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“Love Can Save”

-“I’ll be there for you/
Where ever you go/
What ever you do/
Girl I got forever inside/
For all of my life/
I’ll be there for you.” “I’ll be there for you.” By the Backstreet Boys, unreleased single.

**~Have A Little Faith~**

She stumbles over the threshold, laughing loudly as A.J. guides her to the bed.

Yasmine looks up at him as she plops down on the beautifully made white laced bed. “Alex, you are too much.” She smirks, trailing her fingers down his collared shirt.

A.J. smirks and nods his head, “Hey it’s just a natural thing. I can’t help that those girls flipped when they saw me.”

Laughter erupts from the hallway coming from Nick as he leans on the bedroom threshold with a smile on his face. “Actually they freaked out when they saw me, not you buddy.” He states with a smudge look across his delicate face.

A.J. narrows his eyes, “Dude, whatever. They clearly shouted for me. I’m the man. You, well, you’re just the pretty boy.”

Yasmine smirks, “And sexy I’m sure.”

Nick beams, “You think I’m sexy? Yo you heard that, Yassy thinks I’m sexy!”

The soft chuckles erupted from the three while Yasmine kicks off her shoes. “Man being pregnant sucks. Half the clothes, I’ll have to throw away cause I’d doubt with all the baby fat, I’ll fit in them later on and then I gotta work out, cause you know my belly ain’t gonna look nice after the kid rips through my body.”

Nick cringes at the thought as A.J. chuckles, “Ehhh, speaking of that. It’s gonna happen in a few days huh?”

“What, me giving birth?”

“Yeah.” Nick states, scratching behind his ear, flopping on a plush chair while A.J. lies on his back on the bed.

“You know Nick, you’re more than welcome in seeing the baby born.” A.J. teases as Nick rolls his eyes.

“That’s aight man. You have that job, I’ll be waiting in the lobby.”

“Well gee, thanks a lot man. That’s encouraging.” Yasmine giggles gently as she adjusts her long green t-shirt. Her raven locks tumble gently across her shoulders, her small legs swinging off the edge of the bed.

“So little Faith is gonna be with us? Man I can’t wait!” A.J. whispers happily, receiving a soft look from Yasmine.

“Ahhh, you’re excited to be a daddy. Oh yes you are!” Yasmine whispers in a baby voice, clutching his cheeks in her hands.

“Shut up man.” A.J. laughs, watching Nick exiting the room.

Smirking Nick nods his head, giving A.J. the cue that he wanted to talk to him. Sitting up from the bed, A.J. smirks and gently hits Yasmine on the side of her head. “I’ll be back.” And he exits the room, closing the door behind him. “What up man?” He asks, following the tall blonde into the small living room quarters the dorm provided.

Nick clicks his mouth quietly, eyeing A.J. to take a seat on the sofa.

“Yo dude, what’s with the suspense?” A.J. asks.

Nick licks his lips softly and nervously sighs, “J, I have something to tell you.”

A.J. raises his eyebrows and leans back on the soft plush flowered sofa, “Uh ok.” He was beginning to get tense, whatever Nick had to say will affect him and he was already getting prepared. “Sure what is it?”

“Well…”

Suddenly knocking from the doom door breaks Nick’s thoughts, startling the two men.

“I’ll get it.” A.J. whispers, feeling the sudden thick hot atmosphere in the room rise from within him.

Opening the door, he flings it open to see Anya with more that fifteen plastic bags all around her, “Well hey you. Can ya help me out? Man, I would have never thought going to a flea market would strike me rich.”

“Hey Anya. Yo, you went to a flea market and you ain’t tell me?” A.J. smiles, helping her bring in the plastic bags. Nick smiles and hugs Anya as they two pick up the remaining bags.

“How did you even bring all these up here by yourself?” Nick asks, dropping the last load off on the kitchen counter.

“Security helped me. But listen I have to head to class now, so I won’t be back here till around nine k? If Yas needs anything, I know you got it covered, k.” Anya beams, her hazel eyes sparkle as she heads to the bedroom to gather her book bag.

“K, cool.” Nick asks, prodding through the plastic bags out of curiosity. A.J. brushes Nick hands away from the bags and shakes his head,

“Chill out, man. That ain’t your stuff.” A.J. smirks as Nick shrugs his shoulders, his ears pick up the sound of the coffee maker going off.

“Ah, my coffee is done.” Nick whispers, taking his warm coffee mug, sipping loudly.

A.J. cringes and glares at him, “Boy, what’s wrong with you? Ain’t your mommy tell you not to sip like that?”

Nick smirks, “Last I recall, you practically raised me, so you didn’t show me.”

A.J. rolls his eyes, “I shouldn’t have to show you everything. I didn’t show you how to have sex, piss or talk. You seem to have picked that all by your self.”

Nick laughs and cracks his knuckles, placing the mug on the counter. Anya steps out of the bedroom and smiles, adjusting her book bag as she makes her way towards the entrance of the room.

“Well boys, I trust you can behave and watch the place. You know the rules: No going into my bedroom and looking at my bras and panties, no wearing my clothes…” She stops as the guys laugh softly and continues, “And definitely no hanky panky with strangers and bringing them here, got that? Or do I have to make myself more clear?” Anya asks, opening the door and eyeing the guys.

“Loud and clear. Though, I’m guessing those rules don’t apply to you huh?” Nick smirks, plopping on a bar stool as Anya sighs, rolling her eyes, flicking her carrot colored hair over her shoulders.

“That Nick, is a big NO in woman language.” A.J. states, watching Anya smirk and leave the dorm, locking it behind it her.

“Well we’re all alone with a cranky pregnant woman in one room. What do you want to do?” Nick smiles, finishing his coffee and placing the cup into the small dishwasher.

“Whatever. I’ve been buying so many things for Faith, it makes it seem like she really is my kid.”

Nick nods, “Yeah, I can tell. You’ve been so happy about that baby and Yasmine is thrilled to have you helping her out. You’re making a great dad so far. Hell you raised me and look how I turned out.” He grins widely.

A.J. shakes his head, “Damn, then I must have screwed up lovely the first time with ya. Now I’m just afraid.” He breaks into a laugh as Nick hops onto a stool besides him, joining in the laugh.

The bedroom door creaks open as Yasmine yawns and heads over to them, “So guys what’s so funny?”

“You, you’re funny looking.” A.J. jokes, kissing her cheek gently as she swaps at him.

“Hey, leave the mommy alone. I’ve been through practically nine months of carrying this kid around. I like to see what you’ll look like after all this.”

“You lucky, you had an easy pregnancy. My mom was constantly gagging and feeling nauseous when she was giving birth to Aaron and Angel.” Nick states, drumming his fingers on the rich dark wood counter.

“Yeah, well your mom had you. I can’t blame her for feeling bad all those months.”

“Screw you Yasmine!” Nick laughs, as he flips his middle finger at her.

“Watch it boy.” She giggles and slides into a stool with A.J.’s help. “Thanks. So what are we gonna do today?”

“What do you mean we? Chicky, we just came back from lunch and hanging out at the park. And you still want to go out?” A.J. asks surprised as Yasmine nods.

“Sure. Just cause I’m big now, don’t mean I can’t have fun.” Yasmine grins, her tan cheeks glitter under the soft florescent lights.

“Ahhh na. We’ll pass on that. You look like you about to blow and you partying is out the question. Don’t ya feel tired anyway?” Nick states, watching Yasmine shake her head.

“No… Ok well a little… Fine, I’m fatigue but I’ve been sleeping all the time and I’m tired of that.”

A.J. grins, “Well when I feel tired, I do stuff to keep me up.”

“Oh really? Like what?”

Nick smirks knowing full well where A.J. was heading with this,

“Like having sex, making love. You know the deal.” A.J. smirks as Yasmine rolls her eyes, shaking her head.

“Is that all you think about?” Yasmine grumbles.

Nick adds in, “That and eating. Depending on the order, that is.”

Yasmine smirks, “Tsk. Unbelievable, you two.”

Nick smirks and feels A.J.’s hand on his left shoulder, “Hey you were gonna say something to me before Anya came in right?”

Nick bolts upright in his seat, nodding his head, “Uh yeah. But I don’t think it’s that important.” He emphasizes the presence of Yasmine in the room.

A.J. noting that, opens a kitchen counter: digging for a sheet of paper and pen. Whispering, he hands it to Nick as Yasmine smirks and watches on.

“What are you two doing?” Yasmine smirks, leaning over the counter to see if she can read what Nick was scribbling down.

Nick looks up at her and smiles, “Yasmine, I’m serious. I think you should get some sleep. You’re days away and I want to make sure you get some rest, cause once it happens you’ll be in pain for a while.”

Yasmine shapes her mouth into an ‘O’ and tilts her head, “Since when did you become an intellect in the concept of pregnancy.”

“Since witnessing it three times.” Nick smiles, patting her head and pushing her away from the counter. Nick and Yasmine walk steadily over to the sofa as A.J. grabs the sheet of paper, reading it over quickly.

Taking a deep, he gulps and shakes his head, reading what Nick wrote. It couldn’t be real, could it. It stated in simple words that the cops brush off the case leaving the rapist to run off somewhere in the streets. His eyes read over each word slowly, trying to take in each word:

-Anya told me that after much holding off and no more real evidence to work with, the cops had no choice but to close the case. I went with her to find out why and I threatened a cop to keep it open. But I’m sorry J, there’s nothing we or none of us can do. The guy is free and no one has any evidence man. I’m sorry. I didn’t want to say in front of Yas, but that bastard is free and the innocent suffered.-

A.J. growls a profanity, slamming the sheet down on the counter, causing Yasmine and Nick to jump immediately from the loud sound. Standing up from the sofa, Nick sighs at A.J.

“Alright guys! That’s it, no more secrecy, what’s going on?” Yasmine mutters, her heart pounding.

A.J. sighs, “Don’t worry about it. It’s nothing for you to be concerned about now. You just rest.”

“NO! I won’t rest, you guys have been keeping quiet about a lot of things lately, what’s going on?! Do you know something about my case, heard from the cops? What is it?” Yasmine whispers, suddenly feeling an intense pain shoot down her spine as she clutches Nick’s arm desperately. “Ahhhh.. Ouch.”

Nick and A.J. rush over to her watching to see if she will get her next contraction.

“J, J? Is it time?” Nick whispers nervously.

“Hold up, let me see.” A.J. checks his watch, waiting for the next contraction to arrive. After a few minutes, he smiles, "Ahh false alarm.”

Nick checks his own watch, “Nothing happened, fifteen minutes past already.”

Yasmine sighs and smiles, “Good.” Then suddenly she yelps out as another one forces it way down her body.

“Ok, this isn’t good.” Nick whispers.

“No, she’s fine. It’s not the birth ones.” A.J. whispers calmly.

“You sure?” Nick whispers, gently helping Yasmine back on the sofa.

“Yup.”

Then Yasmine places her hands over her abdomen as the contractions begin to increase. “Ahhh, no, no. Oh heck no. She’s coming! She’s coming!” Yasmine yells out as the contraction increase painfully. By the end of the last one, she was out of breath and exhausted.

“Well J?!”

“Yeah, now its time to go! That was four minutes in between!” A.J. squeaks out, grabbing his car keys as Nick races to get her suitcase already. Yasmine watches as the two men race out the apartment both forgetting the one most important person.

A.J.’s feet pound the carpeted hallway as he pushes the lit elevator button nervously while Nick trudges down the hallway holding the over stuff suitcase.

“Hey J, you sure you have everything?” Nick smirks, noting A.J. forgot to bring Yasmine out of the apartment.

A.J. embarrassed, not saying a word, rushes back to get Yasmine, who placed her hands on her hips.

“Nice one Alex. I thought I would have to give natural birth on my own and everything.” Yasmine growls as A.J. smiles softly and leads her out the apartment, locking the door behind him.

“Sorry girl. Just nervous, I’ve never done this before.”

“Uh yeah, neither have I.” Yasmine whispers, feeling a smile prick the corners of her mouth as A.J. slowly guides her to the elevator. Once boarded, the elevator zooms down, its door opening, sending Nick to sail across to their black BMW.

A.J. tosses the car keys towards Nick as he catches it and jumps in the car, starting up the vehicle and rolling it back slowly for Yasmine to reach the car faster.

“Hop in!” A.J. whispers as Yasmine lets out a yell, another contraction forcing its way down her small body. “Ok, no hopping in. Just try to get in.” A.J. whispers nervously.

Once all boarded, the vehicle speeds off, the tires squealing and leaving marks on the cement ground.
~*~

Brian laughs as Kevin shuts off the television and glares at him. “Hey did you hear? Get your stuff, we’re heading back to New York.”

“Huh? Why? Is it Yas? What happened?” Brian yells out, rushing to grab his jacket and wallet.

“The baby! She’s going into labor! Nick just called me. They’re all at the hospital now!” Howie yells excitedly.

“Oh wow, already! Wow, it might take a while, its her first kid, usually they take a while coming out. But do you think we can make it on time?” Brian whispers.

Howie shrugs his shoulders, “Rok, you’re a father, you know how long it took for Baylee to come out.”

“I’m sure we’ll be fine. A.J. is in the delivery room with her as we speak.” Kevin whispers, heading out the door with the other two following.

“Ahhh, this has got to exciting, you know they’re freaking now, I’m sure.” Howie gleams as they board a tinted black escalade. Kevin calls their security and driver who appears immediately at Kevin’s request.

“Damn, that’s power man.” Howie whispers, hearing Brian’s chuckles. Kevin laughs as the driver nods and boards the vehicle, pulling away from the studio they were in.

“I’ll call for the tickets, hopefully we can find one for now. I wanna see how everything is going.” Kevin states, leaning back on the cushioned seat.

“Man, wonder how A.J. is taking all this? You know he freaks out when he sees blood, I can’t even imagine what’ll happen when he sees the baby born.” Brian smirks, causing the other men to burst into laughter.

“He’ll probably faint.” Kevin whispers as they enter the highway, miles before they reach the airport.
~*~

“Ok, if you’ll just sign here on the form, everything will be taken care of.” The young RN whispers: handing A.J. a small pile of papers to sign.

“Damn. What the hell? But… ok, fine.” A.J. mutters, grabbing the pen the nurse hands him, singing his name gracefully.

Nick smirks, telling Yasmine a joke as she sits quietly on the wheelchair, waiting to be directed into the maternity ward.

“I’m serious, J, is gonna freak out. He can’t even handle the sight of his own vomit let alone blood. This will be a miracle on his behalf.” Nick whispers into Yasmine’s ear softly, causing the woman to chuckle.

“I’m sure he’s stronger than you think. He’ll be fine. You’ll see.” Yasmine smiles warmly as A.J. sighs happily, placing his hands on the wheelchair handle.

“Ready pumpkin?” A.J. teases.

“Do I have a choice in this matter?”

“Ahhh, no not really.” A.J. jokes, leading her down the white stained hallway with Nick following behind with the nurse.

They reach the double edge doors and the nurse stops in front of them. “Ok, sweetie, this is where the ride ends.” She speaks to the Nick, “Only the mother and father allowed from here on.” She indicted to A.J. and Yasmine.

Nick gulps, “Oh ok. Well I’ll go contact Anya then.”

“Actually you won’t get through, she’s in class so her phone might be off. If you can’t get through with her, just go to the class, its in Rm123A in the east building.” Yasmine whispers as the pain in her abdomen begin again.

The nurse smile and nods her head, “Ahh, the beginnings of motherhood. It’ll be worse before it gets better honey.” She swings open the doors, as A.J. pushes the wheelchair through the door.

“Oh wait! J, you might wanna get this on film. Howie left his camcorder here with me in the suitcase in case this happens. You might wanna film this! In case Faith is ever curious.” Nick grins.

A.J. laughs and grabs the suitcase, “I’m sure this will be a perfect way to tame Faith if she acts up then.”

Yasmine smirks, “You’re gonna film this?”

“If it’s alright with ya momma.” A.J. whispers, wiping a stray raven lock that tickled Yasmine’s cheeks.

Smiling, she nods: “Sure, why not. I can always remember and this will remind me to never get pregnant in the future.”

The others laugh as A.J. waves Nick off. “Yo, I’ll join ya in the waiting room shortly k. Keep a look at for the others guys k?”

“No prob, don’t forget to film it aight?” Nick asks, pointing to him.

“Alright.” A.J. laughs as he disappears behind the swinging doors with Yasmine and the nurse.

“Well, all by my self.” Nick mumbles to himself, passing his hands through his short hair softly. He hears a small gasp coming from behind him as small hands touch his waist.

Slowly turning around, he peers down at a little girl of around seven years of age. Smiling, he kneels down: “Ah hi.”

“Hi.” The curly dark haired girl whispers back.

“Is there anything I can help you with?” Nick whispers gently, watching the little girl shift uncomfortably, blush spreading her light cheeks.

“Um, well my mommy wants to take a picture of you and me. Will that be ok? My mommy said you’re famous. What does that mean?” the child asks.

Nick smiles, “It means a lot of people know who I am. I sing with some friends and we made a lot of songs. A lot of people like our songs so we became famous.” He explains, enjoying the sudden interest the child had, absorbing his words.

“Oh ok. That sounds nice.”

“Yeah it is.” And he feels the small arms touch his shoulders as the mother of the child steps down the hallway with a camera in her hands.

“Is it alright?” The mother of the girl asks.

Nick nods his head, “Sure, sure go right ahead.” And the mother beams snapping the picture and guiding the child away.

“Thanks.” The mother and child say as they exit down the hallway, leaving Nick with a smile on his face.

“Time to get Anya.” He whispers, heading down the waiting room and dialing her number.

Anya glares down at her cell and shakes her head at the number on her cell. “Oh great. Nick why can’t you leave me alone?” She hisses softly to herself, trying to concentrate on the professor giving a detailed lecture and open discussion on the psychological prospects of human relations. Sighing, she looks at her cell and sees a voice message on it. Rolling her eyes, she ignores it and listens intensely to the professor.

Growling, Nick snaps close his phone and mutters, racing out of the hospital to get Anya. “The one time I actually call for ya, you don’t answer.” He grumbles, pulling out the car keys and hops into his vehicle, pulling away from the parking lot.
~*~

Brian settles back on the soft cushioned seat in the first class plane area and sighs softly as the plane takes off. He looks over at Howie who was already sleeping and Kevin who was on the phone with his wife. Smiling, Brian closes his eyes, licking his lips as he raises a cup of wine to his lips.

“Brian.”

“Huh?”

“A.J. left a message on my phone. He’s waiting with Yasmine in her room. She’s doing well in case you’re curious.” Kevin yawns out as he leans back on the leather seat with a smile on his face.

“How do you think Faith will look like?”

Kevin sits up in his seat as he adjust the pillow behind him, “Hopefully like Yasmine. I couldn’t take the fact that she would have to carry that bastard’s father genes.”

“Man I just can’t believe that the cops gave up.” Brian whispers.

“It’s been open for almost a year already and nothing was coming up. I mean the only thing they noticed was that whoever was responsible for such actions got away clean and it was meant for her. They think it was someone who has access to her cause the rapist that was loose was already caught by the time Yasmine was struck.”

“I was talking with her a few weeks ago. I had asked her how she managed to stay strong and she told me it was through God’s grace.” Brian states with a smile on her face.

“Its funny you say that now, its just weird to see a completely different Yasmine from the last time we had all been together years ago. I’m just surprised to see where all this faith came from. She was a complete atheist years ago and now to see her go to church, be apart of a choir, help out in the shelters and hospitals. It really starts to make me think, that God must have done something for her to count on Him so much.”

Howie snaps opens his ears and seats up, nodding his head, “Yeah, He did. Didn’t A.J. tell ya what had happened with her?”

Kevin shakes his head as Brian shrugs his shoulders, “Ah no. He never really went into details.”

Howie sighs and fiddles with his fingers, “Well after her brother’s death, she went into depression and a friend of hers took her to a church service. She felt comforted there and decided that she will dedicate her life to God. She felt guilty about her past and wanted to change. Change not for herself only but for God too. At least that’s what I got when Alex told me.”

“Hmmm…Wow. Well whatever she did that makes her feel happy then good for her.” Kevin whispers, looking out the plane window to see the sparkling sky glitter.

Brian rolls his eyes, “Yeah. Looks like you’re still searching.”

“What?” Kevin mumbles, rolling his emerald eyes over to his cousin.

“Well Yasmine was searching for God in some way and she found him. I found God when I was younger. You though, you haven’t found God yet.” Brian whispers.

Kevin rolls his eyes, “Whatever. You know where I stand in my faith. Don’t bother me about it.”

Howie nibbles on his lower lip hoping the conversation doesn’t turn ugly. Brian had a way of getting under the other’s skin about their beliefs and Kevin wasn’t one to hold his tongue about it.

“Why you get all touchy about it? You act like God did something to you.” Brian mumbles, hearing Howie suck in a deep breath.

Kevin leans his head back on the soft cushion pillow behind and close his eyes, “Let’s just drop this k? You get too into it. It’s not a big deal for me.

“Well to me and Yasmine it is.” Brian whispers, kicking his legs up on the seat beside him.

“Leave that girl out of it k, Brian.” Kevin growls softly.

Brian glances at Howie who has his eyes wide open. Clearing his throat, he smiles and tries to change the subject.

“Well Brian, uh maybe we can figure out the schedule for the next tour, you know we have a lot of planning for that as well as the interviews.” Howie whispers, his coffee eyes glance at Kevin who looks like he’s lost in his own thoughts.

Brian smirk, “Fine, whatever. Since I seem to have offended Kevin.”

Kevin growls loudly and sits up, “Ok that’s it. Brian what the hell do you really what to tell me huh? I’m so damn sorry I’m not like you: holy and pure as you claim you are!” He mocks Brian and continues his rage, “God Brian I just don’t give a…”

He’s cut off as a stewardess interrupts the men, “Hello gentlemen, sorry to be disturbing you. I was just ask to keep your voices down, the other customers are getting aggravated.”

“Ha! Well screw the other customers! I paid just like everyone else and if I want to yell, curse, sing or do whatever, I will.” Kevin growls out, narrowing his eyes at Brian’s direction.

The stewardess feeling distressed, backs away and nods her head: “Ver, very well sir.” And she disappears behind the curtain that separated the first class from the other areas.

“What the hell was that Kevin?” Howie yells out, no longer watching the rage erupting between the two band mates.

“I, I don’t know. Sorry. I’m just feeling like Brian is pointing fingers at everyone else instead of looking at himself. I’m not the only bad guy here Brian. Hell, I don’t think I was ever a bad guy in your life. Whenever you needed help, who was there for you huh?”

Brian sighs, gazing quietly at the rug below him. “You were.” He whispers, scrolling his eyes across the blue rug.

“Yeah, I thought so.” Kevin whispers softly, sighing, he leans back into his seat.

Howie exhales and sighs, “Man who would have a thought that when you mention God, things get antsy like this.”

Kevin smiles towards Howie, “Yeah well maybe B had a point. I left my ego get in the way. I’m not gonna lie, Yasmine has been the happiest since she started. And it has to be her faith guiding her.”

“Whoa, wait! You’re agreeing with me now?” Brian asks shocked.

Kevin laughs, “Sort of. But don’t let it get to your head now. I can’t have you walking around thinking your right, that will ruin my leadership in the group.”

Howie and Brian burst into laughter as the tension now disappears, leaving the guys at peace.

“Glad you guys settled this before we got off the plane. Otherwise, Yasmine wouldn’t have that.” Howie teases, getting playful dirty looks at his direction. “What?You know that girl can sense things?”

“Really? Think she can sense we’re about to beat you down?” Kevin grins playfully, picking up a pillow from behind him as Brian does the same.

Howie smiles and extends his hands out to block for any surprise hits, “Hell even I can even sense that.” As their laughter, a mist the pillow hitting, bubble in the area.
~*~

She smiles and leans back on the cushioned pillow happily. “Ummmm… This is sweet.” She whispers to herself as A.J. plops himself on the seat next to her hospital bed.

“I can tell you’re loving the drugs the doctors gave you.”

Laughing, she smiles at him, “Oh Alex, wow. It’s like a legal ecstasy. You could get hooked to this pleasant feeling.” She giggles, eyeing the IV hooked on the top of her palm.

A.J. shakes his head playfully, “Hey now. Don’t go there.”

She smirks and reaches from under the smooth white covers to grab his left hand. “Thank you for being here. It means so much for me.”

“Ahh, Yasmine you know Anya would have been here if I couldn’t make it. You’re not going through this alone. I would never leave you alone.”

Giggling, she smirks, “Ahh thanks. And I will never leave you alone. Plus now that we have little Faith coming, I’m sure we’ll see each other around more than you think.”

The white door to her maternity room opens as Anya and Nick who is now filming with the camera enter. Nick had managed to get the camcorder out of the luggage before finding Anya.

Laughing, Yasmine sits up in bed, placing her hands on her lap. “Hey you made it back here!”

“Yeah, the nurse said it was all good.” Anya whispers, racing over to her room mate’s side and pulling up a chair besides A.J.’s.

“Man it was a pain to get Anya to come. I had to get her out the class. You don’t know the harassment I got for bursting through the middle of the class to yank Anya out!” Nick explains as Anya laughs.

“Yeah you should have seen it. It was too funny. He comes through the door and marches down the rows, whispering if anyone knows where I’m sitting. The professor saw him and asked if he had a question.” Anya smirks, her hazel eyes glittering at the memory.

“I just said na and that I has lost something on the floor. The old man kept giving me weird looks. Anyways, I found Anya and whispered it to her after climbing over a few rows!”

Yasmine laughs, “You what!”

“Yeah, he’s such a lunatic. But he found a seat next to me and told me about ya. In a minute we both raced out of there as the entire class whistles and hollered about a Backstreet Boy getting lucky tonight.” Anya laughs, finishing the explanation.

A.J. shakes his head as Yasmine burst into a bright laughter.

Nick smirks and points the camcorder at Yasmine’s direction. “Hey Yas, smile at the camera for Faith.”

Yasmine smirks and crosses her eyes at that camera’s direction. “Hey Baby!” She gently waves to the camera and smiles.

Nick laughs, “Hey A.J. read the stuff Brian gave ya for Yas.”

“Oh right. Hold up. Let me find it.” A.J. digs through his pockets, pulling out a wrinkled sheet of paper. “Alright Faith.” He peers at the camera with a smirk on his face. “Uncle Brian thought it was nice to find some cool stuff with your name in it. It’s in the Bible if you ever want to check it out, k.”

Yasmine laughs, “Oh cool. Alex you said the word Bible without getting struck by lightening, God must be pleased with you!”

“Shut up!” A.J. laughs, sticking his tongue out as he spreads out the paper with writing on it. “K, Faith, check this out.” A.J. clears his throat playfully as the others snicker. “We live by faith, not by sight.” He whispers out, “That would be in uh, what the heck did I write there? Oh yeah that’s in second Corinthians five verse uhhh, seven yeah that’s it!” He grins widely displaying his teeth.

Yasmine claps her hands. “Uhhh, that’s so sweet. I’m sure she will love that. You heard that baby. We live for ya!” She whispers to the camcorder.

The nurse enters and smiles, “My what a company. We’ll have to clear this area for a moment, we gotta check the mother to be. You guys can come back shortly.” Anya and Nick nod, waving and laughing as they exit the room.

A.J. shakes his head, “I don’t know those weirdos.”

Yasmine laughs as the nurse checks the drugs given to her and exits stating she’ll be right back.

“K, hey that was cool. What else did Brian give ya?”

“Oh like three more scriptures.” A.J. whispers, stroking her gentle locks through his fingers.

“Oh read it.”

“I want it to go on camera though. So I'll read it later on again for the camera."

"Mommy wants to hear it now.”

Laughing A.J. nods and whispers the next one to her, “Brian found her name in Hebrew eleven, verse one: Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.”

“Ahhh, that’s so cool! You got to read that over for the camera. That’s a great one.” Yasmine beams as she waits for A.J. to continue.

“K the last two are Galations five, I think part of verse six or something. But anyway, B told me it says, ‘The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.’

Yasmine smiles and nods her head, “Brian’s got a good head on his shoulders.” Finish it up.”

“Aight, and Ephesians two verse eight states, ‘For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.’ A.J. finishes off, seeing a soft tear swell in Yasmine’s eyes.

“What was it that bad?”

Laughing, Yasmine shakes her head, “Oh God no! It was so beautiful. I have to thank Brian for that. And you.” She smiles as her heart races at what she will reveal, “A.J. I’ve been doing a lot of thinking these past few days and my heart is telling me something that I guess I’ve been in denial for. But I think I’m falling in love with you.”

A.J. blushes and scrolls over her face. He couldn’t find the words to say: choking out the only thing he could manage, “You mean that?” He couldn’t believe it, it was true, he can make the most perfect angel in his eyes, fall for him. He sat in shock as he tries to find his voice again. His heart literally stopped beating for that one moment as he sat in silence letting the words sink into him.

“Yeah.” She whispers, leaning over to give him a peck on his cheek.

Smiling, he blushes and watches her, his heart literally leaping into somersaults. The nurse enters again distracting A.J. from his sudden emotional trip.

“We’re gonna watch over you. It may take a few hours, usually first births last from 12 to 15 hours.” The nurse whispers, hearing Yasmine gasp.

“Man, just when I thought the worst was over.” Yasmine grumbles.

A.J. smirks, “Don’t worry babe, I’ll be here with ya the rest of the entire way.”

Yasmine smiles, whispering a soft “thanks” and blushing: knowing her emotions were now told and out in the open. Now it depends on what A.J. will do with that , that will seal his fate with hers. The nurse goes about her business on checking on the soon to be mother as the couple watch lost in their thoughts and emotions.
~*~

Brian races out of breath down the airline terminal as the other two catch up. “We’re gonna make it man!” He checks his watch, two hours since they boarded down in Florida.

“Whoo hoo!” Howie shouts, “Wait, we should get something for the baby and mommy.”

“A.J. bought everything there was for that child, what doesn’t she need?” Brian asks, gazing around the crowded airport.

Laughing, Kevin nods, “He’s right, A.J. got more things that I can think of for Faith and she’s not even blood related to him.”

“Man I’m so proud of A.J. for taking such a responsibility. I mean, he quickly accepted to be a part of this unknown child’s life with out caring about the possibilities.” Howie smiles, placing a bouquet of flowers on the store counter while Brian tossed some snacks and teddy bears with it.

Kevin smirks, “Yeah, you learn something new about a person everyday. Well I’ll get the balloons then.”

“Yup, J sure did surprise us. To think you know everything about a person and there he goes and does something none of us would ever have thought of.” Brian smirks, snapping gum in Kevin’s face on purpose.

Rolling his eyes, Kevin asks for a dozen pink and yellow balloons to be filled up.

“Wait, we are getting it for the baby, not A.J. right?” Howie smirks noting the large yellow helium plastic balloons getting filled up.

“Hey if he wants some, why not? He’s the new daddy after all.” Kevin smiles: paying for the balloons, handing his credit card over to the cashier.

“Yeah, guess he needs some balloons to pull him up. He’s been down and about lately you know, fighting with how he should feel about Yas.” Howie whispers, paying in cash for the flowers.

“You think those two will ever get together?” Brian asks, grabbing the shopping bag with the items in it as Howie takes the wrapped bouquet of flowers in his hands.

“With those two, you never know.” Kevin smiles, grabbing the over filled balloons that had made it difficult for them to leave the store.

Laughing, the three head out the store: the balloons ducking and popping up all around them as they walk to hail a taxi to take them to the hospital.
~**~

**~To Be Continued…~**