*Disclaimer - I do not own any of the members of 'N Sync (nor would I ever want to), they belong to their respective owners. I do, however, own all fictional characters such as Ashley, Mike and all the others. Plagiarism is against the law. Please do not do it. Thank you.

Joe stood in the dark, something that he did often these days, and looked out at the California horizon. Practically everyone had left for their beds, an hour or so earlier, to get some well deserved sleep. He sighed tiredly, raking a hand through his disheveled hair as he turned to his bed. He eyed it with trepidation and shook his head. There was no way he was going to be able to sleep tonight, not really anyway. If he thought Ashley were still up, he would call her and talk all night with her, but she was probably home with her family already fast asleep. He normally loved Christmas time and thought it was the best time of year, but he was beginning to dislike this Christmas for one simple reason. He wasn't with his family or Ashley.

Joe sat down on his bed and flipped on the television. 'It's A Wonderful Life' was on the station and he groaned. He didn't need all these damn Christmas specials at the moment. Joe grabbed the remote and started channel surfing through all the stations and finally came to rest on a movie that, amazingly enough, had nothing to do with Christmas. He leaned back against the headboard with a sigh, his eyes glued to the television.

"Joe, you should really get some sleep." JC mumbled from the other bed in the room.

"Yeah, I would if I could, man. Is the tv bothering you?" Joe replied, keeping his voice down.

"No, but tomorrow's going to be a busy day and I don't want to see you conk out before the real party begins." JC laughed as he sat up.

"Don't worry about me. You know I'm always up for a party." Joe chuckled shaking his head, glancing over at his sleepy friend. "You should get some sleep."

"Yeah, but I can't sleep either. I miss the family too much, not to mention Mike." JC sighed with amusement.

"Sounds like we're all in the same boat." Joe mumbled rubbing his face with his hands. JC nodded silently as he turned to the television. Both knew it was going to be a long night. Joe closed his eyes, resting his head back against the wall and before he knew it, his exhausted body and mind fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.

"That didn't take long." JC laughed softly as he hit the remote's power button. He laid back and was soon asleep himself.

Ashley groaned as sunlight seeped through the drapes and into her room. Her internal clock had gone haywire with the trip across the country, and jetlag was becoming to be her close, intimate friend. She opened an eye and glanced down at her watch. 6:42 am. The sun rises this early here? That's insane! She smiled tiredly to herself and rolled over to become comfortable again. She groaned again when she heard a soft knock on her door. Ashley threw back the covers and stumbled to the door, only to open it and find a grinning Justin.

"Morning, did you sleep well?" he questioned with a cheerful disposition. She glared at him as he walked inside and sat down on the vacant bed.

"I thought you were the grumpy one in the morning." She grumbled flopping back down onto her nice warm bed.

"Normally, I am." Justin laughed with a nod. "But today's different."

"Now I'm interested. Do tell." Ashley snorted, playing dumb.

"It's Christmas morning!" Justin exclaimed throwing a pillow at her.

"Do that again jhery curl, and I'm gonna rip every precious curl out of your head, one by one" Ashley smiled tossing the pillow back at him as he turned on the television.

"We have that parade today." he mumbled shaking his head as the news flickered on. Ashley sighed and sat up.

"Yeah, I know." She nodded with faint amusement. The poor kid never seemed to get a day off, not even on Christmas.

"Oh, we should be back here around six tonight. We'll have dinner then head over to a Christmas party. It's up to you on when you want to show yourself." Justin informed her as h e glanced over at his friend. She thought for a moment and shrugged.

"I guess the party. Better setting, and he won't have the possibility of choking on his food." she laughed teasingly. Justin nodded with an impish grin as he climbed to his feet.

"I'm gonna go see what's taking the guys so long. You gonna be okay here?" he questioned heading to the door.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. I'm a big girl now, and I even know how to order room service!" she replied with a childish voice. Justin rolled his eyes, laughing as he left the room. Ashley sighed, flopping back down on her bed. Going back to sleep was out of the question. Damn Justin for coming in here and making me think! She smiled shaking her head as she looked up at the ceiling. She shook her head with subdued amusement as she slowly climbed to her feet. I might as well get dressed and go see some of the sights. She took a shower and got dressed at a leisurely pace, deciding not to rush herself. When she was ready to go, she opened the door and peeked out into the hallway to make sure Joe and the others had already left. She strolled down to the elevator and hit the down button. The doors opened to show Joe, with his back to her, and JC who was scolding him for being so forgetful. JC's eyes widened when he saw her.

"Don't move!" JC cried when Joe began to turn around.

"What?" Joe demanded freezing.

"You have something in your hair, man." JC exclaimed as Ashley bolted down the hall and around the corner.

"What's in my hair?" Joe questioned momentarily confused.

"Sorry, there's nothing there. I thought I saw something. Let's go before we're late." JC sighed in relief as the stepped from the elevator.

Ashley covered her mouth to stifle her laughter. That was close. Man, talk about a heart attack. She shook her head, tossing her hands up into the air. Maybe the stairs will work out better, she laughed to herself as she walked towards the door marked 'Stairway'. She pulled open the door and started running down the eight flights of stairs. She opened the door to the lobby area and came face to back with Joe, yet again. Her heart leapt into her throat as she quickly shut the door. What? Are you trying to tell me something? My God. Ashley rolled her eyes heavenward as she tossed her hands up into the air again with a laugh. This was turning out to be one interesting morning. She sat down on the bottom stair and waited for the guys to be on their way. Unfortunately, what Justin had forgotten to tell her was that they were having an interview in the lobby of the hotel with a television station.

Ashley peeked through the window and groaned to herself when she saw that they were still around. Each member of 'N Sync was sitting on a couch, facing her, with a cameraman and interviewer facing them.

"For crying out loud, all I wanted to do was see some of the town!" she exclaimed to herself, her voice echoing through the stairwell. She sighed as she headed back up the stairs, taking each step as if she were doing the death march. Twenty minutes later, she reached her floor and opened the door only to find 'N Sync standing in the hallway. She quickly shut the door with a bemused expression on her face.

"This is beginning to get repetitious. How many times can this possibly happen in the same morning?" she demanded with a laugh as she peered through the small window. They stood around and talked to management for a few minutes before boarding back onto the elevator and heading downstairs. She opened the door and cautiously stepped into the hallway, then heaved a sigh of relief when she saw no one around. Ashley strolled down the hallway and let herself back into her room.

"Well, that was a wasted effort." she mumbled to herself as she flopped down on her unmade bed. "I guess I will have to call room service."

Ashley pulled open the drawer of the night table and grabbed the menu. After a few minutes of perusing what the hotel had to offer, she picked up the phone and dialed the kitchen. She placed her order then hung up briefly then made another phone call.

"Hello?"

"Merry Christmas, mom."

"Ashley, what a pleasant surprise! How's California and Joseph?"

"California would be wonderful if I could actually see some of it, and Joe would be great too, but I won't find that out until tonight." Ashley laughed shaking her head.

"Ah, is it really that bad?"

"No, I just had a hell of a time trying to keep Joe from finding out that I'm here."

"Really? How so?"

"Well, all I really wanted to do was go out and have some breakfast. I ran into Joe's back three times and had to make a quick getaway. It was beginning to be too much."

"I see now. So, your Christmas hasn't been that wonderful so far?"

"Not really."

"Don't worry honey, everything will get better. Just wait until you can surprise Joe. That will make you forget all of the aggravation."

"I know, mom. Thanks for the pep talk."

"Anytime sweetie, now you better go get something to eat."

"Okay. I love you."

"Love you to dear. Bye bye." her mother laughed then hung up the phone. Ashley sighed turning to the tv, which she h ad turned on during her conversation with her mother. Nothing was on except parades and dry Christmas specials. She shook her head as she leaned over to her book bag, and grabbed one of the many romance novels that she had bought for the trip. She and long flights had never really gotten along, so she read during them. The time seemed to pass more quickly that way.

The crowd that had gathered was immense, huge enough to fill each street the floats would pass down, and all on Christmas morning. What ever happened to families staying home to open gifts? Joe questioned himself silently as he shook his head. In his profession he had learned quickly how much of his family he had taken for granted.

"Are we going to sing the regular two songs?" Justin inquired checking his microphone over.

"We can do 'Merry Christmas' and 'Under My Tree', but I don't see why we can't do any other songs." JC shrugged rubbing the back of his neck with a hand.

"How about we sing 'Oh Holy Night'? That one seems to be a favorite with the fans." Chris suggested as he yanked on his shirt, trying to straighten it.

"Do you think they'll be able to hear it above the regular noise of a parade?" Lance inquired as he combed a hand through his hair.

"Good point." Chris nodded with a sigh. "How about 'In Love On Christmas'?"

"Nah, too predictable." Joe shook his head.

"Then you think of a song, brainiac." Chris snorted with a smile.

"How about," Joe thought for a moment. "Why don't we do some of those songs from all those Christmas specials that are always on?"

"What, like the grinch and stuff?" Justin inquired raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, why not?" Joe shrugged with a smile.

"You know, he just may have something there." JC nodded, beginning to like the idea.

"You can't be serious. We've never even sung those songs before. We need to practice them a few times before we just up and sing them." Justin exclaimed shaking his head.

"Granted, we generally have to practice these things, but can you imagine the faces of everyone if we started sing 'You're a mean one, Mr. Grinch'?" Lance laughed, bringing his voice to his lowest tone. Justin grinned shaking his head.

"All right, vote of hands. All those who think it'd be fun singin' 'bout da Grinch, raise you hand." Justin stated. Joe, Chris, Lance and JC's hands all shot up into the air.

"It's unanimous, cheesey Christmas special songs it is then." Justin laughed setting his microphone down on the floor of the float they would be riding.

"Take it back!" Chris cried, grabbing the youngest man in a headlock.

"Take what back?" Justin laughed loudly.

"What you said about the Grinch! Take it back! The Grinch rules!" Chris exclaimed. "And I don't want him to be phased out like every other cartoon!"

"What the hell are you talking about, Chris?" Justin exclaimed loudly.

"Booberry, Frakienberry, Count Chocula, and all the other cartoons that have been phased out! Pay attention to the world around you, boy!" Chris let out a maniacal laugh as he let go of Justin.

"Um, yeah. Did you forget to take your Prozac this morning?" Justin laughed straightening his shirt.

"I knew I was missing something." Chris sighed shaking his head. Joe groaned with a good-natured smile as an official looking woman walked over to them.

"Are you guys ready to roll?" she questioned raising an eyebrow at them.

"We're ready whenever you are." Lance nodded with a friendly smile. She nodded, walking away, her eyes on her clipboard. They all lounged back, sitting on the available space left on the float, waiting for the parade to start.

"Five minutes, folks! Take your places!" came the battle cry, which made Chris wince. The members of 'N Sync stood and took their places, all wearing perfectly matching t-shirts and jeans. Soon the music started and 'N Sync smiled as they sang the opening lines to 'Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays'. The float jerked into motion causing them to momentarily lose their balance, which they regained quickly enough. The parade lasted nearly three hours with the slow moving floats, and by the time 'N Sync stepped off their float and climbed into the awaiting limo, they were all exhausted.

"Sometimes I really dislike those things." Justin sighed, resting his head on the back of his seat.

"I know what you mean." Lance agreed, mopping his face with a towel. As soon as they made it back to the hotel, it was nearly time for dinner, so they all showered and changed then headed down to the dining room to have dinner with a couple of fans who had won a radio station contest.

Ashley sighed flipping through each television station for the fifth time in a row. Absolutely nothing was on that was worth watching. Her dinner sat before her on the bed, half-eaten. She wasn't really hungry at the moment. The phone rang shrilly, startling her out of her morbid mood.

"Hello?"

"Hey chicky girl, what's going on?"

"Not a damn thing. Two more hours before the party and my appearance. Why aren't you talking to JC?"

"Cause he's being a dink, but that's nothing new. No, actually the poor kid's eating dinner with a few fans who are practically glued to his side."

"Ah, how's your Christmas been."

"Crazy. This family is just too big to do this anymore. There's nearly twenty some odd grandchildren and all from my brothers and sisters. Crazy. And every single one of them is here. Plus all the sibs and their spouses. Not a moment of peace since I got here last week."

"Ouch, sounds like you're caught in hell. Serves you right for not wanting to join me."

"You know I would have if I hadn't promised my dad I'd come home this Christmas, seeing as how I missed the last one."

"I know, I'm just teasing you."

"I know you are. So, Joe doesn't know you're there yet?"

"No, I'm going to show up at the party tonight. It should be interesting."

"I'll say. I wouldn't be able to do that."

"Do what?"

"Know that JC's in the next room and not go over to see him."

"Amen to that, but I'm forcing myself to stay in this room. Besides, I've had enough misadventure today to last me a lifetime."

"I'm not sure I even want to know."

"I'll tell you all about it when we get back to Orlando."

"All right, sounds like a plan. - For Crying out loud Nathan! Knock it off! I'm on the phone!! - Sorry about that."

"It's okay. Who's Nathan?"

"One of my sister's darling monsters. If I hear, 'oh isn't that adorable' one more time, I'm gonna yammy all over the first person I see."

"Nasty."

"Precisely. That's what I think of this monster. The kid has no manners, and my sister doesn't deem it necessary to punish her precious little gentleman for anything."

"God, it must suck to be you right now."

"You can say that again. - I swear to God, Nathan! Patience! Get your inbred loco son the hell outta my face! - Sorry again."

"It's okay, again. Why don't you hang up and leave the house for a while?"

"I wish I could, but dad's old police force buddies are showing up, and they're all like uncles to me. I kinda want to see them before I went back home."

"Ah, well, have fun then."

"I will. You do the same."

"Um, let me think about that for a moment. Me, Joe, dancing all night. Nah, I wouldn't dream of having fun!"

"Oh shut up and go get ready!" Mike laughed then hung up the phone. Ashley shook her head as she replaced the phone on the hook, then climbed to her feet. She searched through her bag and found the outfit she wanted to wear tonight. It consisted of a nice light purple silk blouse and a long, flowing black skirt. It may not be in the Christmas colors, but she knew she would look hot. She took a long, relaxing, hot shower and did all of her favorite pampering things, and when she walked from the bathroom, she smelled of lilacs and roses. She walked over to where she had laid her clothes out, and got dressed. Soon, she was ready to go but still had almost an hour to wait before she would catch a limo to the party across town.

Ashley turned her attention back to the tv, which was no playing the interview 'N Sync had done earlier, on the Entertainment part of the nightly news. Ashley smiled shaking her head as she slipped on a pair of heeled boots. The guys had left almost a half an hour ago to reach the party on time. She sighed looking down at her watch. She couldn't wait one more minute. She called down to the front desk and told the manager who she was. He immediately told her that a limo would be pulling u p front for her as soon as she reached the lobby. She thanked the man, then hung up. Ashley grabbed her lightweight dress jacket then headed to the elevator. The manager was right, the limo was waiting for her when she stepped off the elevator. She smiled as she climbed inside, and sat back for the ride.

Joe sat silently at a table with JC and Chris, who were also not really in the mood to party without their girlfriends. All three of them looked so pitiful that Justin had to laugh.

"Oh come on guys, get out there and dance, socialize, drink, have fun!" Justin exclaimed with a smile.

"Justin, shove it. We don't want to hear about your carefree single life." Chris laughed giving his young friend a playful shove.

"More, give me more." Justin winked teasingly.

"Okay, this is too much. Chris, stop talking dirty to Justin, he's jailbait and you could get up to twenty years for his ass. And Justin, stop patronizing and encouraging him!" JC laughed shaking his head.

"You're just jealous cause Chris is saying nasty things to me and not you." Justin stuck his tongue out at JC, who groaned in mock disgust.

"Must you do that? It's so...so... childish." Chris exclaimed looking down his nose at Justin.

"And you've never done anything childish? What about that Webshooter?" Justin laughed.

"Silencio!" Chris cried jumping to his feet. "That was a terrible accident that I do not wish to relive!"

Joe, JC and Justin all burst out laughing at the look of utter fear on Chris's face. Lance walked over to them with a confused smile on his face.

"What's going on, guys?" he questioned taking a glass filled with soda from the table.

"Nothing, Chris was just telling us about his horrible accident with the Webshooter." Joe laughed.

"I said silencio! I cannot think about such horrifying things. We must dance now." Chris stated pulling Justin onto the dance floor. Justin tossed a terrified grin over to the remaining people at the table as Chris grabbed him around the waist and started dancing with him, his head resting on Justin's shoulder. The others looked on with highly amused expressions, until Chris looked up at Justin adoringly, which caused everyone to collapse into hysterical laughter. Only Chris could pull off a stunt like that and get away with it, not to mention make it funny.

Joe looked around the room, wiping the tears of laughter from his eyes when his breath caught in his throat. A familiar looking woman stood in the doorway, too far for him to see clearly. It can't be. I must be loosing it.

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