... hell I don't believe me.

So all I can do now, querida, is dance, sing and smile for the audience and brace myself for another lonely night, that always awaits me.

(As always) Hopefully yours someday,
Howard Dwaine Dorough


Serena put the letter back safely in its place, and gathered her cleaning supplies onto the cart. She glanced once more at the letter that went to the very bottom of her heart.

'How can a man like that be so lonely inside?' she thought to herself. The empathy she felt making her eyes well up with unshed tears, blurring her vision as she pushed the cart towards the door of the hotel suite.

She stood there a moment more, then she suddenly shook her hear. Scolding herself for reading the personal belongings of a stranger. Serena made a note to herself to go to church after work to be absolved.

"Kevin what the hell does caustic mean?" Nick screamed frustrated.

"It means biting or sarcastic humor, you dildo!" Kevin replied.

"Hey is that your new word or something? You've been constantly saying that word all tour." Aj said to Kevin, obviously chastising the older man.

"Oh shut up Aj." Kevin said as he walked out of the tiny entertainment area of their hotel room.

"Hey Howie, where are you headed for our break?" Kevin asked as he entered his and Howie's room, where he saw Howie lying on his bed. "HOWIE... hey,HOWIE!"

"Huh? Oh, I don't know Kevin, ask Aj or something." Howie retorted.

"Ok, hey, what's that you're writing?"

"Nothing. Well it's sort of a catharsis, you know. A candid letter to the future so to speak."

"Wow, didn't know you were so in touch with your feelings." Kevin said as he wiped away an imaginary tear from his strong jaw line.

"Ha ha. You are so funny you know that. Why you didn't become a comedian I'll never know." Howie said with a deft sarcasm.

Kevin held up his hands in surrender. "Hey man, I'm just joking with you. Gees lighten up.” he said as he walked to the front room again.

Howie sighed as he rolled over and decided that he had written enough. He put his letters back in their safe hiding place and turned out the lights.

"I think I've deluded myself enough. I can't even define the characteristics I want." Howie said to himself in the darkness as he closed his eyes.

"Maybe there's just a shortage in the female population. Yeah right, now I’m deluding myself even further. Or maybe I should really cautiously think about this later." he thought out loud. "I need sleep."

After 2 hours of tossing and turning he finally settled into a restless sleep.

Chapter 3

Serena Roberts trudged into her tiny apartment, in the destitute part of Vicksleyville. It wasn't much, but it was all that she could afford on her paycheck. Working as a maid in the Madison Prime Hotel didn't pay a whole lot even though it was the best hotel around, but it paid enough to get by. She only had to deal with stuck up people all day long, not to mention cleaning up after them.

As she tiredly threw off her shoes she walked over to the answering machine in the corner of her cubical-like apartment. As she pressed play she walked towards the kitchen area.

Beep... "Hey Ser, how are ya darlin'? I haven't heard from you in a while. Just checking on you to see how you and Gwen are doing. Don't go hiding my niece from me now! Ha ha ha, well I'll talk to you later. Let me know when you want me to baby-sit again, you know how I love doing it. Bye-bye!"

Beep... "Uh, hey Serena, um... I'll be a little late on the next check. I'm sorry; I promise I'll make the next one. I hope you can be as understanding as you have been... again. Say hi to Gabby for me."

"Her name is GWENDOLYN, you stupid moronic asshole. What did I ever see in him, he can’t even remember his own daughter's name."

Beep... "Hey Serena, this is Julie. You should be practically dormant by now, hahaha. I just wanted to ask you a favor, I would have asked you before you left to go home, but you know I was quite busy doing real work with those Side Street guys..."

"Their name is the Backstreet Boys, Jules."

“Anyway, I'm not even going to try and dupe you into working this weekend, because you're going to do it out of the love you have for me right? Right! I knew you would. I'll talk to you tomorrow, bright and early, 6 am sharp!"

Serena sighed. She decided to walk down the hall and get Gwendolyn from the neighbors. Once she knocked an elderly woman opened the door holding a sleeping baby girl.

"Oh hi Serena, come to pick up the little one huh?" the lady said sweetly while rocking the baby in her arms.

"Yes Mrs. Lestat. Thank you again for watching her. You could have said no when I asked." Serena said as she took Gwendolyn from her.

"Oh that's nonsense dear, you know I love her and you as if you both were my own. But I must say one thing, that girl has a set of lungs on her. She could be a diva when she gets old enough to talk, hahaha." She said.

"Hahaha, yeah I bet she could. Um, I hate to ask you this again but..."

"When would you like to drop her off dear?" Mrs. Lestat cut her off.

"5:30? I'm so sorry, I would have asked my mother but she’s not an early riser." Serena said meekly.

"I understand dear. It will be my pleasure to look after the little angel again." the older woman said.

"Thank you. I'll call you to let you know when we're on our way over. Thanks again Mrs. Lestat. Have a nice night." Serena said retreating back into her room with Gwendolyn.

"Bye dear. Nighty night Gwen." Mrs. Lestat said as she closed the door.

The next morning, after Serena dropped Gwendolyn off at Mrs. Lestat's house, she marched into the hotel and went straight to her locker in the back room. She changed into her maid's uniform and locked the locker. As she proceeded on her way to the cleaning closet to get her cart, which held all of her cleaning supplies she bumped into someone and landed on her butt. When she looked up, her eyes met with the darkest brown eyes she had ever seen.

"I...I'm sorry, I wasn't watching where I was going." she stuttered as she scrambled to find words to say to the beautiful stranger standing before her.

"It's ok, I should have been more, uh...aware of where I was going." Howie said also struggling with words as he stared into her eyes.

"Oh don't mind her! She's ALWAYS in the way. Don't you have some rooms to clean Serena?" Julie said depreciating Serena with her shrewd words.

"Yes Julie." Serena said, her eyes dropping to the carpet.

"Then get to it, I don't pay you to stand around distracting the hotel's guests. I'll be sure that this little incident will be discounted from your check." Julie said in an informative manner.

"Oh no, that's not necessary, it was all my fault." Howie said suddenly, once he realized that he got the young woman in trouble.

"Oh, hahaha, alright then. I'll overlook it. Now Mr. Dorough, what are you doing down here with the common's? There's a lovely restaurant on our main floor." Julie said as she hooked her arm with his and the two walked down the hallway, leaving Serena to look after them.

With an angry stomp, Serena turned around and continued on her way to the cleaning supplies closet.

"Who does she think she is, desecrating me in front of him like that? What was I thinking just standing there and taking her bullshit?"

'Oh, I know, because you need the job in order to support you and your baby! Why do I have to work with such egocentric people? But at least I met Howie Dorough. He is the finest specimen on earth.' she thought.

"That's for damn sure,” she whispered out loud.

"What's for damn sure?"

"AH! Oh Ellyssa, it's only you. Don't scare me like that." Serena exclaimed.

"Why not? Where's the fun in that? Anyway, what were you talking about?" Ellyssa asked.

"Oh nothing, only Howie Dorough." She said with a smirk.

"You mean the hottie with the body from BSB?"

"Yup, I accidentally bumped into him in the hall a few minutes ago; until JULIE tried to practically enshroud me with her ignorance."

"That girl needs a shift kick in the butt."

"Yeah, but, I can't do anything. Anyway..."

"Yes, back to Mr. Perfect Abs." Ellyssa said with a huge grin.

Ellyssa knew how much Serena loved the group, and that Howie Dorough, even though he wasn't the most popular one, was the object of Serena’s affection for almost all of her teenage years.

"He is just so amazingly beautiful up close. His hair, his smile, his lips, pictures definitely do not d that god justice. Especially his eyes, when there not covered by his sunglasses. They're so engaging. Like he's a complex enigma, just waiting to be solved."

"Oh no, here we go again!" Ellyssa said as she noted the far away look in Serena's eyes.

The group piled into Kevin's room to discuss their upcoming hiatus.

"So how long do we have again?" Nick asked.

"Uh, six weeks. All of December, and the first two weeks of January." Kevin replied.

"Cool, so what is everyone going to do for the whole length of it?" asked Brian.

"Well I'm going to California to chill with my family." Nick answered.

"I'm going home to Kristin, of course." Kevin chipped in.

"And I'm going to pick up Leigh Ann at the airport in the morning, and then we're flying back to Kentucky to visit mom and dad." Brain said.

"What about you two?" said Nick.

"I'm going to stay here for awhile, and check out the sights. It's pointless to go back to Orlando since we're meeting back here in January. What about you Howie?" Aj said turning to him.

"I think I’ll stay up here too. I kind of like this hotel." Howie replied.

"Cool, we can hang. I will show you my crib." Aj said in a lame attempt to quote the movie Rush Hour.

"That was really lame J. Anyway, I just have to get this month’s check in the bank, and I’ll be all set. You know we have to be careful and stealthy about this kind of thing." Howie said.

"Yeah we know. Well that's it for the meeting; now get out of my room. You're lucky I've been this polite so far." Kevin said, while pushing Brian out of the room.

"Oh yes, and we thank you kind sir for your complimentary hospitality. Yeah right!" laughed Nick.

"I'll see you guys later." Kevin said as he shut the door.

~*~

Serena hummed as she finished adding the last finesse to the room that she was working on. Looking around as she stopped humming she realized that she just finished cleaning the room of the man that she constantly thought about. Howie Dorough.

After she finished her conversation with Ellyssa that morning, she realized that he was indeed the writer of that letter that she had read the night before.

As she stood there she wondered if he had written since then. Eventually her curiosity got the better of her and she feigned cleaning inside the desk drawer.

"Bingo!" she said aloud triumphantly as she pulled the familiar stationary from the drawer. Serena unfolded the letter and sat in a nearby chair.

Dear querida,

Well here I sit, writing yet another letter. The guys are over in the next room goofing off (as usual) and I'm here writing to you. I know they know something's wrong, but I will continue holding this facade. Maybe all of this fallacy is the reason why I can't find the one. Of course there are those girls that are always fawning over us, but they're explicitly what I don't want. As horrible as that sounds, it is unfortunately the truth.

I'm not crossing out all fans, because the one I'm searching for might be one. I forgot to add that I want "her" to be in a complete state of fidelity, but that's a given.

I'm not going to forfeit the chance to find her. Maybe I'll find her here; maybe I'll receive a miracle. Hopefully my faith will flourish over night, but until then, I'll hold onto the little bit that I have left.

Hopefully yours someday,
Howie Dorough

Howie grimaced as he opened his eyes to the sunlight seeping through the open window in the early morn. As he sat up, he stretched his tired muscles and bones and he clumsily started towards the bathroom in his hotel suite. Hitting his foot on the edge of the chair, he cursed to himself, and continued to limp into the bathroom.

After he was done his daily ritual of washing up, shaving, and brushing his teeth, he limped back into the room to get dressed. He decided on wearing something casual, putting on a pair of black jeans and a button down white shirt with a black wife-beater underneath.

Howie was on his was back into the bathroom to check his appearance when suddenly there was a loud, constant banging on his door.

"Yeah yeah, hang on a sec." He said making his way to open the door. As soon as he opened the door Aj burst in.

"You ready to explore the horizons of New York?" he asked as he plopped down onto the bed.

"Yeah I guess so. So, what so you suggest we do first on our hiatus?"

"I don't know, want to cruise around first and see what's out there to do?" Aj said.

"Alright."

~*~

Serena groaned as she heard wailing coming from the next room. She rolled out of her bed and padded over to Gwendolyn's room to beg her to stop crying. Serena proceeded to change and feed Gwen, and after she laid her down for a second, she quickly got herself dressed.

"So baby girl, where shall we venture to today? Why don't we just walk around and see what's out there for us shall we?" Serena rambled on to the baby.

Gwendolyn murmured as if disagreeing with her mother's choice.

"I'm sorry darlin, but it's not up to you now is it." She cooed to the baby.

Serena grabbed everything she and Gwendolyn would need on their outing, and picked up the squirming infant. As she exited the apartment she made sure to lock the door, and continued down the hallway, and down the stairs.

~*~

"Enjoying the sights Howie?" Aj wondered out loud.

"Yeah I guess so. Why?" Howie asked.

"No reason, just wondering." he responded quickly.

"Alright what's up?"

"What do you mean?"

"Oh come on, I'm not that gullible. Why did you insist on me staying with you here in New York?" Howie said.

"You really want to know?"

"Yeah."

Aj sighed. "Because we're worried about you. You're not as social as you used to be, you're always off somewhere writing these poems, or stories, or whatever it is that you write. We want you to have fun, socialize, and go out on dates. When was the last time that you had a date? We don't mean to sound demanding, but we can't help it now." He said seriously.

"Thank you for your concern, but you guys have to realize that I’m just fine. I've never been that social anyway, I've always been a loner. And as for dating, I'm not looking for anyone to be with. For right now, I am happily single." he lied.

Aj sighed again. He knew that Howie was lying, but he didn't say anything more about that subject. If it was brought to the point where he was lying to them, then he really didn't want to talk about what was really bothering him. Aj knew that once he was ready to talk, that he was the first person that he would go to.
"Alright man. So do you want to see a movie?"

"Sure, what's playing?"

"Let's walk around the park. Are you enjoying yourself?" Serena asked Gwendolyn. The baby simply giggled and squirmed obviously manifesting her enjoyment.

"I thought so. Who wouldn't enjoy being wheeled around the city with a
blanket?" Serena mumbled.

She pushed Gwendolyn to the park and decided to sit down at the local junction, where everyone went to have picnics in the summer time. Serena took out one of the baby's bottles and gave it to her. She took out a book to read as the baby drank her formula. She glanced once around the park, and finally turned to her book and started to read once again.

~*~

After the movie with Aj, Howie decided to take a walk while Aj went back to the hotel to get some sleep. His jokiness was too much for Howie to handle at the moment, and he needed all of the peace that he could get to think clearly. Howie needed time to lament his loneliness.

He was starting to think that maybe it was his destiny to be alone in love.

"There has to be a hidden reason for me to not have someone." He said out-loud to himself listlessly.

"Ya know you shouldn't talk to yourself, it doesn't make you look good."

Howie stopped to look at the person who was talking to him.

"Hey uh..."

"Serena." she chimed in.

"Yeah, you work at the hotel I’m staying at right?" Howie inquired.

Serena looked down. 'That's all he'll ever think of me. I'm just some cleaning maid.' She thought to herself.

"Yeah I am." she replied. "So what are you doing meandering around New York? You could be mobbed."

"So you do know who I am." He stated.

"Yes I do."

Just then Gwendolyn started to cry loudly. Serena turned her attention to the weeping infant. She picked Gwendolyn up and rocked her until her cries calmed into a negligent slumber.

Howie looked on with interest. He noticed the calm and yet luminous karma that lucidly surrounded Serena. It was as if she had a presence surround her that was lax and peaceful. He longed for that type of feeling.

"Is she yours?" He asked while sitting next to her on the bench.

"Yeah she's my little querida."

Howie almost got whiplash in his neck when he turned his head around so fast to face her.

"What did you say?"

"I said yeah, she's mine, why?" Serena questioned.

"No, not that part. What did you call her?" Howie asked, wanting to make sure he wasn't hearing things.

"I called her my little querida. Why?" she asked confused as to why he was questioning her.

"Uh, no reason. What's her name?" he asked trying to change the subject.

"Gwendolyn. I've always loved that name." Serena said smiling down at her sleeping daughter.

"She's beautiful. She looks like you." Howie said looking straight into Serena's eyes.

Serena blushed from the obvious compliment.

"Thank you. I'm just glad that she looks like me, and not like her father."

"Where is the father?"

"I don't know, somewhere in the tri-state area I gather." she said uncaringly.

He noticed her change in demeanor and automatically apologized.

"No it's all right,” she said as she began to gather their belongings. " I think that it's time that we go home. It was nice seeing you again Mr. Dorough." Serena said hurriedly.

"Please call me Howie, and let me walk you home."

"No that's all right, you don't have to." Serena replied.

"I want to." Howie stated, looking firmly into her eyes.

She knew he would not back down until he got his way. 'Damn those eyes of his! Why must he be so damn fine?' she thought to herself.

"All right, let's go." she said as a small smile graced her lips

(AN: This chapter is for Anastacia (i hope i spelled that right) because she's been reviewing alot and i appreciate it immensely! You've made my day, lol. Thank you so much, i hope you enjoy)

They traveled down the sidewalk of New York, not speaking, while Howie watched Serena out of the corner of his eyes.

'She really is something else. She really seems like a loner though, like me. I'm glad that there's someone else in this world that's at least a little bit like me. But she seems more humble than I am.' he thought to himself.

"You know, it's very impolite to ogle people." Serena said to him, snapping him out of his thoughts.

"I'm sorry, I didn't realize I was staring,” he said apologetically, as he shook his head to clear his thoughts.

"It's ok. So... have you always been a philanthropist, or is it just in your spare time?" she said, trying to break the odd silence that had fallen between them.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean you randomly walking a stranger home."

"Well if we get to know each other, then we won't be strangers anymore now will we?"

"No I guess not,” she said with a smile. "I guess not. So how do you plan on getting to know me if your traveling all around the world?"

"Well I have the next couple of weeks off, and then we go back for the second leg of the tour."

"How long are a couple of weeks?"

"We don't have to report back here for practice until January."

"Wow that is a break! I wish I could have a vacation like that. Mine are short,” she said with a sigh.

"Why don't you just ask your boss for more time off?" he questioned.

"Have you met Julie?" she answered him back.

"Oh." he said now catching her point.

"Yeah, now ya get it."

She stopped walking and turned to him.

"Well here's our building. Thank you very much, maybe I'll see you around sometime." she said quickly.

"If I didn't know any better, I’d swear that you were trying to get rid of me,” he said half jokingly and half serious.

Serena felt bad for trying to dismiss him.

"I'm sorry; I didn't mean to be so rude. Would you like to come up, so we can get to know each other better?" she said with a smile.

"Sure, I would love to."

As they began their ascent up the stairs, he noticed that it wasn't exactly a poor place, but it could have been better.... a whole lot better. Serena stopped the stroller in front a door marked 'D-17.

'Here we go.' he thought to himself.

She opened the door, and hit the light switch on the wall.

"Welcome to our humble abode. Do you want something to drink?"

"Sure, uh, what do you have?" he asked as he looked around. 'Cute. Not very big, kind of small actually, but it has a homey style to it.'

"I don't know, you can go check in the fridge and get whatever you want to. The kitchen is right through there. Make yourself at home, I'll be back in a minute I have to lay her down, so we can talk without disturbing her." Serena said as she took a sleeping Gwendolyn down the hall.

As she stepped into the kitchen she stood there staring as Howie.

"What? It's not nice to stare ya know." he said when he noticed her in the doorway.

"Yeah yeah yeah, I know it's just that... uh, where did you get that milk from?"

"I took some out of that container why? He asked taking another drink from his tall glass of opaque liquid.

"Oh no reason, if you enjoy breast milk that is." Serena said. She laughed as he spit out the liquid. He looked at her as she tried to contain the urge to laugh again.

"Uh, since your not thirsty anymore, why don't we go in the living room and have a seat to talk." she said as she cleared her throat.

"What a great idea." he said sarcastically. "So how long have you lived here?" he said as they sat down on the dark blue sofa.

"Not long, I’ve been nomadic for most of my life. But now that I have her," she said gesturing towards the room where Gwendolyn was, "I can't move around as much. We've been here for about 5 months."

"So how long have you worked at the hotel?"

"As long as I’ve been here I’ve worked there. Of course I took a week off after Gwen was born, other then that, I’ve worked there almost everyday. Speaking of Gwen, I’ve already fed her, would you like something to eat?"

"It's not baby food is it?" he asked with a smirk.

"No," she said with a laugh, "it's not baby food. Come on, you can help me get the stuff ready." she said as she dragged him into the kitchen behind her.

The two spent the next hour making spaghetti and meat sauce, while talking about their lives.

"How does this taste?" Howie asked her as he picked up a small bit of spaghetti sauce for her to taste on a spoon. She opened her mouth and tasted the sauce, while she did this, she became aware that he was watching her, and looked up at him, as she slowly slid the spoon out of her mouth and between her lips.

"It tastes wonderful, very good,” she said quietly, never breaking eye contact with him.

They stood there silently staring at each other, slowly inching towards one another. Howie's heart was beating so loudly he was sure that she could hear it. Just as they were about to connect, a cry was heard from the bedroom. Serena snapped out of her gaze and excused herself hurriedly to check on the baby.

"Dammit! Just when I think I get passed her walls, something has to happen. This is going to be difficult." Howie said to himself.

(AN: Thanks a lot to Frackandbonechick for all the reviews!)


Serena picked up the crying baby as she walked into her room.

"What has mommy gotten herself into huh?" she said aloud, more to herself than to Gwendolyn as she bounced the baby lightly, trying to quiet the crying infant.

"Mommy has to be resilient, and forget it ever happened. I'm sure he was just caught in the moment, I have to be careful with men now, not as careless as I was a minute ago." she said scolding herself for letting her guards down.

Howie sat in the kitchen waiting for Serena to return.

"Man! I'm so stupid! I have to apologize to her it was my fault. I'm responsible I shouldn't have done that. What am I going to say to her when she comes back out? That is if she comes back out. It has to be believable, and not fake and hollow sounding,” he said to himself.

Just as he started to think of ways to apologize to Serena she walked out of the hallway.

"Are you still thirsty? I could refill your glass with some more soda,” she said as if she if she had blanked the event from her mind.

"Uh, no that's ok. Look I’m sorry for what happened." Howie said.

"What are you talking about?"

Howie was bewildered as to why she was refusing to talk about what happened as if it didn't matter to her. He decided to drop the subject.

"Um, never mind. It's not pivotal that we talk about it. So..."

"So, what are you going to do on your break from touring?" Serena asked while turning to put the spaghetti onto plates for them to eat.

"Well like I told you before I plan on staying here." he answered.

"Oh yeah I forgot. Well, if I haven't already told you how boring this place is after awhile, the let me tell you again. It gets boring her after awhile."

"I don't mind it so much." Howie responded while looking at Serena.

"I beg to differ, I have a very good argument on this. You'd never win, there's no arguing with me on this one. I have a robust spirit; at least that's what my mom called my arguing since I stayed strong to my points. Robert just called me stubborn." she sighed.

"Robert? Who's that?"

"Gwendolyn's father." she answered quietly.

"Oh. So the bastard has a name,” he said. She looked at him questioningly.

"You've been calling him that all evening." Howie pointed out. "So what's he like?"

"Well he's the perfect picture of paint drying on a wall. I think he's the most prosaic person I’ve ever met in my life, and he gets more and more boring every time I see him. I honestly don't know what I ever saw in him, I must have been drunk when I met him."

"Wow, that dull huh? I can't imagine."

"Yeah well. Life sucks that way sometimes."

(PS and by the way: “querida” is a term of endearment, like “dear” or “sweetheart”. Translated straight into English it means “dear”.)

"Aw, come on Brian! I want to play Final Fantasy VIII. Can't you watch this shit some other time?" Nick whined.

Kevin, Brian and Nick had been in Kentucky for a day, and already Nick was bored out of his mind.

"I swear Nick, your constant whining is driving me nuts, and no I can't watch it some other time. I'm not doing this just to be mean. Just chill for one more hour then it will be done, ok?" Brian responded.

"Chill? How am I supposed to chill, I’ve been tediously moping around for the passed couple of days with nothing to do, and you want me to chill?!? I was about to go home instead of going with you two to come here, but nooooo. 'Oh come with us Nick, it'll be fun. You'll have a great time.' Fun time my ass!" he continued on sardonically.

"Damn are you still going on with your stupid tirade? Will you SHUT UP!?!" Kevin yelled as he came in from the next room.

"Fine, I’ll be quiet but I’ll be quiet somewhere else."

"What are you talking about now?" Brian said tiredly.

"Look, I do love the whole rustic thing that you've got going on here, but it's not for me, at least not at the present time. I feel slow, tired, and inactive and you know how I hate that." he said while trying to block the TV. that Brian was watching.

Brian sighed.

"Yes we know. Now could you please move out of the way, I’m watching TV?" Kevin said, hardly listening to what Nick was saying.

Nick exhaled loudly as he walked towards the kitchen.

"Hey would you mind getting me something to drink?" Brian asked.

"Sure, why not? I'm just a humble servant, I’ll do anything right?" Nick muttered to himself as he entered the kitchen. He poured Brian a tall glass of kool-aid (AN: the drink of champions! lol) that he made the night before.

"This is the sweetest glass of juice I’ve ever tasted. What did you do, dump all the sugar in the neighborhood into this glass?" Brian said as he spit out the sugary substance.

"Why what ever do you mean? I didn't put any sugar in it." Nick retorted with a fake grin.

1 week later...


"Thanks again guys for letting me stay with you. I was really starting to hate the country." Nick said taking a breath of air.

"No problem man." Howie responded.

"Yeah, it'll just be me and you kiddo." Aj said.

"What are you talking about? Is Howie going somewhere?" Nick asked.

"Well if D keeps having these little trysts that he's been having with someone, than yes, he is."

"Oh really? Who's the lucky lady Howie?"

"I don't know what you guys are talking about. There is no lady. I've just been going for walks, trying to get inspiration for a song." Howie replied.

"Yeah right. You go out everyday around the same time, looking quite nice and proper, and you can hardly sit still before you leave. Then when you come back you want to go out again the next day." Turning to Nick, "I swear it's the high point of his day." Aj said throwing his hands up in the air seemingly exasperated.

"Thank you J for that wordy and long-winded speech about my supposed daily schedule." Howie said dryly.

"Sticks and stones man, sticks and stones."

"Yeah, where are they when you need them. Anyway you want something to drink Nicky boy?"

"No, and don't call me Nicky." Nick said.

Just then they all heard a knock at the door. Nick walked over to the door and opened it to discover Serena standing there with Gwendolyn.

"Can I help you?" Nick asked, while checking Serena out. This was making Serena uncomfortable, and she shifted her weight from one foot to the other while gripping the handle of the stroller.

"Um is Howie here?" Serena asked nervously.

"Oh yeah, sure. Come one in."

"Oh no, that's not necessary, I’d just like to talk to him for a moment."

"Nonsense, you're coming in, now come on." Nick said taking her arm and guiding her into the room with the stroller. Serena wavered, and then followed him into the suite.

Serena walked in, observing the room that she would have to possibly clean later. 'Well at least they're not that messy. I won't have much to clean in here, then again, I won't be here much longer.' she thought to herself.

Serena, Gwendolyn and Nick walked into the living room area to hear Aj and Howie arguing about something.

"Hey Howie, someone's here to see you." Nick said.

"I don't care what you say Aj, it should be Brian who sings that part not Kevin!" Howie said to Aj, not hearing what Nick said.

"Why not? I think that he can sing that part just as good as Brian can!" Aj argued back.

"That's not the point."

"Then what is the point? Please enlighten me." Aj said sarcastically.

"Uh, guys..." Nick tried to interrupt again, but they continued to quarrel.

"The point is that I feel that Brian can sing that part more... I don't know, better. That's the way I want the part sung." Howie continued, still ignoring Nick.

"Kevin can sing that part just as strongly as Brian can." Aj bickered.

"But his voice is not the one I want singing that!"

"Wow, they're causing quite a scene, they're really into this huh?" Serena asked Nick.

"Yeah they are. Hey guys!!" the two persisted with their disagreement. "Why do I feel like I’m vying for their attention?"

Serena laughed at his comment.

"Here let me try." Serena took off her overcoat, revealing her halter-top and shorts. She walked over to the two and gently tapped their shoulders at the same time. When they both turned to her, Aj’s mouth dropped open.

"Serena! When did you get here?" Howie said hugging her.

"Oh about 10 minutes ago. Nick let me and Gwen in." Serena responded.

"Nick why didn't you tell us that she was here?" Howie scolded.

Nick just threw his hands in the air and sighed, then plopped down onto the sofa. "How you two lived here together for this long is beyond me."

"What do you mean by that?" Aj asked finally snapping out of his transfixed gaze at Serena.

"Nothing man, nothing."

"Are you going to introduce us Howie?" Aj asked once again directing his attention to Serena.

"No, I wasn't, but I guess I will now. Serena this is Aj."

Aj took her hand and kissed the back of it.

"You can call me whatever you would like beautiful lady." Aj stated. Howie rolled his eyes and took Serena's hand from him, and pointed towards Nick on the couch that was now playing Play-Station 2.

"And that lump on the couch that let you inside, is Nick."

Nick simply grumbled a hello and continued to play.

"So, not that I’m complaining but what are you doing here?" Howie inquired.

"Oh nothing important, I just wanted to know if you wanted to go for a walk with us?"

"Us?" Aj questioned.

"Oh yeah, I forgot to introduce you to my daughter." Serena said while picking up the still sleeping baby.

"This is my little angel Gwendolyn."

"Aw, she's adorable." Aj said looking at the napping infant.

"Thank you. So would you like to come with us Howie?"

"Sure, let me just get my jacket in case it gets chilly."

When Howie left the room, Aj walked over to Serena.

"So, you're the reason Howie can't sit still for a minute. I can see why now." Aj said charmingly, while gazing into her eyes.

Serena blushed, looked down at the floor and giggled slightly. She wasn't used to receiving complements like that.

Howie came out of his room to see Aj still gawking at Serena and Serena blushing fiercely. Something stirred inside of him, and he knew that he was becoming jealous.

"Alrighty then, let's get out of here." Howie said purposely ending the moment between the two.

"Ok, it was nice meeting you Nick." Serena called into the next room where Nick was. She heard a faint you too.

"It was a pleasure meeting you as well Aj." Serena said to him.

"Likewise. Definitely a pleasure to meet you too." he said as he took her hand again and kissed it as he had earlier

Howie put his arm around her and guided her out of the room.

"So, what's the matter?" Serena asked Howie.

The two had been walking for about 5 minutes, and he had been quiet until she interrupted the silence.

"What makes you think that something is wrong?" Howie responded knowing that he had been caught.

"Because you haven't said one word to me since we left the hotel. Did I do something wrong? Do I have halitosis or something?" she joked.

"Of course not! Nothing's wrong."

Serena smiled to herself.

"And just what are you smiling about Ms. Roberts?" Howie asked.

"Nothing, I just know what's bothering you." She said smiling.

"Oh really? And what might that be?" Howie said smiling back.

"You already know, and now I also know. You're jealous." she stated simply.

Howie turned away from her, and cursed under his breath. Serena heard this and began to laugh. Howie turned to her again, smiling sheepishly at being caught.

"How'd you know?"

"A mother knows all. So what are you jealous of?"

"I don't know exactly. You know how I told you that before I met you and Gwen I was an ascetic person, always working on my letters, but never anything else really, not caring?"

Serena shook her head yes.

"And you said that you were the same way for a long time, until you had Gwen, then you had to get back out there. And you did it for her; you said that she was your savior from loneliness."

"Yes she was, and still is. I'm still a little wary when it comes to who I associate with though." Serena said.

"I know, and I'm grateful that you have decided to trust me, even though I'm practically a stranger."

"You didn't seem like a dangerous person, well not really. Besides I’m a good judge of character."

Howie smiled at her. The two walked over to a bench and sat down. Serena pulled the stroller to her and picked up Gwendolyn, who was still sleeping.

"I've never known a child to sleep so long. I guess she had a long day, didn't you sweetie." Serena cooed in a sweet manner.

Howie looked at her and smiled.

“But anyways, I was always saying I was fine. It was becoming a bad slogan for my life, saying that everything was peachy, when it was far from it in my mind. Then I met Charlie, and she was everything that I thought I needed." Howie sighed. "But it was only temporary. I should have known it would be that way, it was too good to quickly. And then I see you, and you intrigue me. A puzzle waiting to be solved."

"Howie, you're beginning to make no sense what so ever." Serena stated looking at him.

"What I’m trying to say is that you came into my life and within a weeks time, and you have seem to extinguish all the loneliness that I was feeling."

Serena was speechless. She'd never received such a compliment in her life.

"Wow, I don't know what to say."

"You don't have to say anything. I just wanted you to know how I felt. The reason that I got so jealous was because Aj was flirting with you, and you seemed to be enjoying it. And I wanted to be the only one to make you laugh, and blush when I compliment you. I know it sounds ridiculous, but that's how I felt."

Howie thought he saw a smile upon Serena's lips. He was so busy watching her that he did not see the approaching man with his hands in his trench coat.

"Give me all your money, checks, and jewelry and no one will get hurt. NOW!!"

Howie and Serena sat there in fear to the man yells.

"I said NOW!!!!!!" the man said pulling out a gun, and pointing it at Serena.

"Ok, just calm down man." Howie said reaching for his wallet.

Serena began to put Gwendolyn down.

"What are you doing!?!" the man yelled.

"Please just let me put her down then I’ll give you anything you want."

The man smiled cheekily.

"All right, go ahead and put her down." The man said.

Serena put Gwendolyn down, and before she could look at the man once again, she heard a gun shot.