The suitcase was packed, the laptop bag sitting neatly beside it, ready to be filled with the portable computer, and the leather briefcase was latched with the two gold, shiny clasps.

Lance looked at the stack of luggage and crossed his arms over his chest. He nodded once and turned around. His breath caught when he saw Megan standing in the doorway of their bedroom.

"You startled me," he said, placing one hand over his heart.

"Sorry." Megan didn’t move from the door.

"What’s up?" Lance asked. He let his arms drop to his sides.

"I don’t want you to go tomorrow," Megan said.

"Meg," Lance said. "You know I can’t back out now. I asked you."

"And I seem to remember asking why I should have any say, since I’d never taken first place in your life. Does that seem like a pleased consent to you?"

Lance shook his head. "But if you didn’t want me to go, you should have said so."

Megan sighed. She walked across the room and sat down on the bed. Lance sat down next to her.

"Like I can tell you not to go back to ‘N SYNC." Her voice was clipped. "If I’d straight out said that I didn’t want you to go, would you have stayed here?"

Lance was silent for a few moments. "Why don’t you want me to go?"

"Answer me, Lance." Megan stood up again and turned so she was facing him. "I need to know."

"And I need to know the answer to my question." The volume of Lance’s voice raised above the level he was comfortable taking it.

"I asked first," Megan said. Then she sighed. "Fine, I don’t want you to go because I’m afraid you won’t come back to me." She blinked once, twice, and Lance could see the flash of tears pooling in her eyes. "Now I want an answer."

"Why don’t you think I’ll come back to you?" Lance asked. "It’s only going to be two days, you know. Two days to sort things out, to decide if this is just a happy idea or something that could go somewhere."

"It’s not just two days," Megan said. "Because you know as well as I do that you guys will try to make a go of it again."

"Why don’t you think I’ll come back to you?" Lance asked again.

"Because you’ll be out there," Megan said. "I love you. I really do, but I know you’ll go back out there and that I’ll be here waiting for you, and you’ll forget about me."

"I will never forget about you, Meggy," Lance said. He reached out a hand towards her, but she ignored it.

"But will you come back to me?" Megan asked. "We’ve been rocky, Lance, and I think we’ve made some progress, but can you honestly say that after this stint, this reunion tour, is over you’ll be happy to come back here to me."

Lance looked at Megan. He blinked.

Megan crossed her arms over her chest. "I at least deserve an answer to my question, then. Would you have gone anyway even if I told you straight out that I didn’t want you to go?"

Slowly, Lance nodded. "‘N SYNC is my life--"

"Was your life," Megan said. Then she sighed. "I know. I want you to be happy, Lance, and that is the only reason I didn’t tell you to stay."

Lance looked down at the floor.

"You should go to bed," Megan said. "You’ve got to get up early tomorrow." She turned and walked out of the room.

"Are you coming to bed?" Lance asked.

"Later," Megan said, her voice fading down the hallway.

"God," Chris said. He clutched Dani’s hand in his own as they walked down the steps leading out of the plane into the smog filled LA air. "I’m, like, giddy."

"I can tell," Dani said. She squeezed Chris’s hand in her own and smiled at him. "This is the most excited you’ve been since, well, for a very long time."

"I know," Chris said. "I’m just. This is totally exciting. To see the guys again; to have the prospect of doing this again."

"Is this what it felt like in the beginning?" Dani asked. "When you didn’t know how you were going to do?"

"Almost," Chris said slowly. "But, you know, if anything, this is more exciting."

"I wasn’t expecting to hear from you so soon," Stephanie said. She pulled a long draught of caramel frappuccino through the semi-transparent green straw and looked at Justin with large eyes.

"Well, I just had to share with someone," Justin said. "Chris’s call was so out of the blue and now I’m just excited."

"I can tell." Stephanie grinned. "You’re glowing. You’re sort of like I always saw you acting on MTV and stuff."

"I’m feeling like. I don’t know," Justin said. "I shouldn’t tell you this, but this is the first morning I haven’t woken up with a hangover in months."

Stephanie frowned. "That’s not good, Justin. I mean it’s good that you didn’t this morning, but every other morning."

"It’s the only way to deal with the shit in my life," Justin said. His voice took on a harder quality. "Believe me, if there had been another way--"

"I believe you," Stephanie said quickly.

"But last night," Justin said, the smile returning to his face. "It felt so good. It felt like something was finally right in my world."

"That’s great, Justin. Really." Stephanie took another drink through her straw.

"We should have told them to meet us at your house," JC said as he looked around his apartment. "This is too small for all of us."

Joey rolled his eyes. "You just didn’t want to have to clean up all of your shit, man. My house is no bigger than this flat."

"But you look like you have more room," JC said. "You look prosperous."

"Because the ‘Easy Spackle-Splice and Dice-o-matic’ brings in the big bucks," Joey said. "We all know that you’re raking in the dough, Jace. You can’t have as many songs as you do on other artists CD’s without making some money."

JC sighed. "I just hate having people invade my space. It screws up the aura for awhile."

"You’ve been dipping into those home aura purification books again, haven’t you," Joey said as he shook his head. "I warned you against those, C. I told you about that guy I saw on Chris’s show that lived his life by those and ended up sleeping with his mother’s sister."

JC stared at Joey for a long moment. "I’m sincerely doubting that those books had anything to do with him sleeping with his mother’s sister."

"No, really!" Joey said. "He swore up and down that he turned his potted palm in the wrong direction and it screwed up his love force." Joey raised his hand. "I swear, C. Honest."

JC turned away from Joey. "Well." He stopped talking. He turned his head so he was looking at Joey over his shoulder. "Would you believe, I really have nothing to say to that?"

Joey laughed. "That must be a first. JC Chasez, speechless. Why, you know, I might be speechless from the shock of it all."

"Oh, fuck off," JC said, in the process of turning around again, but then there was a knock on the door, and he stopped moving.

Both men stared at the door.

"Answer it," Joey said. "Are we betting it’s Lance?"

"Or Chris and Dani," JC said. "Justin should still be in the air."

"Answer it," Joey said again.

JC walked towards the door and slowly turned the deadbolt and then unhooked the chain lock, and finally turned the doorknob.

He stared at the man on the other side of the doorsill.

"Lance," JC said. "Man. You look great."

Joey stood up from his place on the couch and walked towards the doorway. He could see Lance over JC’s shoulder. The hair was still blond and spiked out at odd angles, but Joey could see a button down long sleeve shirt. And a sports coat.

"Man," Joey said. "Mr. Business has decided to grace the streets of Hollywood."

"Josh, Joey." Lance smiled, the gesture slightly strained, but genuine. "It’s good to see you guys. Like, seriously good."

"It’s been way too long," JC said. "When was it last, like three years ago?"

Lance nodded. "Chris and Dani’s wedding."

"Shit," Joey said. "Has it been that long already? Hey, man, come in. Excuse JC, the bad host here."

Lance nodded as he stepped into the living room. "You’ve got a nice place, Josh."

"Thanks." JC smiled, but it faded in the subsequent awkward silence.

"He thinks it’ll fuck up the aura, or something, by having all of us here," Joey said. He rolled his eyes for Lance’s benefit. "LA has corrupted his brain, man. I mean, he’s always been a little eh, but now." He moved his fingers in circles at his temple.

"Like you can talk, Mr. Splice-o-matic," JC said. "Lance, come on, sit. Put your bags down. Can I get you something to drink?"

"Scotch?" Lance asked as he set his three bags down by the doorway. "I’d love a scotch."

JC nodded. "Sure. Scotch. We can do that." He walked over to the antique mini-bar in the corner of the living room. "So, Lance."

"Yeah?" Lance asked.

JC turned away from the bar a minute later, Lance’s drink, and another one for himself encased in his hands. "Man. I can’t believe it’s been so long. What have you been up to? I mean, we haven’t heard too much about you out here."

"Oh, um." Lance took the drink from JC. "I’ve been doing FreeLance. Meredith’s making it big. The new album’s climbing the charts and her tour starts soon."

"Chris mentioned something about your girlfriend," Joey said. He wiggled his eyebrows. "Said there was another one to add to the group list."

"Oh, Megan." Lance took a drink from the glass. "Megan," he repeated.

"Are you two serious?" JC asked.

Lance shrugged, shook his head, and then nodded. "Yeah."

"Well, how long have you been together?" Joey asked.

"Two years," Lance said.

"Two years and you don’t know if you’re serious? You guys having problems or something?" JC asked. "Man, that’s longer than you were with any girl while ‘N SYNC was together."

"We’re perfect," Lance said quickly before he smiled tightly. "She was really sorry that she wasn’t able to come out here today and meet all of you all. You would have loved her."

Joey looked as if he were about to say more, but Lance continued.

"Tell me about you guys. What have you all been up to?"

JC opened his mouth to answer, when there was another knock on the door.

"You excited?" Justin asked Lonnie as the big man slouched in the airplane seat. "You haven’t seen any of the guys in, wow, even longer than I have."

"I’m thrilled, Timberlake," Lonnie said. "All of you together, me being the only bodyguard, and I know Chris’ll do something to make sure you all get noticed in front of the psychotic fans that still lurk on the streets."

"No one would recognize us," Justin said. "We’re has-beens. That’s what’s making this so cool. We’ll be big again."

Lonnie sighed heavily. "That’s what I’m afraid of. You’re going to be the death of me, Timba-lake."

Justin grinned boyishly. "Believe me, Lonnie, if it gets the group going again, I’ll try my hardest."

"That’ll be Chris," Joey said to Lance as JC moved towards the door. "His flight was arriving maybe half an hour after yours."

"Oh." Lance took another drink. "If I’d known that I might have just waited at the airport until they got in."

"Whatever," Joey said. "Like you’d put off the joy of seeing me and C any longer than you had to."

Lance was about to answer when three people re-entered the room. He stood up, instead, and gave the small woman a hug.

"Dani," he said. "If I’d known you were coming, I’d have brought Megan."

"I wish you had," Dani said. "Then I wouldn’t have to put up with you boys all weekend."

"But you love us boys," Chris said, wrapping his arms around Dani from behind. "Lance, man, it’s good to see you."

Lance nodded.

"Now all we need is Justin," Joey said. "Then we can get this party started.

The restaurant was one that Joey and JC frequented regularly, unknown enough so that the management was happy to give the five men, the bodyguard, and the wife a table hidden from the view of the other patrons.

"Chinese," Lance said as he used the chopsticks to push the fried rice around the plate in front of him. He smiled at JC. "I should have guessed."

"You should have," JC said. He happily trapped a piece of chicken between his two chopsticks and stuffed it in his mouth. "I’ve even converted Joey."

"He’s lying," Joey said quickly. "I’ve just been humoring him, you know?"

The other men laughed. When the sound faded to chuckles and then silence, Chris spoke.

"So, maybe we should talk about the reason we’re all here."

"Can I ask something?" Lance asked. "What brought this sudden need to do a reunion tour on?"

"I was no longer satisfied with what life was offering me," Chris said.

"As in they fired him," Justin said.

"Released me because I wouldn’t meet their trash guidelines anymore, thank you very much." Chris turned away from Justin and back to Lance. "We went over this on the phone. Where are we all now without ‘N SYNC?"

"Not doing anything spectacular," Joey said.

"But you’ve got your solo career," Lance said to Justin.

"It’s not fun without you guys," Justin said.

"And you’re writing a lot." Lance turned to JC. "That’s who you are now."

"We all developed our businesses on the road," JC said.

"And I already told you that I knew you could run your management company from the road," Chris said. "So don’t even try to raise that as an excuse."

"I am so in," Justin said. "This is just what I needed." He looked at Lonnie and watched as the other man rolled his eyes. "Lonnie’s in, too, of course, ‘cause you don’t get one of us without the other."

"But how’s this going to work?" Lance asked. "I mean, we said goodbye, already. Our fan base, even the youngest of them, will be in college."

"College students liked us before," Justin said. "Lots of college students liked us. They were the ones in the front row with the ‘We’re single, legal, and staying in your hotel’ signs."

"We’d have to play up the reunion aspect," JC said. "That this isn’t a long term thing. That they should come support us this one last time."

"But what if it is a long term thing?" Dani asked. "Maybe you guys won’t be able to give it up again."

"See," Lance said. "We left while we were at the top. Now the only place to go is back down."

"Tell me something, Lance," Joey said. He leaned heavily on the white tablecloth covered table. "In 1988, what group was getting big?"

Lance furrowed his brow for a few moments. "New Kids," he said slowly.

"And in 1998?"

"Backstreet," Lance said. "And us, too. Almost."

"And what year is this?" Joey asked.

"2008," Lance said.

"And what pop artist is big now?" Joey raised an eyebrow, waiting for Lance to answer. "That’s right. There’s no one. There’s a gap that’s waiting to be filled."

"But there’s a difference between us and previous decades. We’re old, Joey. We can’t dance and sing the same way that we used to anymore."

"Which is why we become the vocal group we always wanted to become," JC said. "I have some songs already that might work. We’ll have to work some new stuff in with the old."

"You’re talking like this is a sure thing," Lance said. "There is so much that needs to get done before we can do any work. You all remember how it works, right?"

"We’ve got songs and members," Justin said. He turned to look at Lance. "Now all we need is a manager to work through all that stuff that needs to be done."

Lance looked at Justin sharply, and then let his gaze slide over the other people sitting at the table. "We should call Johnny, then. He’d probably still be willing to make it work for us."

"Not Johnny," Justin said. "You."

"Me?" Lance nearly squeaked. "I couldn’t manage a group that I was in. That’s just unethical."

"Who else would we trust?" Chris asked. "Johnny’s out of the business, no one else would want to manage five old geezers like us."

"No," Lance shook his head. "Believe me, guys. I’m not that good a manager. I seem to kill every group I touch. Meredith’s been my only success. Why would you want me?"

"Because you know this business inside out," Joey said. "You’re Mr. Networking, remember? If anyone can get us out there, it’s you."

Lance sighed.

Lance stared at the cell phone in his hand. He was feeling entirely out of his element, for some reason, and he couldn’t figure out why. He pushed eleven numbers and listened to the five rings before an answering machine picked up.

"Hi. You’ve reached Meredith and Tony. We can’t come to the pho--"

Lance pushed the off button of the phone and dialed a second phone number.

"Hello?" Megan’s voice was tired in his ear.

"Hey," Lance said.

"Lance?" Megan asked. She suddenly sounded more awake. "I wasn’t expecting to hear from you tonight. Is everything okay?"

"Yeah," Lance said. "I just needed to talk to someone from home, is all."

"Oh." Megan sounded like she was smiling. "Well, I guess I’m home."

"I’m feeling totally out of it here, Meg," Lance said. "They want me to manage the re-formed group."

"That’s great," Megan said, but her strained voice belied her true feelings.

"It’s not, though." Lance lay back on the bed JC had made up for him. "It’s a total conflict of interest. And we both know how much success I’ve had in the last few years."

"And this could get you back on top," Megan said. "This would be good for you."

"You aren’t supposed to be encouraging me," Lance said. "You’re the one who didn’t want me to be out here tonight."

"Well, either way you’re going to be away from me." Megan sighed. "I’m the one who wants you to be happy," she said. "I want you here, Lance, but. More than anything I want you to be happy."

"And so you’re telling me to manage the group," Lance said.

"I think that’ll make you happy," Megan said.

Joey looked up as Lance came into the living room.

"You talking to Megan?" he asked.

Lance nodded. "I missed her," he lied. "It’s the first time in nearly a year that I haven’t been with her at night."

"You’re sounding whipped, Lanston," Chris said. "Do I hear wedding bells in the future?"

Lance shook his head vehemently. "Oh, no. Nuh-uh."

Joey nodded knowingly.

"She told me that I should manage us," Lance said. He looked around the room. "So, first things first, I need all of your schedules. And we need to develop a plan. Are we just doing a tour? Or are we going to do a CD, too. Are we going to be releasing singles? Videos, are we going to be doing those. And how about choreography?"

Chris looked down at Dani, who was resting her head on his chest. "I knew he’d be a good choice for us."

Dani nodded sleepily.

"Appearances," Lance said. "When do we want to announce this? How much do we want to have done first? Do we target MTV still? Or do we go late night shows? Are there other forms of media that would be more beneficial to us now?"

The other three men looked at Lance in shock.

"I need details, guys," Lance said. "And soon. There’s a lot of work to be done, so our fifth anniversary doesn’t turn into our eighth anniversary, because, quite frankly, that would be stupid."