~April 30, 2003~

AJ had just run to the store, leaving Katie to relax on the couch, her ever growing belly protruding out in front of her.  The previous several months had gone by in such a blur, yet the finish line still seemed so far away.

She was already about halfway through the pregnancy, but so much had happened that she didn't feel like it could've been that long.

Katie had headphones placed carefully over her belly, as she did daily, letting the babies listen to their daddy and uncles.  She was pretending to read her book, but her mind wouldn't let her concentrate.  She kept going over the events of the past several months...

"Okay, so what are we going to do here? People are going to really start asking questions.  She's been missing from so many events that it's becoming increasingly obvious that something's not right," AJ asked.  AJ, Katie and Kevin were sitting in AJ and Katie's living room trying to make a decision.  The people that the label had hired were no help making ridiculous suggestions.  It would be best for everyone involved if the decision was made on the inside.

"What do you two want to do?" Kevin asked.

AJ looked at Katie for her opinion. She was sitting on the couch with her legs propped up on the coffee table in front of the couch and her hand rubbing protectively over her slightly rounded belly.  She was 12 weeks now, safely through her first trimester.  The risky period had passed and Katie was becoming more comfortable with the prospect of making the announcement.  Nothing had gone wrong, but it would be difficult to go out without anyone noticing.

"I can't let you sit around this house any more.  I miss you going to things with me.  I miss you being there."

Katie sat quietly for a second, making her final decision, "I'm ready.  The doctor said it was okay to start telling people...I think it's time."

"Okay, then it's decided.  We'll tell them all of it at the same time. We'll tell them the truth.  I proposed to you on Christmas and then we found out about a month later that we were pregnant."

"What about why we waited to say something?"

The three sat in silence for a few minutes, each trying to spin this so the media and fans wouldn't hate them.

"It's a high-risk pregnancy.  You wanted to be sure you were safe before making any announcements," Kevin suggested.

"If people can't deal with our wanting a little privacy until we were sure things were good...then they don't really care about us," AJ decided.

Katie couldn't believe that he would do that.  That was a big f you to some people.  That was something that could potentially screw up his career.  And he was willing to do it because he loved her and their babies.  She knew even more then that they were meant to be together forever.

Katie's mind wandered to the day she first saw the announcement on MTV...

"John Norris here for MTV News. I have some big Backstreet Boys News. Sorry to tell you Backstreet fans, but a third Backstreet Boy has been claimed, big time. Backstreet Bad Boy proposed to his girlfriend Katie Sullivan this past Christmas morning.  One month later, the newly engaged discovered that they were pregnant...with two. That's right girls, Backstreet Bad Boy, AJ Mclean is going to be a daddy to two. We just recently talked to AJ about his news and this is what he had to say to us..."

The screen switched to AJ, "We weren't sure how fans would react to my being engaged and becoming a father, but Katie makes me happy.  We have two babies coming this fall and we couldn't be more excited.  The rest of the guys are extremely happy for us and very supportive.  I hope the fans can be the same way!"

Katie was silently sitting next to him on the screen, listening to what he had to say.

Finally she spoke up, "AJ makes me so happy, and I couldn't be more proud to be giving him these babies.  I guess I just want all of his fans to know that I think you are all amazing.  He wouldn't be who he is or where he is without you all.  We really hope you can all be happy for us. He won't stop being AJ because we get married or have these babies.  Neither of those things will change his voice, and there is no way I would ever ask him to stop singing. He loves it, I would never dream of trying to take that away from him or the Backstreet fans. I was there once, and I couldn't imagine how upset I would be if some girl came in and demanded one of the guys stop singing."

The picture switched back to John Norris, "Well, you heard it here first. For more news on this and other stories log on to MTV.com.

Katie re-adjusted her position.  She lay back lay on the couch, rubbing her stomach, and talking to the babies, "When is your daddy coming home?"

Her mind wandered off to the day three weeks earlier, the day they found out what they were having...

The doctor spread the goop across Katie's belly just like she'd done at the first appointment.  She shivered as the cold goop touched her belly, and the excitement took over.  She was going to get to see her babies, and she might finally get to know what they were.

"Would you like to know the sexes of the babies?" the doctor turned to them.

Katie nodded quickly and squeezed AJ's hand.

"But we only want to know if you can tell us what they both are," AJ added.

They'd discussed at length whether or not they would find out the sexes.  Katie desperately wanted to know, but they'd decided that they would only find out if they could find out both for sure.

"Let's see here.  We've got baby A...good.  And baby B...perfect," She turned the screen to show them, "Baby A is right here.  She looks great."

"She?  A girl?!?" Katie squealed.

The doctor nodded, smiling, and moved the probe a little and pointed back to the screen, "And here's baby B.  He is big and strong."

"A boy?" AJ grinned.

"Congratulations Alex and Katie, you are having a boy and a girl."

Katie grinned at the memory.  She felt the babies move just as AJ walked into the living room.  She pulled the headphones off over her belly and rubbed her hand up and down it.

"Hey babe!  I got that juice you like," he announced, proud of himself for remembering.

Katie wasn't paying much attention to him.  She was preoccupied with the movement in her belly.  She'd felt it a million times already, but it was always from the inside.  This time she felt the little kicks on her hand.

"Omigod! Alex, come here! Someone is kicking!"

 AJ dropped the bag and ran over to her.  Katie grabbed his hand and placed it right where she'd felt the kicks, "There, feel that?"

AJ's jaw dropped in awe, "Wow! One of our babies is kicking!"

Katie grinned, so happy that he was finally able to feel it, too.

"Does it hurt?"

"No, it actually feels kind of cool."

AJ got comfortable on the couch next to her.  He rested his head on her belly, his hand moving around trying to feel another kick.  It was all really real now.  There were two little babies in there, and it was all real to him now.