The alarm clock finally kicked on, shouting out the local forecast through the speakers.  A young disc jockey with too much energy came on the air.

"Good morning, Los Angeles!  We have a jam-packed show, so stick around.  Here is the hot new single from JC Chasez."

Kate immediately hit the off button.  "Why won't you just get out of my head?"  She asked herself.

She made her way to the pink painted bedroom next to hers.  Kendra slept peacefully in her bed with the covers thrown over her head.  Kate found herself leaning on the doorframe staring at the wonderful miracle before her.

"Kendra, sweetheart.  Time to get up."  The little girl groaned.  "Come K.  You need to get ready for school."

Kate stood back as she watched Kendra slowly wake up and get out of bed.  "Go use the bathroom and brush your teeth.  Breakfast will be waiting."

Although this wasn't the kind of life she had predicted for herself at age 25, she wouldn't trade it for the world.  Her daughter taught her how to be a better, stronger person.

Once she got Kendra out the door and on the school bus, she sat in the oversized chair with a cup of coffee, overlooking the city.  Lost in her world; it was something she enjoyed doing, but rarely found the time.  A knock at the door interrupted her thoughts.

"Hey, I'm sorry I didn't call before coming over."

Kate cocked her head to the side.  It had been so long since she last saw JC standing on her doorstep.  "No, it's alright.  Come in."

He tried to snoop around her apartment without being obvious.  "Nice place."

"Meets you approval?"

"The offer still stands.  You could be living in a nice house right now.  With your own private backyard and a gorgeous view."

Kate sat back down in her chair and JC sat in the chair next to her.  "I'm doing fine on my own, Josh.  I don't need your money."

Even though her words stung, he knew they were true.  "I know, but I want to take care of you."

"It's been six years.  A lot has happened in six years."  Kate warmed her hands up on her coffee mug.

JC slumped back in the chair.  "Are you ever going to drop that?"

"No."

"Why not?"

Kate took a breath before being her rant.  "Because you left me.  You walked out of my life and never looked back.  You chose other girls over your best friend.  I hated you for doing that to me, but I also hated myself for letting you doing it."

"Kate, those girls were all wrong for me.  They manipulated me and sabotaged all of the relationships that mean so much to me."

"Yet, you continued to sleep with them.  You allowed them to tear you away and I'll never understand why you went along with it all."

JC shook his head, trying to put himself back in that period.  He was 24 years old with a successful music career.  His four best friends were with him on the ride of a lifetime.  The boys of *N SYNC were on top of the world.  Anything that they touched instantly turned to gold.

"Let me make it up to you."

"How are you going to do that?"  Kate wondered.

"Let me take you to Mexico.  Take time to relax with me.  It will be like old times.  I'll even get you your favorite room.  You know...the one you love that over looks the ocean."

Kate let out a small laugh as she headed to the kitchen.  "Things aren't that easy anymore, Josh.  I can't just pack up and leave at the drop of a dime.  I would have to call my sister and see if she would be able to watch Kendra.  Then I'd have to be sure that Kendra's schedule isn't too ridiculously crazy.  After that I would have make sure she gets all packed and everything.  And on top of all that I have to take care of myself too.  Plus when we get to Mexico, I'm sure Kendra will be calling every few minutes.  It's just not worth it."

JC suddenly found himself trying to breathe for her.  "I'm sorry.  I guess I didn't realize how crazy things would be."

Kate ran her fingers through her hair.  "My life is different now.  I'm not the same little girl you used to chase around your house."

"I'm slowly starting to figure that out."  He reached out to cradle her hands in his.  "Where do I fit in your new life?"

"There's always a special place for you.  No one can take that away.  You just have to remember that I have someone depending on me every second of the day."

JC glanced behind Kate at a picture hanging on the wall.  "She's beautiful."  Kendra posed for the camera in the black and white photo.

Kate turned around to see the picture that he was looking at.  "Oh, that's such an old picture."

"How old is she there?"  He walked up closer to the framed picture.

"Umm...she's about three there."  Kate watched him as he studied her features.

JC stood silent for a moment before turning back around.  "Do you have any resent pictures?"

She was surprised it had taken him so long to want to see pictures of Kendra.  She figured he was too nervous to ask.  Kate fled to the living room and grabbed a smaller framed picture off the bookcase.

"Is she at school right now?"

"Yea.  She's in the first grade.  She loves school."  Kate sighed.  This was the first event where JC wasn't the first person to know about it and it felt a little strange trying to catch him up on things.

JC finally tore his eyes away from the picture and changed the subject.  "Justin is having the guys over in a little while.  Do you want to come with me?"

"Well, since you conveniently cleared up my schedule for the month..."  JC gave a sly smile.  "Let me go get ready."

"Get ready?"  JC shouted as Kate made her way into her bedroom.  "Why do you need to get ready?"

"I would like to look good, not like it's my lazy day."  Kate shouted back.

"Just don't wear that stuffy little number you wore when we went out to lunch."

"Shut up, Josh."  She emerged briefly to throw a pair of rolled up shocks at him.

A minute later, JC asked, "Are you ready yet?"  He stood at the doorway of her bathroom.

"Does it look like I'm ready?"  She continued to put her make-up on.  "Why are you in such a hurry?"

"I'm not.  It's just boring watching you get ready."

"You're such an annoyance.  Why did I agree to let you back in my life?"

"Because you love me."

"You keep telling yourself that."

An hour later, JC and Kate finally made their way to the other side of town.  More cars than usual lined the street next to Justin's house.  JC led her through the house and to the backyard where everyone else was.

"Hey, you brought the M.I.L.F!"  Those were the first words to leave Justin's mouth.

Kate pressed her lips together and glared at him.  "Fuck you, Justin."

He let out a light laugh.  She and Justin had always had a love-hate relationship filled with jokes and insults since the day they met.  "I haven't seen you in-"

"Six years."  She finished for him as she accepted a long awaited hug.

"Right.  So where's the baby?"

"Justin!"  JC scolded.  "How many times do I have to tell you-"

"I know, I know, she's not a baby anymore.  But I like to think of her as a little baby."  Justin waved his spatula in the air.

Kate laughed, remembering how much fun she used to have with these guys.  "Kendra is in school right now."

"I thought I heard that sweet voice of yours."  Joey crept up behind her.  He embraced her in a warm hug.

"Hey Joe, looking good."  She patted his stomach, which didn't bulge out as much as she remembered.

"Brianna's got me on a tight leash."  He said, referring to his own six-year-old daughter. 

After reuniting with the rest of the guys, Kate took the opportunity to relax.  It had been awhile since she was able to take time off from work.  She was usually trying to put extra hours in while still having enough time to spend with Kendra. 

They all sat around the glass patio table under an umbrella eating the meat that Justin had grilled.

"So where are you working at?"  Chris asked with a mouth full of food.

Kate politely finished chewing before answering his question.  "I am a journalist for Cosmopolitan."

"How ironic."  Lance commented.  Although the guys never allowed themselves to get close and personal with the media, they knew they could trust Kate.

"Yeah.  It pays the bills."  She shrugged.  "And I get the wonderful pleasure of interviewing Josh this mouth."

"Do you not usually do that sort of thing?"  Lance inquired.

Kate pushed her plate away and leaned back in her chair.  "No.  Far from it.  I write about the true stories.  Like women finding the strength to leave abusive husband."

"I'm proud of you, Kate."

Kate smiled warmly at the compliment given.  "Thank you, Justin."

"Yeah, I just figured you'd be a stripper by now."

"And I figured you'd have herpes by now."  Kate countered.

"Oh, she schooled you!"  Joey busted up laughing along with the other three guys.

Spending a few hours with the guys made Kate feel young again.  They allowed her to act like she did when she was a teenager.  She found herself cussing and telling dirty jokes.  However, she kept an eye on her watch so that she could get home in time to pick up her daughter.

"How was your day today?"  Kate peered into her review mirror at the energized little girl.

"Good."  Kendra paused before going into her long stretch of the events that went on throughout the day.

Kate usually sat through twenty minutes of Kendra's stories, but it was something that she enjoyed.  She hoped that as Kendra grew into her teen years, she would still feel comfortable enough to tell her mother what was going on in her life.

"Mama!"  Kendra bounced excitedly into the kitchen later that evening.

Kate continued to cook dinner for the night.  "Yes, darling."

"Do you know who *N SYNC is?"

Kate nearly choked on her own breath.  She had never mentioned the group to her and Kendra didn't listen to very much Top 40 radio stations or watch much television.  "Why do you want to know?"

"Because Sarah said her mom let her watch them on TV and they go like this," Kendra mimicked the dance moves to Bye, Bye, Bye.  "And she said that we should dance to one of their songs for the talent show."

Kate nodded while still trying to process the words that were coming at her.  "Are you sure you don't want to do a song from dance class?"

"No, mom," she dragged out the 'mom' part, insinuating that her mom wasn't too hip.  "We have to have the best dance and Sarah says that they are so cool!"  Kendra beamed, dancing around the kitchen.  "Can I go over to Sarah's tomorrow after school and stay the night?  We have to start practicing."

Kate's mind was swirling.  Was it just an unfortunate conscience that the week JC walked back into her life, Kendra wants to know more about *N SYNC?

"Mom?"  Kate snapped out of her trance.  "C'mon...please!  It's Friday tomorrow and Sarah's mom already said yes.  I promise."