Part Four

    "Man, I'm stuffed," Natalie said after she eased her way down on the sofa. They had just finished dinner and all of the guys were there except for Lance and Chris. Lance was still in Mississippii, and Chris was with Dani.
    "You're always full after you eat at this house," JC said as he sat beside her and patted her leg. "Food is always cooking at the Fatone household."
    "Sadly true," Joey said as he sat on the other side of her. "If I didn't dance as much as I did, I'd be huge."
    "But you still got that nice belly," Justin teased as he patted it.
    "Watch it Justy," he warned as he swaped his hand away. "Or I'm going to deflate that six pack of yours."
    Justin huffed as he lifted his shirt and patted his flat belly. "Hard as a rock."
    "Oh, save it for Britney's eyes," JC said as he looked away. "We have to look at your face more than enough anyway."
    Justin just chuckled as he sat down. "The feelings mutual."
    Natalie laughed as she looked at JC. "My friend would be so completely jealous if she knew I was sitting next to you."
    He chuckled as he grinned. "She likes me, huh? Very nice."
    She smiled. "Oh, man. She loves you. Can't get over that voice of yours."
    His brows raised. "Voice? Wow, that's flattering, usually I hear something physical about me, but not my voice."
    "Well, she does like what she sees when she looks at you, don't get me wrong," she teased him. "But, she could listen to you sing all day."
    "What's her name?" he asked her as Joey and Justin were fighting over the remote control.
    "Mary Ann," she said. "Oh, and speaking of her, I have to call her. She knows about my accident and stuff, but she doesn't know how I am doing. Joey can I use your phone?"
    "Yeah," he said as he grabbed the remote and pushed him back down on the chair. "We are NOT watching Jerry Springer....weirdo."
    Justin pouted. "Come on, Joey....it's a great episode."
    "I do NOT want to watch men who tell their girlfriends they were once a woman, thank you."
    "Where's the phone?" Natalie asked between the bickering.
    "Oh, the portable is by JC," he said and then started flipping channels.
    JC handed her the portable. "There ya go."
    "Thanks," she said and then started dialing her number.
    "Hello?"
    "M.A!!" Natalie exclaimed.
    "NATALIE DAWSON!!"
    Natalie winced. "Hi M.A, how's it going?"
    "How's it going??" she asked. "Well, your mom calls me and tells me that you got in an accident and are in the hospital and that THE Joey Fatone hit you and you are saying at HIS house for a week, and you don't call me until NOW!!"
    "Mary Ann, I'm..." She winced again and then looked at JC. "She's not too happy with me."
    JC chuckled. "Looks like it," he said and then took the phone from her. "Mary Ann?"
    "I have been sitting by the phone and......" She stopped talking when she heard the male voice. "Who the hell is this?"
    JC grinned as he raised his eyebrow in surprised. "She's a firey one, Nat."
    "You have NO idea," Natalie mumbled. "But gotta love her."
    JC grinned. "Mary Ann?" he said again.
    "Who is this?" she asked shakily. "This better not be who I think it is, because that's just mean to play a joke like that, is Nat there...cuz I'm going to hurt her other ankle."
    JC started laughing so hard that he turned red. "This girl's a riot. Mary Ann, no reason to get hostile."
    "Shit, this IS JC, isn't it!?"
    "If I said yes, would you kick my ass too?" he asked warily "Because I happen to like my ass, and....."
    "HOLY SHIT!" she cursed into the phone. "This is fucking JC Chasez!"
    He looked at Natalie as he gave her a surprising look. "Never had that word said in front of my name before. You are just full of surprises, Mary Ann."
    "Oh God," she said shakily. "I'm sorry, I'm just...wow.....I mean I'm actually a normal person, it's just that....."
    JC chuckled. "No need to explain, M.A...can I call you that?"
    "Of course, all my friends do."
    "Well, M.A, it's lovely to meet you. You truly have been a breath of fresh air."
    M.A laughed. "Yeah, right, a regular angel."
    Natalie eyed JC as he was smiling while listening to M.A on the other end. "JC, can I talk to my friend now?"
    "Hold up," he said with a laugh as he got up and walked to the window.
    Natalie rolled his eyes and stared at Joey. "JC is flirting with my friend," she said blantly.
    Joey glanced over at JC and saw him smile and then throw his head back with a laugh. He chuckled. "Ahh, let him, haven't seen him that happy in awhile."
    Natalie grinned at him. "Well, then in that case I'll let it slide."
    He laughed and then noticed her yawn that sneaked in.
    "Tired?"
    She nodded. "Yeah, a little."
    "Ready for bed?"
    She smiled as she rested her head against the back of the couch. She liked being here with them. She liked sitting next to Joey, listening to JC's soft chuckle, the sound of the TV, and liked watching Justin pout. She didn't want to go up yet. "No, not quite yet."
    He smiled and then patted her leg. "Just tell me when your ready and I'll help you up the stairs."
    She sighed as she closed her eyes. "Okay."
    "So, Nat tells me I'm your favorite," JC teased her.
    "Oh, she did?" she asked as she started to pace her room. Whenever Mary Ann was nervous she was always figitly, she could NOT sit still. "That's funny, cause I've always enjoyed Justin."
    JC grinned, cause he knew she was teasing. "Is that so? So you're NOT attracted to my voice?"
    "Is that what she said?"
    "Sure did," he said. "She told me you could listen to my voice ALL day."
    She chuckled. "Well, I guess I can't deny THAT. Your voice puts me in a trance."
    "A trance, huh?" he said in amusement. "Well, I'm flattered. Most fans I meet or talk to say..ahem..Oh my god, you're JC...oops, wait you did that, didn't you?"
    She laughed. "Shut up!!"
    He laughed at her. "I'm just kidding...seriously though, thanks. Means a lot."
    Mary Ann could feel herself turn red as she finally sat down on her bed. "You're welcome."
    He smiled. "You knooow, you got a pretty good voice yourself?"
    She let out a laugh. "Talking maybe, but I can't sing a note." He laughed. "Wait, that's not true...I had a solo in both of my fifth grade plays!"
    "Get outta town!" he said a little overly excited.
    MA laughed at his sarcasm. "Yep!" she said proudly. "I sang a verse in Uncle Remis, and a verse in the Christmas Carol."
    "Do you remember them?"
    "Hell no, well I remember something about telling a tale on how the big got a curly tail."
    "Interesting," he said with a laugh.
    "I have it on tape somewhere in this house," she chuckled.
    "Oh, I'd pay money to see that."
    "Oh, I am SO burning it then," she laughed.
    "Hey, C!"
    JC turned toward Justin. "Hang on....yeah?"
    "We're gonna watch Billy Madison, you gonna join us?"
    "Yeah, go ahead and start it without me," he said. "I'll be right there."
    "Tell MA I'll call her tomorrow since she's obviously has forgotten about me."
    "Okay," he said. "Hey, Natalie said that....."
    "She'll call me tomorrow, yes I heard her loud ass clear as day."
    He laughed. "She said she heard your lou...."
    "JC, don't repeat it!"
    He just laughed. "NEVERMIND!"
    "Jeez," MA said with a sigh.
    Natalie just laughed and then got comfortable for the movie. "This movie is classic," she said as she propped her feet back on the coffee table.
    "Best Adam Sandler movie ever!" Joey exclaimed.
    "For sure," she said. "This and Big Daddy."
    "And Happy Gilmore!" Justin pointed out.
    Natalie laughed. "Hell, ALL his movies are good."
    They weren't far into the movie when Joey noticed Natalie huddled over. "Are you cold?"
    "A little," she said as she rubbed her arms.
    "I am too," he said and then reached behind him and threw the throw blanket that was draped over the blanket. "Here we go," he said as he spread the blanket over the both of them. "Better?"
    "Much," she said as she huddled beneath it. "Thank you."
    JC then finally sat back down next to Natalie. "She said she's glad you are okay."
    "Thanks," she said. "You too had quite a phone conversation."
    He chuckled. "Yeah, she's...." He stopped talking when Justin started humming the tune to Digital Getdown. "Shut up, J," he said and threw one of the couch pillows at him. Justin just laughed and then used the pillow to support his head and continued to watch the movie. JC rolled his eyes. "ANYWAY, she was really fun. I never laughed so hard in my life."
    "Yeah, MA knows how to make people laugh, that's for sure. When we went to your concert, she was keeping me laughing threw the WHOLE thing, and afterwards."
    "What did she say??" JC asked anxiously.
    Natalie chuckled. "Ohhh, that's for US to know, and you to NEVER find out. Now let's watch the movie."
    Joey and JC just grinned at each other and decided to let it go for now. They enjoyed the movie and laughed nonstop. Natalie thought she was going to pee in her pants when Justin was doing an impression of Billy in the movie.
    "Shampoo is bettah, cuz it makes my hair nice and cleean," Justin teased. "NO..Conditinah is bettah cuz it makes my hair silky and smoooth.......oh the best part........STOP LOOKING AT ME SWAAAN!"
    Natalie was turning red from laughing so hard. "He..He does that every time we watch it," Joey said as he wiped away a tear. "And it is STILL funny as hell."     Natalie was enjoying the movie and being with the guys. It was towards the end of the movie, where she felt her eyelids getting heavy. She tried to keep them open, but it was almost a struggle. Finally she rested her head against the back of the couch and gave up on the struggle as she closed her eyes.
    When the credits started rolling, the guys all stretched in their seats and let out a tiring sigh. "What time is it?" JC asked with a yawn.
    Joey looked at his watch. "Midnight."
    "Damn," JC cursed as he sat up and then looked down at Natalie. "Someone's alseep."
    Joey looked down at her peaceful face. "She must be so tired."     JC eyed him. "Okay, and you'll drive my ass here tomorrow and follow me to the repair shop, dumbass."
    "No need for name calling, I told you I'd pay for it."
    "Damn straight," he mumbled and then yawned. "See ya, Joe. Tell Natalie she's a blast for us, okay?"
    "Sure," he said with a grin. "Want me to ask her for Mary Ann's number?"
    He grinned and then patted his back pocket. "Way ahead of you, my friend."
    "Score, C-Man, got the digits," Justin teased as he punched him on the arm.
    JC eyed him as he rubbed his arm. "Yeah, your not the only one who's good with the ladies."
    Justin rolled his eyes. "Yeah yeah," he said and then tugged his arm. "Let's go loverboy."
    "See ya Joe," he said as Justin dragged him off. "Let go of me, J, I'm capable of walking."
    Joey smiled as the bickering faded and then was cut off when the backdoor slammed. He then looked down at Natalie who was still asleep after all the comotion. He hated waking her up, and he prayed that he didn't disturb her.
    "Okay, Nat," he said softly as he slowly slid a hand between her back and the couch and then tucked his arm behind the back of her knees. He pulled her in his lap, and Natalie let out a tiring sigh as she buried his face into the crook of his shoulder.
    Joey froze at the gesture and held his breath while she moved. He then finally let out a shaky sigh when she was still. "Here we go," he said softly as he stood up and headed towards the stairs. The stairs squeaked beneath his feet and then led her down the dark, quiet hallway.
    He opened the door to her room and then laid her on the unmade bed. Luckily, she had on her pj bottoms, so he didn't have to worry about her changing. As soon as she laid down, she sighed tiredly and shifted in her sleep. Once she was still, he pulled the covers over her and reached out and brushed a curl that was in her face. He stared down at her and he felt this slight tug at his heart. He also felt this enormous sense of protetiveness towards her. Like that he needed to protect her and make sure she was going to be all right. And he was sure as hell going to follow that, he thought.
    "Good night, Natalie," he finally said and then turned out the lamp next to her, before walking to their connecting bathroom. He turned and looked at her one more time, before he opened the door and shut the door behind him.

    Natalie woke up the next morning to male voices outside and a sound of a basketball banging against the concerete. She squinted her eyes open and let out a tiring groan when she heard the male laughter outside. "They're insane," she mumbled and then tore the blanket off of her and shuffled to the window.
    She opened the shutters and looked outside to see Joey, Justin, JC, and Steve playing basketball outside. Justin was dribbling in front of JC, trying to be fancy while he passed it back and forth between his legs. She let out a chuckle when she saw his tounge hanging out as if he was Michael Jordan.
    Natalie opened the window so she could hear what was going on. "You got nothing, C," Justin gloated as he kept on dribbling.
    "Oh, would you stop with the fancy $hit, and play," he said annoyed and then reached his long arm out and tapped the ball away from his hands.
    "Shit," Justin cursed as they both went after the loose ball, but JC was quicker and got possession.
    "Ah, hah," he teased as he dribbled in front of him. "You know, Justy, basketball is a lot like this group."
    "Save the analogies, C," Justin said annoyingly as he watched his stomach to see what his next move yet.
    "If you try fancy $hit by yourself, you get crap...but if you use teamwork," he said and then passed it to Joey and then cut across the lane. Joey lobbed the pass over Justin's head and it landed perfectly into JC's hands and then he layed it up in the net. JC grinned as he walked up to Justin with the ball in his hand. "If you use team work," he repeated as he passed the ball to him. "Well, you flat out win."
    "Good shot, C," Natalie yelled out the window.
    JC looked up and shield his eyes from the sun. "Well, good morning, sleepy."
    "Did we wake you up?" Joey asked worriedly.
    "But of course," she teased.
    "Sorry," all four guys said in unison.
    She laughed. "That's okay. Do you guys always play this early?"
    "EARLY?" Joey asked. "It's almost noon!"
    Her eyes widened. "NOON!" she exclaimed as she turned to look at the clock by her bed. "Joey, why didn't you wake me!"
    "I didn't want to disturb you," he said. "You looked too tired last night."
    "I was, but....man I haven't slept this long in ages."
    "Well, come down," Justin said. "We love having girls watch us, just makes us want to play better."
    She laughed. "I will once I get dressed and call Mary Ann."
    "Tell that sexy mama I said Hi, will ya?" JC teased.
    "Will do," she said. "Be down in a second." She started to close the window, but then froze and lifted it back up. "Hey Joey?"
    He looked up. "Yeah?"
    "Did I walk up to bed last night?" she asked not remembering how she got up.
    He cleared his throat, not wanting to say it in front of the guys. "No, uh...I carried you up."
    She felt herself turn red. "Oh," she said breathlessly. "Sorry, you should of woken me up."
    Joey eyed Justin and JC, who were snickering at him. Their backs were facing Natalie so she couldn't see their teasing faces. "Um...it was no bother really."
    "Okay, well...thanks I guess," she said.
    "No problem," he said and then waited for her to close the window and walk away. "Assholes," he said and then threw the ball at them.
    JC and Justin just laughed as they dodged out of the way. "Awww, I personally think it's sweet," JC said as he put his arm around Joey. "Carrying her up the stairs like a knight and shining armor."
    "Shove it, C," he said as he shoved him away.
    "So, are ya'll gonna hook up?" Justin asked as he raised his brows.
    "Hook up??" Joey repeated. "I almost killed her, J...do you really think she'd want to hook up with me??"
    "That was an accident, Joe," JC said seriously. "Do you like her?"
    Joey shifted uncomfortabley as he looked up at the window she was just at. "I dunno, I...I kind of feel this...protectiveness towards her."
    "Well, then you like her," Justin stated clearly.
    "Uh...you know...I don't want to talk about it now, so where's Steve so we can continue."
    "He went to check up on Niki," JC said. "So you like her?"
    "Damn, what is this twenty questions?" he asked annoyed. "Look, even if I DID like her, it wouldn't work. I mean, she...she's been through a lot and all I care about is her getting better."
    "Uh-huh," Justin mumbled not believing all of his words. "So that's all you care about...her getting better."
    "Ahem...right," he said and then tore the ball away from him. "Can we play now?"
    "Sure," JC said sigh and decided to let it go. "We'll just shoot around till Steve get's back."
    While the guys were shooting hoops outside, Natalie was laying on the bed fully dressed, talking to Mary Ann. "He called you AGAIN last night?"
    M.A giggled. "Yeah, when he got home...the dork woke me up."
    She laughed. "And I bet you didn't care."
    "Not one bit," she laughed. "We talked till like two in the morning."
    "TWO!" she exclaimed as she shot up. "About what?"
    "Oh, stupid and silly stuff," she laughed. "We were being dorks basically."
    "That's too cute, M.A," she said as she started to twirl a strand of her curly hair between her fingers. "He's all about some M.A."
    "The feelings mutual, I assure you," she said with a sigh. "So what about YOU?"
    "What about me?"
    "Anything going on between you and your man?"
    Natalie laughed. "Well, no. But I was just informed that he carried me to bed last night."
    "SHUT UP!" she exclaimed as she shot straight up from her bed. "How do you know??"
    "I asked him a second ago, because I didn't remember. I turned red as a beet."
    "That's so sweet. What are the guys doing now?"
    "Playing basketball," she said as she got up and limped over to the window. "JC and Joey are kicking Steve and Justin's ass."
    She sighed. "I am SO jealous of you right now. I would so risk being in a car wreck to be where you are."
    She laughed. "You are NUTS Mary Ann."
    "About those boys, yes," she said with a chuckle. "Let me talk to my stud muffin."
    "Oh dear lord, you already got pet names?" she asked she opened the window.
    "Yeah, I'm sexy mama."
    "Yes, I realize that," she said with a laugh. "Hang on...Oh Stuuud Muuuffiiin."
    JC stopped guarding Justin and looked up at Natalie. Justin took advantage of that and dribbled right by him. "Hey..that's not....dammit," he cursed as he tore the ball away from Justin. He then looked up at Natalie.
    "Hey, who's stud muffin??" Joey asked as he put his hands on his hips.
    "That would be ME," JC said with a chuckle.
    "Sexy mamma wants to talk to you, stud muffin," she said as she waved the portable down.
    He grinned. "Toss it down," he said as he walked to the window. He froze when Justin sang Digital Getdown again and then threw the ball at him. "STILL not funny, J."
    He grinned. "I think so...stud muffin."
    "Damn straight I am," he said with a wink and then ran to the house. "Okay toss it."
    "You coming down?" Joey asked after she tossed the phone down.
    "I'm on my way," she said with a smile.
    "Need help down the stairs?"
    "Nah, I'm fine," she said with a wave of her hand. "Actually, I can limp a little on it this morning."
    "That's good," he said with a smile. "Well, come on down."
    "Okay," she said with a smile and then disappeared from the window.
    "Hey baby," JC said in his best Butthead impression.
    She laughed. "Hey, sweet thang, you playing hard?"
    He chuckled. "Kicking some ass," he said as he picked up his water bottle and then took a chug.
    "You know...I could So kick your ass in HORSE," she gloated.
    "Ahh jeez," he said as he put the cap back on as he tucked the phone in his shoulder. "You're starting to sound like Justin."
    He laughed. "Well, I don't know about kicking your ass, I've seen you play before...but I'll definitely be a challenge."
    He grinned. "Well, I hope I'll get to take that challenge some day."
    "Me too," she said with a smile as she started to play with the phone cord.
    "Hmm.....you know...I'm free tomorrow," he said with a grin. There was silence on the other side of the phone; he could barely hear her breath. "M.A?"
    "E..Excuse me?" she asked shakily.
    "Well, you ARE coming to Orlando to visit Natalie, right??"
    "Uhhh....I wasn't planning on it," she said.
    "Well, why not, silly?" he asked and then saw Natalie limp around the corner with a smile on her face. "I'm sure NATALIE would LOVE to see you."
    She laughed. "Yeah right, she'll be too busy drooling over a certain someone."
    He let out a laugh. "Okay, you gotta point. But all joking aside....I would love to meet you."
    She smiled softly. "You would?" she asked all of the sudden shy.
    "Yeah, sure I would. I like talking to you, Mary Ann."
    "I like talking to you, too," she said and then bit her lip to avoid screaming at the top of her lungs.
    "Then it's settled!" he exclaimed.
    "Wait, I mean.....shouldn't you ask Joey first, since it IS his house I'm gonna be staying at."
    "Hold that thought," he said and then trotted to Joey and Natalie who were talking. "Hey, Joey....Natalie..."
    "Yeah?"
    "All right if I fly down Mary Ann?" he asked hopefully.
    Natalie's eyes widened with excitement. "For real? You would do that?"
    Joey laughed. "He looked like a little boy asking permission to spend the night."
    JC quickly covered the phone. "Keep it down," he whispered forcefully.
    "Oops," Joey laughed and then grabbed the phone from him. "Sexy Mamma?"
    "Hey, hey," JC said as he tried to take the phone away. "NO ONE is aloud to call her that but moi."
    "SORRY," Joey as he rolled his eyes. "MA?"
    She was laughing so hard cause she heard every word that was spoken. "Yeah?"
    "You are MORE than welcome to come, when can you leave?"
    "I..uh....well, I promised my brother I would babysit my nephew tonight....so I can't till tomorrow."
    "Okay, sometime tomorrow.....I'll let ya work it out with loserface, here," he said and then tossed the phone back to JC.
    "Gee, thanks," he smirked and then stalked off and continued the conversation with her.
    Natalie smiled up at him. "Thank you so much," she said to him. "Can she stay until I leave?"
    Joey smiled. "Of course," she said. "She can come to the New Years party and everything?"
    "What party?" she asked.
    "JC and Adam, that's his roomate, are throwing a party that night," he informed her. "And you two are invited."
    Her eyes widened. "Really?? But..But I don't think I have anything to wear or....."
    "Eh, don't worry about that," he said. "We'll think of something."
    She smiled. "Great."
    "We're actually going to go and pick up JC's car and then go to lunch. Want to ride with us?"
    "Of course."
    "Gonna be a tight squeeze, cuz we are riding in Justin's mercedes."
    "I don't mind."
    "We'll let you up front so you can have room for your foot."
    "Okay, thanks," she said. "Let me just get my purse and I'll meet you guys out front."
    "Okay," he said and then watched her walk off. He kept looking at her until she disappeared in the house. He finally turned to JC. "Hey, stud muffin! Get off the phone, we gotta go!"

Part Five