Chapter 23

(Tuesday May 9'th, 9 a.m.)

The week from hell was ending with a bang.

Looking out the bus window at the endless sea of traffic in front of them Caity knew there was no way she would ever make the press conference scheduled for 10 at the Coliseum in Biloxi. They were still a good hour or more away and the traffic situation on I-10 showed no signs of improving any time soon.

Thinking she should have known that something like this would happen, after all, the last week had been a series of bad piled upon awful, until even her eternally optimistic sister-in-law Stacey had admitted defeat, exclaiming simply, "This sucks." Grinning at the memory, Cait reflected back, knowing that it had all begun with the National Enquirer article that had appeared on Monday. Things had gone steadily downhill after that.

Tuesday, she had awoken to a phone call from her brother Marc, asking her exactly what the hell was going on down there in Orlando. When she had sleepily inquired as to what he was talking about, he had informed her that every entertainment page on the net was carrying the story of her and Joey's "blooming love."

She had gotten out of bed in a hurry then, only to turn on the computer to see that he was exactly right, her supposed relationship with Joe was all over the net. The story was, like the Enquirer one, brief, though this one quoted a source "close to Michaels", as saying that the relationship had begun as early as February. The pictures here were, however, more of the same. Joey driving a jet ski with Caity holding on tightly behind him, the two of them playing in a small grassy area behind the Lakeland Center with Chewie. He and Cait walking side by side into the center, with her wearing his Superman hat. But it was the final one that made the article look true. It was a picture of Caity, obviously whispering something in his ear, his hand cupping the back of her neck. Joey was grinning sexily, making it look as if she had whispered something suggestive to him, when in fact if she remembered correctly, she had been telling him what she had gotten Lance for his birthday. Unfortunately, Joey always had a sexy grin, no matter what you were telling him, so it did indeed look like the two of them had shared an intimate secret.

She hadn't known whether to laugh or cry, She'd done neither, only told her brother that she would have to call him back and had called JC. He had told her not to worry, it would all blow over soon and that they would talk about it more that night on their date, the date that had never happened. They were supposed to have met at her house at seven, but Cait had received a call from her doctor telling her he had seen something on her last x-ray that he had not liked and he wanted her to go to the hospital for a MRI. She had not been done until late, then had met with the doctor to go over the results. They had not been good. It now appeared, that not only had she bruised and sprained her knee, but she had also suffered a small ligament tear. There would be no rehearsing for her before the tour started, and if the doctor had his way, she wouldn't be doing much dancing for the first four to six weeks of the tour. She had spent the better part of an hour and a half arguing with him about that. By the time she had made it home, it was well past seven and JC had fallen asleep on her couch. They had talked a little about Joey, and he had seemed fine about it… then.

He had agreed, though reluctantly, when they had all gathered at Jive early Wednesday, that it probably would not be a good idea for her to travel to Mississippi for Lance's birthday. She had been surprised at that, as he had been looking forward to them spending some time together at Lance's house. But, Stephen, Brian, and Johnny had all argued that her traveling with them, at this point, would only add fuel to the, "Joey situation", as it was being called, so the decision had been made that she would stay behind in Orlando.

It hadn't mattered that she had skipped the trip, the story was still all over the media. Access Hollywood carried the story, Inside Edition had it as their main feature and Entertainment Tonight had even found some of the shop owners from Cait and Joey's first shopping trip back in February, who had talked about how happy the young couple had seemed together.

The longer it had gone on, the quieter JC had become. It didn't help that he was so far away. If they were together, he seemed able to handle it better, being apart was hard for her, but somehow it seemed much worse for him. They hadn't seen each other since the 3^rd when he had left to fly to Lance's hometown with the others, and though he called everyday, it didn't seem to help, his mood swings were becoming more apparent the longer they were apart. He had offered to come back to be with her so that she didn't have to face it alone, but she had encouraged him to stay there. He was entitled to some peace and God knew he wouldn't get that by coming back to Orlando, so she had gone it alone, and had hated it the whole time.

The weekend had been fairly quiet press wise, though she had been busy doing last minute tour things. There had been final wardrobe fittings on Saturday, which had been horrible. She had hated everything, though she had picked most of the clothing out herself. Nothing fit right; she hated the colors, why had they gone with leather pants that she could barely move in. Her list of complaints had been endless, until Dani had pulled her aside and threatened her with her life if she didn't knock it off. She had made her take a thirty-minute break to cool off; things had been better after that. Thank God, she had worked with the same wardrobe people for several years, and they had willingly accepted her apology for her behavior. Otherwise, she would have had to contend with stories about her "Diva" behavior too.

Sunday she'd had the photo shoot from hell for Cosmo. She had been looking forward to being on the cover since Brian had told her about it in early April, that was, until she had found out who the photographer was a few days before the shoot. Michael Jacobs was an egomaniac and everyone knew it. They had worked together once before and though the pictures had been wonderful, they had both barely survived the shoot. She had shown up prepared for trouble; she hadn't had to wait long. It had begun when she had walked out in the first outfit he had brought for the shoot, saying she couldn't wear the shirt because it was too short and her bra showed. He had informed her that she was not supposed to wear a bra, to which she had responded then he could just find her a different shirt, because she was not having her picture take with the bottom of her breasts hanging out. It had declined steadily from there. His assistant's blood pressure had to have been through the roof by the time they were done, but they had she thought now, gotten some great shots in. She had sworn when it was over, that she didn't care if she never got on another cover again for the rest of her career, she would not, under any circumstances, work with that "idiot" again.

Monday hadn't started out bad. Sandy, her receptionist friend from Jive, had started work as her new personal secretary/assistant, something that made Cait extremely happy. She had known Sandy for years and she was someone that Cait could trust implicitly. Caity had made sure she had talked to Stephen before stealing Sandy away, not wanting to cause any hard feelings there. It had not been a problem for him, as he had finally been told what was going on between Caity and Brian, and had wanted her to have someone who was fully on her side. Sandy had fit the bill perfectly, she was discreet, charming, knew the business well from her years at Jive, and most of all, she had no association with Brian. It had been an easy decision all around to move her over to Cait's team. Sandy had been a little hesitant at first, she had two sons aged 10 and 12, and had not been sure about leaving them for an extended period.

Fortunately, she had maintained a great relationship with her ex-husband, who had encouraged her to not miss this opportunity. They shared joint custody of the boys so they had rooms at their father's house, which were only blocks away from where he and Sandy had lived while married. It would give them easy access to their things if they needed anything, they would continue to go to their school uninterrupted and their after school care program would remain the same. Sandy and Cait had worked it out so that she would fly home every 4 to 5 days to see them and the boys would be joining the tour for 2 to 3 weeks at the end of the school year. They thought it was a great adventure, their mom was working with celebrities, they would get to travel on a tour bus, and Mandy Moore, one of their favorite singers, would be joining the tour for several shows right around the same time as they did. They had been excited to say the least, though there had been a few tears when they had said their good-byes late yesterday afternoon.

God, she thought, rubbing tiredly at her eyes, had it really only been yesterday afternoon, that they had started out on their way to Biloxi. It was beginning to feel as though she had been on this bus for weeks. What they had thought would be a fairly easy ten-hour drive had been anything but. They had sent the rest of Cait's crew, including Dani and Mar off early Monday morning, Cait had stayed behind with Sandy and Joel so that she could have some final x-rays done before the tour started. The doctor's appointment had gone smoothly, with no surprises. Her knee was slowly healing, though they would definitely be going with the alternate dance routines for at least the first several weeks of the tour. Her doctor had felt that if she wore a brace while not on stage and took it easy during the shows, she could possibly, be back in full swing by the beginning of June. She fervently hoped he was right, she was a singer first, but she also loved performing the dance routines.

They had planned on leaving Jive at eight, figuring that would get them into Biloxi at around six a.m. It would require that they sleep on the bus, but Cait had felt she would rather do that than fly. She would be flying enough going back to Orlando to have her knee checked out and she would rather spend, as little time in the air, as was humanly possible. So, off they had set, arriving at Jive a good hour before the bus was due to leave. Their things, having been brought there earlier in the day, were already on board, all they had to do was say their final good-byes to the few people gathered and they were on their way.

Unfortunately, it hadn't worked out quite that easily. Somehow, the press had gotten wind that Cait would be leaving at a different time than the others, when that time was and they had been waiting for her at Jive, in masse. It had taken a good thirty minutes to get the car through the gate, then another forty-five to get the good-byes out of the way, fifteen more before the police finally arrived to control the crowd of reporters and fans that had gathered. And then, an additional forty-five minutes waiting for them to actually get the crowd under control. Sitting on the bus, watching the spectacle, Caity had turned to Sandy and uttered, "Welcome to my nightmare." It had been closer to ten than eight, when they'd finally gotten under way.

Sandy and Joel had been exhausted, and they'd both immediately hit their respective bunks, but Cait had been too wound up to sleep. Knowing she would be arriving at the Coliseum very close to the time of the press conference, she'd told herself that she should at least go lie down, try to get some rest, but instead had picked up the phone needing to hear JC's voice.

The conversation had started out well enough, though he had seemed, less than sympathetic, to all that had transpired. Figuring he was tired, anxious about the first show, and it was late, she'd tried to ignore his attitude. It had worked for a time, until she had mentioned that there had been some N Sync fans at Jive who had yelled some pretty nasty things to her. His vague "Oh yeah," had set her teeth on edge. Sighing now, she remembered, what had transpired after that.

She honestly didn't know where things were headed with her and JC, but she was not going to quietly sit by and wait until he was done being "moody". If this was going to work, he needed to be there for her as much as he wanted her there for him. Somehow, she hoped he realized that before it was too late. Glancing again, out at the endless sea of traffic, she wondered what he was doing right now.

"Hey Scoop, you got a minute." Hating to interrupt, when he could clearly see that Lance was up to his elbows in paperwork, but needing to talk, JC walked farther into the room closing the door softly behind him.

Having noticed JC's solemn mood earlier, Lance sets aside the paper he was reading. "Sure, what's on your mind?"

"Cait's not talking to me." Restlessly moving from one corner of the room to the next, he finally stopped at a keyboard that was set up in the corner, lightly running his fingers over the keys. "She called last night, I was in a crappy mood and I acted like an "idiot" as Joey likes to call me." Sighing he began to play out a tune. "I think, this time, she's really fed up with me, she hung up without really saying too much and I haven't heard from her since."

"Have you tried calling her?" Knowing JC, Lance already knew the answer to that, but figured that he could be wrong. JC's next words told him that wasn't the case.

"I don’t know what to say." Closing the lid on the keyboard, he began roaming again. "Logically, I know this whole thing with Joey is just stupid, but I can't seem to make myself stop questioning it every time I see new pictures or hear another reporter talk about it. Cait senses that."

"I imagine she would. JC, do you trust her?"

"I think so."

"You think so? What does that mean? Either you do or you don't."

"Yeah I trust her, and I know I'm acting crazy, but I can't seem to stop."

"Maybe you're feeling like this because she means more to you than you're letting yourself admit." Leaning back, he studied his clearly troubled friend. "Has it occurred to you, that you might be pushing her away a little, because she is so important to you and that kind of scares you. Cause I know that you don't really believe something is going on between her and Joey."

Settling into a chair JC began tapping his fingers on the armrest, unable to sit still. "I'm in love with her." He blurted out in a rush, "And it's the best and worst feeling I've ever had."

"Why the worst?"

"Because I have so much to lose now if it doesn't work out. I mean I loved Kelly, but not like this, this is…" He trailed off, not knowing how to describe it.

"This is what you've always hoped for? Is that what you're trying to say?"

Nodding his head, JC asked, in a barely audible voice, "What if it doesn't work?"

"What if it does?" Leaning forward, Lance questioned him, "What if this turns out to be for a lifetime, JC? What if she stands by you through everything? What if when all of this," He indicated their surroundings, "is gone you turn around and she's still there? Caity is the person who is going to be all those things for you C. Do you know what I would give to have someone like that in my life?"

"Yeah I think I do, because I would have given the same things." Returning to his pacing, he stopped, and smacked himself in the head. "God, Joey is right, I am an idiot. She's all I ever wanted and I'm letting my hang-ups from Kelly keep me from reaching out for it."

"I think you're right, but JC, it's understandable in a way. I mean what Kelly did would make anyone cautious to try again. The thing is, eventually you have to get past that and move on. Do you think she feels the same about you? That she loves you, I mean."

Motioning his uncertainty with his hands, he sat back down. "I think so, though she's never said it. But she's shown it, I just haven't wanted to let myself believe, I guess."

"Do both of you a favor, tell her what you just told me. We have to take risks sometimes, C."

"What if I'm wrong, what if she doesn't love me?"

Grinning at the pathetic expression JC was sending his way Lance shook his head. "You are so neurotic, you know that right? Think about the past two months, JC. Think about what she's done and hasn't done, then ask yourself that question. I think you'll like the answer you come up with." Picking up his papers, he glanced at his watch. "Now, get out of here so I can finish this before the press conference."

Making his way to the door JC looked back at Lance's bent head. "Lance?" He waited until Lance looked over at him to say, "Thanks."

Cait was startled out of her reverie by the gentle touch of Sandy's hand on her shoulder as she place a cup of tea next to her. Smiling her thanks, Caitlyn sipped at the sweetened tea.

"You doing okay?" Keeping her eye on her new boss, Sandy frowned at the dark circles under her eyes. "Maybe you should go back and lie down again. This doesn't look like it's going to clear up for awhile."

"I don't think I'd be able to sleep." Pulling the shade down over the window, so that she didn't have to look at all the cars, Caity lay her head down on the table. "I hate that I'm going to miss this press conference, but I hate it more that Brian's going to be the one answering questions on my behalf. I'm almost tempted to ask the guys to do it for me, but at this point that would only cause more problems than anything else."

"Have you thought about asking to be left out of it altogether? I mean you could always just have them give you a list of the questions and you could answer them later."

"Brian's already told them he would be standing in my place. How can I do that?"

Shrugging her shoulders in answer, Sandy thought she might have a solution, but would rather not mention it to Cait until she was able to make a few calls. "Caity," placing her hand over Caits, she squeezed gently. "Go lie down, even if you don't sleep, you'll feel better than sitting her twiddling your thumbs."

Turning her hand over, she squeezed back, then reluctantly agreed. "Yeah, you're probably right."

Sandy waited until Cait was safely in her room before picking up the phone. "Now let's see if we can't arrange it so that you're answering your own questions."

He'd done as Lance had suggested, he'd thought about all that had happened between he and Cait in the last two months. He thought about how from the very beginning she had been there for him. From showing up in New York unexpectedly for the release party, traveling to Cancun with him on one nights notice, to not walking away when he had botched telling her about Randi. She had left New York to come home early, even though she should have stayed to try to figure out things with Brian. She had reworked her schedule, on more than one occasion, so that they could be together, and she hadn't complained, not once.

She had been there, he thought again, more often than not without him even having to ask, and the one time he had had the opportunity to return the favor, he had bailed, not wanting to deal with all that had been going on with the "Joey" thing. He had, in plain English, screwed up.

And damn her all to hell, she didn't even have the decency to be here when he finally figured it out and wanted to apologize.

She was stuck on a bus in the middle of I-10, some 70 miles away. There was no way he wanted to have the conversation he was planning on a cell phone, so he had come up with a plan that he thought would help smooth the way for him a little, before they had their face to face meeting. Now all he had to do was find a way to let her know about it.

Running into Jason, the press secretary that Jive had attached to the tour had quite possibly given him the opportunity he had been looking for. He and Sandy had devised a way for Cait to be part of the press conference, without actually being there. They were going to hook up a phone connection so that she could hear all that was happening and be able to handle her own questions. Knowing how she felt about Brian these days, he'd been relieved to hear that he would not be the one answering questions for her. JC could just imagine what Brian would have said about the Joey situation. Thank God for Sandy, however she had done it, he was very glad she had. Now all he had to do, was think of a way to tell Caity she needed to check her email, without letting everyone else know he was telling her.

Wandering in the direction of the room, where the press conference was being held, he figured it would come to him in time and if it didn't, well then, he'd just have to wing it. Feeling better than he had in days, he noticed a man walking down the hall, looking lost.

"Hey, can I help you find something." He had a backstage pass, which made JC relax, slightly.

"I’m trying to locate my sister, but I'm not having much luck." Holding his hand out in greeting, he assessed the man in front of him, recognizing him immediately. "You're JC right? I'm Marc Michaels, Cait's brother."

JC studied him a bit closer, he could definitely see the resemblance between Cait, Colin and Dev. He had the same blue eyes, though his hair was darker, more along the line of Cait's dad's. He was taller, and slightly lankier than her other two brothers.

"It's nice to finally meet you Marc, I'm JC."

"Yeah, I know. I recognize you from some of the pictures mom sent me. You and Cait were in some of them. You don’t happen to know where I could find her do you?"

"Actually, she's not here." Moving off to the side, when several men walk by carrying boxes he explained the situation. "She got caught in a major traffic jam on I-10. Apparently a tractor-trailer overturned and the bus is stuck somewhere behind it. Last I heard they were expecting it to take at least another hour before they could get the truck righted and towed."

"Oh man, she must be going crazy out there. Have you talked to her?"

"Uhm, actually no. I haven't."

Puzzled, as to why his sister's boyfriend would not be talking to her, when she was stuck out on the bus he asked, "Do I want to know why that is, or is it none of my business?"

"Well, how much time do you have?"

"I'm here for the show, I have all day."

"Good, because there are some things I'm hoping maybe you can help me with. Would you say that you know your sister quite well." Laughing when Marc responded that he knew her as well as any man could know a woman JC led him down the hall, and into his dressing room.

Sandy knocked softly before entering the room, then allowed her eyes to adjust to the dim light, before walking over to the bed. "Cait", she whispered softly, not wanting to startle the still figure upon the bed.

Getting no response, she tried again, this time slightly louder. "Caitlyn."

"Five more minutes, Mom. Then I'll get ready for school."

Smiling Sandy said, "You sound just like Mikey when I try to wake him up in the morning. C'mon Cait, time to rise and shine. I need to talk to you about something."

"I'm up, I'm up." Drawing herself to a sitting position, she rubbed the sleep from her eyes. "What time is it?"

"It's 10:15. I figured out a way for you to be part of the press conference, so you need to get up and clear your head. You have fifteen minutes before it starts."

Reaching out to stop her, when Sandy moved to leave the room, Caity struggled to clear her muddled brain. "What do you mean it starts in fifteen minutes. I thought it was scheduled for ten?"

"It was, but Jason and I asked them to push it back a half hour so you could join in. Now hurry up before you're late."

"Sandy, am I dreaming here. Aren't we still stuck in traffic?"

"Yes, we are, and no, you're not."

"Then how is it I'm going to participate in this?"

"The wonders of modern technology, my dear. We're going to hook up through a phone conference so that you'll be able to hear all that's going on in the room as it's happening. That way you can answer all your own questions and hear what's being asked of the guys."

Grabbing Sandy by the cheeks Caity gave her a smacking kiss. "Sandy, you're a genius. Remind me to give you a raise."

Laughing delightedly, Sandy watched Caity flutter about the room muttering.

"I need to brush my teeth, change my clothes," And then, catching a glimpse of herself in the mirror, "Oh God, look at my hair, I need to do something with my hair."

"Whoa Caity, slow down. One, no one's going to be able to see you remember, so I wouldn't stress too much about your hair. Put it in a ponytail or something. Two, you still have a few minutes before they get started and Jason is going to address the press first, so relax."

Taking a deep breath, Caity slowly relaxed her muscles. "Okay, I'm calm."

"Good. Now do whatever it is you have to do and I'll let you know when we're ready."

Springing into action when the door clicked shut behind Sandy, Caity began dragging a brush through her hair. "They may not be able to see me," she mumbled as she studied her reflection in the mirror, "But that doesn't mean I have to look like a hag."

Fifteen minutes later, when Sandy knocked on the door, her long hair has been smoothed into a high ponytail, her teeth brushed and though still in clothes more suitable for lounging than any thing else, at least they weren't wrinkled like her pajamas had been.

Nodding curtly when Sandy asked, "Ready?" She walked into the living area of the bus, mentally prepared for whatever lay ahead.

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