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Author's Chapter Notes:
Added 10/12. Please read and review. :)

Thursday, March 20, 2008
10:27 AM

AJ woke up from sleeping and realized something. 'Shit! I can't believe it! I've gotta get it together!' Yep, he'd fallen asleep with his contacts still in...again. That was the second time this week! Frustrated, he got up and went to the master bathroom to take them out and put his glasses on for the time being. On top of that, he was just a tiny bit hungover from the night before. He took some Tylenol for his headache and went downstairs, grumbling to himself the whole way there.

Jordan was on the living room couch watching cartoons. "'Morning, J. You feeling better?" he asked.

God, he swore that smile could melt the hardest heart. "G'morning, Daddy. Yeah, Mommy says I'm not hot anymore." He gave AJ a hug.

AJ returned the hug and ruffled Jordan's hair. "I'm gonna go see what Mommy's doing. Have you had breakfast?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, I'll be right back."

"Well, good morning, sunshine," Kim said as she heard him come into the kitchen. AJ gave her a peck on the cheek and went to the coffee pot to get himself some while it was still hot. Kim looked over to him, concerned. "Are you okay, Alex?"

"Oh. Uh, yeah. I'm okay." he said as he added some cream and sugar to his coffee. He sat down at the island and took a sip of it. Kim sat down also and just looked at him.

"Let me guess...you forgot to take your contacts out again, didn't you?" she questioned.

AJ sighed. "Yeah, the redness should go away in a couple of hours." he responded, referring to his irritated eyes. "And I'm a little hungover," he admitted. Kim shot him a look. "It's just a headache," he said, hopefully blowing it over. He continued to drink his coffee.

"Whatever. Are you still gonna take Jordan out today?" she asked him, annoyed.

AJ didn't appreciate her tone. "What crawled up your ass and died?"

"Excuse me? I ask you to do one thing for me, one thing and you can't even do that, Alex."

"What was that again, 'cause I probably don't remember it either," he snorted back.

"I told you not to get wasted last night."

"I didn't! I only had two glasses of Jack at the bar, call up Reneé or Chris if you don't believe me. And to answer your first question, yes." AJ took his coffee cup and walked out of the kitchen. He went to the office down the hallway and shut the door.

'Wow, that was a stupid argument.' he thought to himself as he relaxed in the computer chair. 'But if she wouldn't jump to conclusions, maybe I wouldn't get so pissed.' He turned his attention to the computer screen and checked a few things, like his e-mail and bank account.
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An hour later, there was a soft knock at the door. "Alex? Can I come in?" It was Kim, who else would it be? He looked up from the screen. "Yeah."

She walked over to him, sat on his lap, and traced the edges of his wire rim glasses with her finger. "I like you in these, they make you look even more sexy." she stated gently.

"Is this supposed to be some new form of seduction?" he asked.

"Is it working?"

"Kinda..."

She kissed him. "Baby, about earlier—"

He put a finger to her lips. "Shush. No need to apologize, I was an ass, too. Love you."

"I love you." She kissed him again. "So, what have you been doing in here all by your lonesome self?"

"Nothing, just checking some stuff, trying to relax." He exhaled sharply.

"Awww...well, at least you have a nice break at home where you belong. Are we coming to Europe with you this time?"

"How can I say no? You know how much I miss you and J when you're not with me."

"Speaking of him, let's go see what he's up to. Have you decided where you wanna take him?"

AJ shook his head. "No, I'll let him choose. I'll do whatever he wants to."

"I'm sure he'll like that plan."

They both left the room to find Jordan still watching cartoons. They both sat beside him on the couch. Kim spoke first. "Guess what, J? You get to spend the whole day with Daddy! Doesn't that sound fun?" AJ joined in. "Yeah, and we'll do whatever you want. No complaints from me, okay?"

"Awesome! I'm gonna go get ready!" Jordan raced upstairs and they both heard his door shut.

Kim chuckled. "I'll go help him get dressed."

AJ followed her up the stairs and went to their walk-in closet to find something to wear. He picked out a pair of jeans and a vintage t-shirt, along with a beanie hat and his black Chuck Taylors. He decided to keep his glasses on instead of putting in new contacts. He went to the master bathroom and took a quick shower, then changed and was ready to leave.

Jordan was already downstairs waiting for him. They said goodbye to Kim and left for what was going to be an exciting day.

"So, what do you wanna do first, J? Actually, can daddy get some breakfast somewhere, do you mind?"

Jordan shook his head. "No."

A few minutes later, AJ pulled into the local McDonald's drive-thru and ordered himself an Egg McMuffin, a hash brown, and a small orange juice. He parked and ate and then they were off again.

"So, where's our first stop going to be, little man?"

Jordan appeared to be deep in thought, then answered. "The toy store!" he exclaimed happily.

AJ grinned. "The toy store it is, then."

When they arrived at 'the toy store,' AKA Toys "R" Us, Jordan practically dragged AJ to the bike section. He was a bit surprised at his son's sudden interest in getting a bicycle.

"I didn't know you wanted one of these, J."

"I've been begging Mommy to take me here for forever Daddy. Can I have one? Please?" he begged.

"Of course you can, buddy, go on and pick one out. Take your time."

AJ must have missed out on Jordan's bike aspirations while he was on tour, which made him feel a little bit sad. Come to think of it, Jordan was four after all, it was time for him to get a bike anyway. He must have followed Jordan around for about twenty minutes before he finally stopped in front of one.

"Daddy, Daddy! I want this one! Can I get it?" he asked. Jordan picked out a sixteen-inch Mongoose that was black with flames on it that had training wheels of course.

"I love it, J! Good choice! Gimme five." He did. "Alright. Do you wanna look for something else now? When we're done, we'll go pay for the bike okay?"

"Okay." Jordan took AJ's hand and they went to look through some of the aisles. He picked out some new toy trucks and chopper motorcycles. "Just like your old dad." he winked. AJ could tell Jordan was getting antsy to have his bike, so they went back and got it and took their purchases to the register.

The cashier Sandy knew AJ and Jordan well. "Is this your new bike, Jordan?" He nodded excitedly. "It's very cool! I'm sure your daddy is going to show you how to ride it and everything!"

"Yep! Thank you, Daddy!" He gave AJ a big hug. "You're welcome, J."

Sandy rang up the rest of their purchases and sent them on their way. "Have a great day, you two, see you soon!"

"You too, Sandy." said AJ and Jordan waved goodbye.

Once everything was loaded in the back of the car, they were off to wherever Jordan wanted to go next.

"Now what do you wanna do, Jordan?"

"Go play with Baylee!"

"I don't know, J, Baylee might be busy today. I'll call Uncle Brian to see if they are or not, okay?"

Jordan nodded.

AJ pulled into a parking lot and called Brian from his cell phone.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Brian, it's me."

"Hey, man, what's up?" Brian said as he coughed a little.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah. I just have a cold or something."

AJ said in a dramatic voice, "Oh no, is it the 'Backstreet Cold'?"

Brian chuckled. "God, I hope not. I'd hate to get everyone sick while we're on this break or right before we go back on the road."

"Tell me about it. Your headache still there?"

"Yeah. Ugh."

"So, I take it you're not up to having visitors today?"

Jordan frowned.

He sighed. "No, why?"

"Me and Jordan are spending the day together and since I'm doing what he wants to do, he wanted to play with Baylee now and I wanted to see if you guys were free." AJ explained.

"We are, but, I'm really not feeling well. I'm just trying to keep Baylee occupied so I can rest."

"I can take him off your hands for the day if you want. He's feeling okay, right?"

"Ha'choo! Ha'CHOO! Ugh. Yeah, he's fine." Brian blew his nose into a tissue.

"Bless you. We're on our way over. Do you need me to pick up anything for you since we're already out?"

"You don't have to do that." Brian protested.

"No, it's okay. What do you need? Soup? Tissues? NyQuil? Ginger ale?"

He sniffled. "Um...can you get me some tissues? Puffs, with lotion. Those are the best. Add some cherry NyQuil, I'm almost out. Oh, and some chocolate ice cream."

"Jeez, anything else? I'm just kiddin'. Is that all?"

"Yeah."

"Okay. Sit tight, we'll be over in a bit."

"Alright, bye."

AJ hung up and turned to Jordan. "Well, J, Uncle Brian's not feeling good so you can't go play over there. But Baylee is coming with us so he can rest. Okay?"

"Okay, Daddy." Jordan said happily.

"First, we have to go buy some things for Uncle Brian. Then, we'll go to his house to pick up Baylee."

AJ and Jordan stopped at the local Walgreens and went inside. They grabbed Brian's requested items and some extra things for them and went to the register. Once they paid for everything they left for Brian's house.