Walking into her house for the first time in quite a few months was strange for Mollie and she was glad she’d waited for the light of day to do it.  There was a strange haze about the house and she immediately opened the windows to get the air moving.  She grabbed the stack of mail she’d picked up from the post office and grabbed the utility bills, calling them one by one to turn her services back on.  She did some laundry and joined Johanna on the couch.  JC had finally agreed to leave them alone for a moment, going to grab some groceries for them.

“As surreal as the last few days have felt.  I’m going to have to go back there at some point.  And I don’t know what I have to go back to,” Johanna said, staring blankly at the television screen.

“What if you didn’t go back for good?  What if you went back to get whatever is left in the apartment and came down here?  You’ve been talking about change for a while now.” 

“Yeah, but now I feel like I’d be running away,” Johanna mused.

“Running away or starting over?  As much as I adore New York City, I don’t think I’ll ever be able to look at it the same after this.  My safety and security there have been shattered.  For all we know there’s nothing for you to go back to.” 

“Thanks for that,” Johanna said, mildly angered.

“I didn’t mean it all morbidly.  I just meant…ugh is your job up there really so great?  Are you living a life that makes you happy?” 

“No.”

“Then come live with me.”

Johanna took a moment to let her words sink in.  She just admitted she wasn’t happy but something made her question this decision.  She couldn’t quite put her finger on it yet but it seemed the good outweighed the bad at this point.  Before she could answer, the doorbell rang.

“Promise me you’ll consider it?” Mollie asked as she rose to answer it.

Mollie opened the door to find Justin and Lance standing on her porch. 

“Hey guys, come in.” 

“Oh my God,” Lance said, hugging his friend.  “I’m so glad you’re alright.  That’s some shiner you got there,” he said, pointing to the black and blue side of her face.

“Yeah well, I never was very good at dodge ball,” she said, attempting to joke.

The next few days were much of the same, friends stopping by to check on them round the clock, most especially whenever JC couldn’t be there.  Mollie soon caught onto his plan and called him up after finding Chris on her doorstep a week after they’d arrived back home.

“Hey baby is something wrong?” 

“No, Jace I’m fine but you’ve got to call off the visitor brigade.  The first day or so I could understand their concern and wanting to visit but a week full of people just popping by has become really suspicious.”

“Everyone’s worried about you guys,” JC said. 

“Everyone, or you?  Babe I know you mean well and I know you just want to take care of me but if I’m going to get back to life as normal, I’ve got to do it myself.  I love my friends and I love that they want to help but I’ve got to do this on my own terms.”

“But I’m afraid of your injuries and nobo…” 

“I’m healing.  Physically and I can start to emotionally when people aren’t constantly around and I don’t have to put up a front.  It’s only going to get better if I work on me…and that includes facing it again with Jo when she needs to go see what’s become of the apartment and her things.”

“No, you’re not going there.  I told you guys I’ll hire someone to do it.” 

“It’s not about that.  It’s about facing reality.  It’s about life and rebuilding…”

“I’ll call off the visitors…but we’ll talk about the trip, yeah?” 

“Joshua, I…”

“We’ll talk about it.” 

“Whatever.”

She snapped the phone shut.  She knew she was overreacting.  Everything came out as anger lately but it was hard to think with people always around.  Everyone was treating them like they were fragile.  In all reality they were lucky.  They had their lives and that was more than many.  When JC came back, she asked him to spend the night at his own house.  He looked hurt but did as she asked.  If there was one perk to this it was that she tended to get her way.

Johanna and Mollie lay next to each other in Mollie’s bed, trying to sleep.

“I see it every time I close my eyes.  The smoke, the fear on people’s faces...I just can’t block it out,” Johanna admitted.

“I know what you mean, New York was always my safe place…now I’ll never be able to think of it that way.” 

“Me either…which is why I want to stay down here,” Johanna said, facing her friend.  “I know my family is on Long Island but my job sucks, my best friend is in Florida and God knows if I have an apartment to return to.  I need to move on.  I want to start by going back there this weekend and seeing it…seeing what’s left.”

“Then that’s what we’ll do.”

Mollie knew JC wasn’t going to like it but the best she could offer was allowing him to come with them.  The girls made a plan and decided they would fly into Newark and rent a car to drive into the city.  They knew they didn’t want to linger so the plan was to pack it all into the car and head back to Jersey.  They’d pack and ship whatever didn’t fit in the suitcases they planned to bring and head home.

The girls were jittery on the flight and JC felt like he was intruding on something sacred.  They kept close and rarely spoke but they agreed he should drive when they got the rental car.  The girls had brought as much documentation as they could to prove they lived in the apartment, in case they couldn’t get close.  The streets were clear until they got closer to the area surrounding the buildings.  They were stopped every few blocks and had to show the copy of the lease they’d brought to get past each check point.  When they finally got to the building, they could see that there were some broken windows but it looked fairly stable.  The landlord was outside chatting with a policeman and he waved as they entered the building.

Opening the door to their former bachelorette pad, they were met with smashed glass everywhere and gaping holes in the windows.  They stepped carefully around it and headed straight for the bedroom.  It was fairly clean and intact, so they set about packing Johanna’s clothes.  Once they cleared everything in the bedroom, they moved onto the living room.  They were a bit robotic, just mechanically grabbing things they needed. 

Once they finished, they took a step back.  Seeing the apartment so bare and broken was the last straw for Mollie.  She just started to cry and her and Johanna embraced, mourning the loss of the very symbol of their friendship.  JC sensed it was a private moment so he hauled the last box down to the car and waited for the girls. 

They stopped at the local supermarket and grabbed cases of water and boxes of granola bars.  They brought them a few blocks over, right to the site of the World Trade Center and passed them out to all of the workers.  Leaving New York was sad, but after helping even a little with their donation, Mollie felt like she could move on from what had happened.  The city would never feel the same after these events, but it would always be her home. 

By February things were revving up again and the guys were headed to Salt Lake City for the Olympics.  The US was having various artists perform during the weeks of the games and *Nsync was one of them.  They would also be at the closing ceremonies.  Mollie and Johanna decided to tag along, both having nothing else to do.  They’d been a lot better since September and were starting to think about new projects they could do.  Number one on the list was opening a dance studio.  Between Johanna’s business degree and Mollie’s dance abilities, they figured they couldn’t go wrong.  They decided to take a last trip before getting down to business and that’s how they found themselves wandering the Olympic Village the morning of the concert.

“I’ve got to tell you something Jo,” Mollie said, kicking a pile of snow as they walked past it.  “I was going to tell Josh first but I’m so excited I need to tell someone.”

“Okay…”

 "I’m pregnant.”

 Johanna looked shocked and didn’t speak immediately.

 "I know we haven’t been together terribly long and it might seem like we’re rushing things and we honestly didn’t mean for this to happen but…I feel like this baby is a sign…” 

“If you’re happy, I’m happy.  What do you think JC is gonna say?”

            The girls talked excitedly about the night ahead, both about Mollie’s news and the concert as they strolled through the town.  As they headed back towards the hotel, Mollie stopped dead in her tracks.

“Molls?”  Mollie turned to face Johanna as she spoke.  “Are you ok?”

“I…I…”  Mollie turned to look back at the spot she’s just been staring at and saw nothing.  “I thought I saw someone but I must be wrong.  No one’s there now.” 

“Who was it?”

“I could’ve sworn it was Michael.” 

“How could it be?  They have to tell you when he gets out.”

“Yeah…”

The girls didn’t mention the topic again and before they headed over to the concert venue, Mollie had other news on her mind.  JC had been blabbering on about one thing after the other and was acting weird.  He’d been trying to repack some of his things and Mollie had been bouncing her knee up and down nervously trying to decide when the right time to tell him was when it happened.  A simple knock on the door broke the tension for a moment.  JC got up to answer it and Mollie glanced over as someone carried a bouquet into the room.

“Have a nice day,” the person said, sounding familiar.

Mollie looked up in time to see a glimpse of the face and all of her breath left her body.  It looked just like Michael.  JC picked the card from between the stems of the roses and walked it over to Mollie.

“It’s for you babe…and I’d like to take credit for them but it wasn’t me.”

Mollie took the card from his hand and slid a finger under the envelope seal.  Slowly she pulled the card out and when she read it, she let it drop to the floor.

“He’s here,” she whispered. 

“Who is here?”

“Michael, he’s here.  I thought I saw him when I was walking around with Johanna earlier but I didn’t want to believe it but these flowers are from Michael.  I didn’t get a great look at the guy who delivered them but I’m sure it was him,” Mollie said, getting up and pacing. 

“I’ll call the police.  I’ll have him arrested.  I’ll have Lonnie let security know.”

“Jayce…I’m pregnant.” Mollie said.  “I didn’t want to tell you like this but with this new revelation I just….”

“I didn’t want to tell you like this.”

JC’s mouth hung open and it took him a few moments to gather himself.  His thoughts were all over the map.  He was elated and scared and nervous all at the same time.  He snapped back to reality when he realized Mollie was crying.  Pulling into his arms, he kissed her head and rubbed her back.

“Maybe you didn’t want to tell me like this but I’m so glad you told me.  I’m excited about this baby.  And we’ll handle the Michael situation.” 

Mollie calmed down and watched JC as he moved around the room.  His phone was between his cheek and his shoulder and he packed all of their things.  He was stern as he spoke with hotel management and more earnest with Lonnie.  Fifteen minutes later there was a knock on the door and Lonnie was there with a luggage cart.  Once the cart was loaded with their things, they were joined by the other bodyguards and escorted from the building.  JC explained that he’d arranged to stay in the hotels the athletes were staying in, as some had finished competing and gone home.  The hotels the athletes were in were very closely guarded and everyone who entered them required special credentials.

            Mollie was glad he was able to take charge and handle this.  She was completely shaken and her heart raced.  A thousand scenarios ran through her mind.  She reached for her phone and realized it was dead.  She wasn’t sure when the last time she looked at it was so she plugged it in as soon as they got to the new hotel.  She checked her messages and sure enough, there was a message from the New York State Department of Corrections letting her know that Michael had been released early for good behavior.  She felt the anxiousness settle over her and she prayed that nothing would happen.

            By the end of the week, they were flying home and there had been no altercations with or sightings of Michael at all.  Mollie felt better but by no means relieved.  She knew that she’d seen him and she was positive that if he found her once, he would find her again.  She tried to keep herself busy, she wasn’t pregnant enough to be slowed down but she also wasn’t pregnant enough to be in the safe zone.  By the end of March she and Johanna had scouted buildings for their studio and found one that was available for purchase.  They liked the idea of not being a slave to rent and being able to stay for as long as they wanted.  They put in an offer and were accepted.  The building needed some cleanup and refurbishing, so as the builders fixed it, the girls took pleasure in designing it.  It took them a full month to pick out paint and flooring and all the other things that go into furnishing a studio. Mollie felt like she was doing the right thing and it was nice to be back home.

            JC on the other hand was busier than ever.  The guys were doing promotional stuff and they headed out on a smaller tour than the last.  Even if they were using dancers, which they had decided not to this time, JC had forbidden her to participate.  Ever since she blurted out the pregnancy news, he’d been very protective of her.  She missed him but she knew that once this tour was over, everything would calm down for him and they could spend more time together.  Johanna had to head up to New York for one of her cousins weddings and Mollie was going to be alone for a while…or so she thought.

“Justin?” Mollie said, opening the door to find her friend on the porch.  “What are you doing here?”

“We have like two days off.  The rest of the guys went to a songwriting session…I couldn’t.” 

“Why not?” She backed away from the door frame to allow him inside.

“I broke up with Britney.  It turns out she was cheating on me with Wade.” 

“Oh my God, Jay I’m so sorry.”

“Can I crash with you for now?  I just don’t want to be alone.” 

“Yeah, I’ll make us some dinner….while you take Johanna to the airport?”

            Justin looked at her like she’d suggested he pull his own teeth out.  After she promised him a lovely dinner upon return and a night of chatting, he relented and the duo headed out.  Mollie relished the silence and began chopping and preparing ingredients for dinner.  She’d been trying to eat healthy lately for the baby’s sake and she knew Justin liked to be fit so she thought one of her new recipes would be perfect.  As she finished assembling, she realized she hadn’t heard or seen Boo in a while.  She looked to the sliding back door and found it open.  She laughed as she remembered the first time he figured out how to get it open on his own.  She glanced out into the night but couldn’t see him.  She reached for the light switch and her blood ran cold when she felt someone grip her wrist tightly.

“Miss me Mollie?”