Jana sat on the edge of the porch railing looking down the quiet street and sipped from the can of ginger ale. Kevin watched her for a long time through the window. He wanted the image preserved in his mind; her profile against the evening sky, her straight blonde hair lightly blowing in the wind, the gentle curl of her lashes, a subtle pout on her lips, and that look in her eye…that look he couldn't yet define. Closing the squeaking door slowly behind him, he stuck his hands in his pockets and lifted his shoulders. "Watching the grass grow?"

"Do you realize that this time next year, we'll have a baby?" she asked quietly. He'd come up next to her, and rested a hand on her shoulder, looking in the same direction she had been as she leaned against his chest. "It'll be dressed in a silly outfit and wear bunny ears."

"Bunny ears?" he laughed quietly, wrapping his arms around her easily, listening to the traffic on Route 9 just down the street blend with the sound of the crickets. "Are we really going to do all those dorky things to our kid, Jan?"

"The way I figure, it's gonna rebel, it's gonna keep us up at night when it's sick, we'll clean up after it for a few years, and make us lose sleep with worry; we may as well get even for it."

He laughed, and moved to lean against the railing behind her, inhaling deeply. "Well, I think it went okay, over all." She leaned back against his arm and dropped her head back onto his shoulder, looking up to him as best she could. "What? I do. It could have been much worse. We weren't asked to leave. No one yelled. Heck, your ma even seems kind of excited by it." He lowered his head, shifting slightly, to kiss her forehead tenderly.

"And did you even look at my dad?" She pulled herself up and turned to face him, lifting her eyebrows in question. "You're personally responsible for soiling his innocent daughter, and the only reason you're still alive is because we're getting married. If you hadn't proposed, there'd be a shotgun aimed at your shaved, mohekan head right about now."

"He's a father. I didn't expect anything different. Did you?" Her expression dropped and she leaned against him again, letting him wrap his arm around her. "Darlin', last night, who were you with?"

"You."

"And? Who else?"

"No one."

"And, who was the guy that asked you to marry him on a mountain top?"

"That dark, sultry, dude I know."

He kissed the top of her head with a light laugh. "Yeah. And? Who else?"

"No one."

"Exactly. No one. It's gonna be us, Jana. We're gonna to be the one's that are gonna spend our lives together. We're not going to live with your family, or my family, or our friends…" He moved off the railing and stood in front of her, lifting her face up to him. "It's finally going to be us, Jana. I think," he tilted his head and smiled at her, "an' I'm pretty certain 'bout this, I think, as long as we're together, we're pretty unstoppable. Look what we've managed to do so far, and we weren't even trying! Can you imagine the things we can do when we really put our minds to it?"

~

"I just need to make this one stop," Kevin said, glancing over to Jana a week after they returned to LA.

"Okay," she answered easily, sliding down more comfortably in the passenger seat of Kevin's truck and putting her feet up on the dashboard. She glanced at the directions in her hand. "Your scribble says to turn left at the 2nd light."

"Scribble," he scoffed. "You can still read it, it's not scribble."

She chuckled in response. "It's scribble. I'm going by deduction."

"Just read what's written," he teased, pointing to the paper in her hands. After making the turn, he slowed down slightly on the residential road, and she continued to guide him through the left and right turns until they came upon a quiet cul-de-sac with gated driveways. He looked for the number and drove up to the gate, pressing in the code on the paper.

Once the gates opened, Jana put her feet down and widened her eyes as she sat up. "Wow," she mumbled, as Kevin glanced to her. Clearing the foliage of the gate, a two-story Spanish style house stood in the middle of a circular drive with a large, neatly tended front yard with tall palm trees along the driveway. The house was white stucco with balconies off of each window on the 2nd floor.

"Pretty amazing, isn't it?" Kevin asked, slowing the truck to a crawl and watching her reaction with a smile.

She shook her head again. "Wow."

"Want to come in with me and snoop around?" he chuckled, pulling up to the front door. There was just a small covered awning over a slate front foyer with the outside light still burning.

"Hell yeah!" she giggled, unbuckling her seatbelt. Kevin got out, and once she was out of the truck, he slipped his hand into hers and rang the bell. Jana turned her head to look out over the property in awe. The greenery covering the gate completely secluded the house, and as she turned, she noticed the city visible over the top of the gate. "Look at that view!"

"They don't seem to be home," Kevin said, ringing the bell again. "Let's go in anyway."

"What?" Jana said in shock as he opened the front door. "Kevin!" she scolded, but he was already walking inside. She took a step behind him, pausing in the doorway to peer around as she realized that the house was completely empty. Kevin was standing in the foyer, looking up to the ceilings in inspection. "What's going on?" she asked, slowly walking inside and looking around.

The foyer floor was polished stone, and there was an open stairway with ornate wrought iron along the banister. Ahead, there was a step down to the huge, open living room, painted a brilliant red. On her left there were closed French doors leading to the dining room, while an open archway led into a large kitchen. She walked down to the living room and could see the breakfast nook next to the kitchen, a butler's pantry between it, and the dining room from there. Many windows opened out to a patio with a covered hot tub, and yet another room off the opposite end of the living room.

"That's the entertainment room," he said, watching her gaze.

She made her way over to peer inside. "Entertainment room?"

"Wide screen tv, small studio set-up, amazing stereo system that goes through all the rooms," he said excitedly.

"What are we doing here, Kevin?" she giggled, finally turning to look at him.

He smiled. "The house was actually built in 1927, but that room was just added."

"Kevin? What are we doing here?"

"Like it?" He stretched his hand out and led her up the stairway. "Come on. The master bedroom is at that end." Pushing the door over, he led her inside and watched her mouth drop in amazement. There was a skylight in the center of the room, a balcony opening out to the back of the house and floor to ceiling windows throughout. He motioned to two doorways on either side of the room. "His and hers walk-in closets," he said with a nod. "That door over there is the master bath with his and hers sinks, separate shower, and a claw foot tub. The original, I was told."

"Oh my God," she muttered, heading over to look.

"There are two rooms with full en suite baths and two regular rooms, and a bathroom at the end of the hall."

"Five bedrooms?" she asked in amazement as Kevin shrugged.

He moved to look out over the back patio. "So, do you like it?"

She came up beside him and peered out beside him to look down at the patio and sculpted garden in the hillside before gazing out to the rest of the manicured yard and garden. "Do I like it?"

Kevin turned around to lean against the side of the window and smiled to her. "Yeah. Do you like it?"

"Why?"

"We have two others to look at," he said, leaning over to whisper in her ear before kissing her neck. "We need to find someplace to raise the baby, don't we?"

She leaned back to blink at him with a smile. "You mean...this place?"

"If you like it. As I said, we've got two others to look at if you want to check 'em out."

"I want to check 'em out," she beamed, nodding her head. "When did you have time to find them?"

"It's this really cool thing, called a realtor. They find them. We look and choose the one we like. I narrowed down to three. You tell me which one you like the best out of the three, and ta-dah! We have a house."

"You like this one best?"

"I'm not gonna say." He shook his head slowly. "We'll check out the others and decide after."

"You're such a sneak," she giggled, leaning up to kiss him quickly.

"I'm not a sneak," he protested, returning the kiss. "You've got a ridiculous schedule."

~

"So?" Kevin asked, walking back into the sunken living room after they looked at the other two houses. "This is the one you like best?"

Jana walked backwards, turning around slowly to look at everything. "Well, the devil-red living room has to go."

"Yeah, that's what I thought too," he agreed with a laugh. "A bit too satanic."

"Can we really…" she paused, looking around with wide eyes.

"What?"

"I'm not sure," she admitted. "You just blow me away sometimes?"

"Only sometimes?" he asked, pretending to be disappointed. "Dang, I'm just gonna have to try harder then." He wrapped his arms around her waist and looked around the room with a satisfied smile. "Are we home?"

"Only if we can paint over the satanic red," she said with an excited smile as Kevin nodded in agreement. "Then, we're home."

~


AJ lifted his sunglasses up as he walked through the foyer, slowly nodding in approval. "Kevin Richardson has arrived!" he teased, still nodding. "Damn, there goes the neighborhood!" He grabbed Kevin's hand and hugged him quickly, patting him on the back before moving further into the house. "Shit, Kev!" He looked back at Kevin with his eyes widened. "Now this here is a house, y'all!" He pointed to Howie and Brian looking around the red living room, over his shoulder. "Dude?" He crinkled his forehead.

"Yeah, that's our official Human Sacrifice room according to Jana."

"No, dude…the trash goes outside, man."

"Who else do you think is gonna help me get these boxes upstairs?" Kevin asked, pointing to the wall of boxes lining the foyer.

Brian giggled, blinking at him with a grin. "Jana? She's all into that equality thing, isn't she?"

"Yeah, well, uh," Kevin paused, pressing his lips together and rubbing his chin. It was the perfect opening, he considered. Not quite the way he'd planned on telling them, but it was the perfect opening.

"Yeah, well, uh," AJ mimicked with a laugh. "What? She pregnant or something? With child? Bun in da oven?"

"Um, well, now that you mention it…" The boys cracked up into laughter, but slowly they all fell into silence staring at Kevin, noticing he wasn't joining in with the teasing.

"Dude!" AJ turned on his heels to face Kevin, his eyes wide with his jaw dropped. "No fuckin' way!"

Kevin shrugged and opened his palms out helplessly. Reaching back to scratch between his shoulder blades, he started with false hesitation, "um, yeah, well, Aje… It kinda happened."

"Kev!" Howie exclaimed. "Really?" Kevin nodded with a smile forming across his face.
"How pregnant?"

AJ turned and dropped his chin. "Dude…you can't be a little pregnant, man."

"He knows what I mean!" Howie protested, looking past AJ as AJ turned to face Kevin.

"Yeah. About nine weeks, almost mid-way through her first trimester."

Brian slowly sauntered over quietly, walking behind Kevin to come to stand on his other side with his hands clasped behind his back, and his lips pulled into a tight line. Brian looked down to the floor briefly and back up. "You know, Kev, this whole coincidence thing isn't gonna fly if we keep this shit up."

"What?" Kevin asked, looking over to him, in confusion.

"Leigh? Six weeks," Brian said, curling his lips up, blinking at him.

"Shit!" Howie giggled, looking over to AJ expectantly as Kevin wrapped Brian into an embrace, laughing.

AJ stepped back and shook his head swiftly. "Hell no! Sarah and I know how to use contraception, dude!"

"I can't believe either of you never said anything sooner!" Howie protested good-naturedly, hitting both Brian and Kevin in the shoulder at the same time.

"I just found out about it!" Brian protested innocently. "And we weren't going to say anything until we were sure it was safe and healthy." He looked to Kevin quickly. "That goes for the family, too, Kev. No one knows. Leigh's gonna kill me for saying anything."

"Hey, I wasn't going to say anything either, but…this just presented itself. So, now you know."

"Yeah," Brian said, squaring his shoulders and standing up straight, "now you know!"

Kevin nodded, "and y'all are the sorriest bunch 'a uncles any kid could ever have, man." Seconds later, both Brian and he were bombarded with congratulatory hugs and pats on their backs.

"Where is Jana so we can tease…I mean, offer our congratulations?" Brian asked.

"Work." Kevin checked his watch. "At least for another eight hours or so."

"Dude," Howie said, checking his watch, "it's 2:00. She's not getting home until 10?"

Kevin furrowed his forehead and looked back to his watch. "Okay, make that ten hours or so."

~

It was 2:00 in the morning and Kevin woke up realizing Jana still wasn't in bed. Even if she'd worked late, this was too late, even for her. Fumbling for the light switch in the hallway, he gradually made his way downstairs and stopped short, dropping his shoulders. Jana had made it home; she just never made it up to bed. Her head was resting on the arm of the couch as she curled between it, and a box, holding a bottle of water and dressed in her halter sports top and pair of leggings.

He knelt in front of her, taking the bottle from her and, smoothing a hand down her leg, whispering her name. Her eyes fluttered open, but all she did was sigh and close them again. "Come on, darlin'," he said quietly, standing over her and scooping her up, "arms around my neck."

"I can walk," she mumbled.

"Shhh." He lifted her from the couch and carried her, realizing she'd fallen back to sleep halfway up the stairs. When he placed her on the mattress, she curled back up on her side, hugging the sheets in a lump to her chest.

Lying back down, he tried not to feel as if she had slept on the couch on purpose. This morning had been another petty argument before she disappeared to the studio after a fruitless talk the previous night. He'd tried not to yell or get angry. That had gotten them nowhere. Silence wasn't progressing anything either.

"How am I supposed to show you I'm serious if you're not going to believe what I say, Jan?" Wide-awake, lying in the dark, talking things over AGAIN once she returned from the studio. He knew she was tired, making her more emotional, and the hormones flowing through her body didn't help matters.

"I don't want you to say anything," her voice had come through the darkness last night. "I don't know what more I'm expecting you to do. I mean, we have this house…and the baby…and…I know it's not fair, Kevin. I just…need something more before I can just… I just need something more."

He didn't know what more to do. For a while, they were fine, but since moving it seemed as if life found their address. There were lawyers, this time dealing with a lawsuit about writing credits. The rest of the boys were trying to get things moving for the new album, but Nick was nowhere to be found. They had managed to talk to Nick's management when they told them they'd be happy to let them go, and maintain Nick's contract. There were audits of the record company, new management to work with, and contract negotiations to keep him occupied and away from home. There had also been trips: to New York for a TRL stint the day after Easter, A JWR function in Chicago, followed by the Kentucky Derby with Howie. Now, he was planning a trip to Washington D.C. for a Senate Subcommittee. It seemed endless, and he knew his traveling was making her nervous.

The last time you were separated so often you fucked it all up. How could she not be scared, Kev? How could she not need something more than a promise? You promised her the same things last time too, but couldn't keep your promises. A promise and ring isn't going to ease her fears about it happening again. She needs something more from you. You need something more from her. What the hell are you waiting around for? He turned to face her as she lay with her back towards him, listening to her soft breathing in the silence of the house. She's having your baby, Kev. She's made every step she could towards you…bridge the gap already, Kev. Just bridge the gap.

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Absolute Beginners - Disclaimer | Email Coriander

Read the companion story: Birds in Your Garden
by Coridander

Oreos for Breakfast (Nick Fanfic)
by The Pumpkin Coach & Paperbag Princess

Goin' On For Years (Kevin & AJ)
by Coriander

c. 2002 by Coriander
Some content not suitable for children. You have been warned.