She's only been with you for two days, what do you expect? His mind asked back.

Kevin nodded inwardly. Mrs. Brehaut had said time, and time Sarah would get.

"I think you're ready," he said softly to her. He zipped the sweater up, the corners of his lips twitching upwards once again. "You're so pretty, Sarah."

He paused, and then changed his position from squatting in front of her to kneeling in front of her. "Do you remember when I told you my job was different than your mom's?"

Kevin waited, half hopping, Sarah would nod. Seconds counted and he was about to give up on her acknowledge when she nodded. Kevin beamed.

"I sing with my friends." He chuckled. "We're half good and people like us. That's something." Kevin tilted his head, his fingers going over to Sarah's hair, pushing a lock of black hair behind her ear. "We've got a concert tonight and we can't miss it. You can watch us if you want, or you can stay in the dressing room. There's a TV and some things I'm sure you can play with," Kevin finished rather doubtfully, not having thought about toys until only two seconds ago.

It wasn't long before Kevin's mind caught up with him, letting him know that in order for Sarah to answer, she'd have to talk. That was something she really wasn't keen on doing right now.

"Would you like to watch us sing?"

Sarah thought about it, remembering soft words whispered into her ear, familiar music and known tones, and wise advice. She shook her head after a moment.

Kevin pretended Sarah's refusal didn't hurt. "It's ok. Then you can watch some TV in the dressing room." He was about to suggest that she played with Nick's Nintendo as an option, but she was too young, and the device too mind consuming. Maybe when she was six...

Kevin sighed. "Sarah, there's something else I wanna tell you about." He paused, looking at her. He seemed to have her devoted attention, and that made him smile tenderly.

"Once we leave the room, you're going to meet five very big guys. They might be frightening at first sight, but they're all mushy inside. Believe me." And he was telling nothing but the honest truth. "They are our bodyguards. They take care of us." He paused. So maybe that wasn't the most accurate explanation. "They made sure we're safe when we're on tour. I'm sure they'll like you. And you can play with them, bug them if you want."

Tilting his head to the side, Kevin touched her cheek lovingly. "I just want you to be safe," he whispered. His heart skipped at it as Kevin realized just how much he meant those words.

He stood up, looking down at his little charge. "Sarah, do you mind if I pick you up?"

He waited a full minute before she answered him with a nod. He thought about it. The question hadn't been the simplest one. "Can I pick you up?"

Sarah nodded again, and Kevin did as instructed. He leaned over, placing his left arm around Sarah's legs, picking her up in no time. He placed her against his hip, settling her comfortably there. It felt like she weighted nothing to Kevin, and that only made his grin grow wider. "You're lovely, do you know that?"

She wasn't sure why, but she didn't stopped herself from smiling this time, and the grin broke through her features, her eyes clearing even more. It seemed like lately, things with Kevin were getting to that point she had been told about. He was nice, and mushy, and all big and comfy. He made an excellent pillow. But above all, he smiled at her, he even looked at her, like her mother used to.

Kevin grinned as he saw her smiling at him, barely grasping just how much the time spent with her made him smile more and love her even more. Sliding his gym bag over on arm, Kevin picked her up with the other and he carried her like he was used to it, like he had been doing it for as long as she had lived. He liked that feeling.

He opened the door with his right hand and, as expected, the five guys were already waiting for them in the hallway. Josh turned around, a smile on his face, which froze the moment his eyes laid on Sarah.

"Hey," Kevin greeted, walking over to their bodyguards and smiled at them. With a puzzled look, Sarah tilted her head and her captivating emerald eyes seemed to appraise them for a moment. "Guys, let me introduce you to Sarah."

They didn't say anything.

"Sarah, this is Josh, my bodyguard. Then there's Billy, Adrian and Luke."

Sarah blinked at them a couple of times, her eyes moving from one person to the next.

Josh was the first to react. A tentative smile made its way towards his lips and Josh extended his hand for her to grasp. "Hi." She didn't respond, just cocked her head to the side another notch. He looked up at Kevin, who shrugged.

"Don't take it personal Josh. She's very private." Kevin winked at Josh, who nodded in response. Kevin would have to explain it all later on.

There was a chorus of "Hi"s and "Hello"s right before the rest of the gang joined them in the hallway.

Nick patted Billy in the back. "It's great to see you back man," he said with a grin. He walked over to where Sarah was, his eyes widening just the slightest as he took in the picture of Kevin holding Sarah up in his arms. "You look lovely tonight Miss Sarah," he said with a small bow. He was hoping he'd get a smile in return, but wasn't disappointed when there was none.

There was some chatter, mostly the guys catching up with the bodyguards, but Kevin called it off as they were running close to late. They all entered the elevator, Sarah still in Kevin's arm.

Voices were loud in the six by six metal box that would take them to the parking lot and then head over to their van; Kevin was talking to Josh and Sarah placed her arm around Kevin's neck for leverage, and she smiled gently.

*****

Their lucky star seemed to be on their side, as they didn't come across any fans when they got into the van in the parking lot.

To say that Kevin was worried about how Sarah would take the fans and the crowds that sometimes seemed to accompany them would be an underestimation. He just wanted her to comfortable, comfortable enough to talk with him, and crowds weren't the way to make that happen.

When they finally reached their dressing room, Kevin made sure Sarah felt at home. "You can pick whatever you want," he said to the little girl, who looked at him with full attention. "Watch TV if you want, or just have something to eat."

Sarah stared at him for a moment, blinked a couple of times, and then nodded.

Sighing, Kevin checked his watch. It was almost time for practice. He wanted to ask her if she'd like to see them in practice, but decided against it. Maybe it'd be better if she just stayed there and rested a little bit.

Just like in cartoons, it felt like a bulb lit up right on top of his head. "You should take a nap," Kevin said, looking at her.

She grinned sweetly at him.

Kevin snorted. Idiot. Lizzie would kick his butt into oblivion, he was sure. How could he forget about it? He still remembered his aunt Jackie practically forcing Brian into having a nap every afternoon since he was three until he was around five.

"No," he said after a moment, "you have to take a nap."

Nick chuckled lightly, earning a glare from Kevin. "I thought you'd never figure it out. I was planning on telling you, in case you didn't see it by tomorrow."

Kevin wanted to say some pretty nasty things to the blond, but settled for mumbling "jerk" under his breath, which Nick returned with a smug smile.

"It's not that bad," Nick said, looking at Sarah for a moment. "It's probably only been a day since her last nap." He kneeled in front of her. "You don't hate Kevin for this, do you?"

Tilting her head to the side, Sarah thought about it.

Nick was about to start worrying, pondering if maybe the question had been too straightforward, when Sarah shook her head. Nick stopped himself from sighing almost a second too late. He smiled. "That's good. Hating Kevin isn't usually the way to go. Once, I put jello in his shoes and he grounded me for two weeks."

"Should have been a month," Kevin muttered under his breath.

Nick continued like there had been no interruptions. "But it was worth it, though. I'll teach you the best pranks ever."

Kevin walked over there and glared at the blond, who only winked. "You will not be corrupting Sarah. I forbid you."

Nick chuckled. "I'm an adult now. You can't ground me." He stuck his tongue out to Kevin.

Snorting, Kevin shook his head. "Very mature Nicky."

Nick shrugged nonchalantly. "Yep. That's me."

"Anyways," Kevin said, turning around and giving Sarah his full attention. "You should take a nap." He looked around. The couches were large for their comfort. His logic said told him he should send Sarah over to their van, safely parked in the parking lot. But it seemed like a sense of possession, or right paranoia, that hindered him; Kevin just didn't want Sarah too far way from him. The couches would be fine. All of them had fallen asleep on them more times than they could count. "I think the couch will have to do for now."

Sarah nodded, which in itself surprised him. He hadn't actually asked a question. She had talked with him, and he hadn't asked for it.

He smiled at her.

Sarah turned around and walked over to the table standing on the side of the room.

"That's the food table, you can take whatever you want. There are candies, but you really shouldn't eat much sweets." He pointed to the cooler standing by the side. "There's water, juice and coke there." He thought about it. "Don't drink coke. It's bad for your teeth."

"Kevin did the same to both Nick and me," Alex said from the other side of the room, shrugging. "You can sneak a couple of cokes a week if you want."

"Alex," Kevin started threateningly while the younger man lifted his eyebrows on a smug smile.

"It's the truth."

"Don't say those kind of things to Sarah."

"About sneaking a coke?" Alex snorted. "We did. Why shouldn't she? What kind of life is one if you can't even have a coke?"

"A healthy one."

Alex and Kevin were too busy bickering about what being health was and the concept of being happy while you're young that they didn't see Sarah sneaking a smile instead of a coke as she reached for a couple of brown M&Ms.

She walked over to the couch, sitting down with a plop. Kevin walked to her, picking up his gym bag as he did so. He unzipped it, taking out his long sports jacket. It was big enough to cover her and thick enough as to keep her warm. Sarah leaned against the couch, feeling suddenly sleepy. Kevin placed the jacket over her, taking a towel and placing it over her feet. It was an impromptu cover, but it worked.

She looked at him for a moment and felt like thanking him, but she didn't. She just closed her eyes. It didn't take long before she was asleep.

*****

Sara looked around the room and frowned. Kevin had explained to her that they had to change their clothes in order to sing. He had also explained that they would not walk around naked, only stay in their underwear. He had also said that they only did this because it would not be practical to change in other room, and sending Sarah somewhere else was totally out of the question.

So, she sat around and watched the guys putting something on, then something else. She had never seen clothes so weird. She tilted her head to the side as she stared at the clothes. They seemed soft and all bendy. They were black. Black was nice. Her mother had always said black was very nice. She liked black too.

All bendy, Sarah realized, very soft. Then an idea came to her.

She could play with them. That was good; they would make good toys.

She jumped off the couch and walked over to where Nicky was looking in the closet for his for his missing bracelets. She reached the armchair Nick had claimed as his and picked up the long black jacket she saw there. With a grin, she turned around and walked over to Kevin who had his back to her as he put on his boots, one by one. She looked at him for a moment, then picked up some red bracelets that were just lying around not being used. She could use them.

She turned around and walked back to her couch -- it was her couch as far as she knew, no one had ever sat on it, let a lone none had ever slept on it, like she did.

She sat there, placing the things on her lap. With a tilt of her head, she gazed around the room for a moment, looking at the five grown men that were in the room. She frowned for a moment. They were all different, but similar at the same time. She smiled softly. Mommy had made a good choice.

Her attention going back to the black bendy thingies, she tilted her head. What could she do with them? While she thought about this, she picked up the red bracelets and put them on, pulling them up as far as they'd go, onto her upper arms. They were very pretty, she realized. These were her favorite so far.

Another idea coming to mind, she doubled the black thingy and placed it over her shoulders. She heard words going around in the small room, questions being asked and barely any answers being sent back. Her eyes lifted again, gazing around the room. Those five were always talking, she realized. Always talking. That was good too. Mommy had said that talking with your family was good. She agreed.

Shaking her head, she pulled the black thingy back to her lap. It wouldn't make a good shawl. Her mom liked shawl very much. So did she. But this wasn't a shawl. Standing up once again, she thought about it. What else?

With a new idea in mind, she grinned. A cape.

She grinned even wider. A cape was good. She loved capes. It would be very much like the one she had last Halloween. Even though she had been princess, her mother had told her a cape was always good to have around in case she got bored of living in her castle and leave in disguised and go play with the rest of the people.

She threw the black thingy over her head. There was darkness surrounding her, the black thing covering her from toe to head. Only her bracelets were shining in the dark space. She closed her eyes slowly, her mind going somewhere else as she pictured herself riding on her brown horse -- white horses where highly overrated -- the cape on her shoulders as she ran away over to the village to seek adventures.

Suddenly, the cape was no more and there was bright light shinning through her closed eyelids.

Sarah opened them slowly, looking up at Kevin standing in front of her with a small smile on his lips.

"What were you doing Sarah?"

Giving him a toothy smile, she giggled, her actions only amusing her more.

Kevin shook his head as he chuckled. "It's okay," he said, picking her up in his arms.

She grinned at him. She was really getting used to this.

"Oh," he said softly as he looked at her hands.

Following his gaze, Sarah stared at her own hands, her eyes going slightly upwards until they reached her bracelet-covered upper arms. She extended her hands at him as he placed her on the couch.

With a shake of his head, Kevin pulled the bracelets down her arms. "I was looking for these, you know?"

Sarah only nodded. There was a chuckle from behind and she turned around, looking at Nick.

"I thought I had lost my coat," the blond said slowly, "until I turned around and saw a black and very small hill in the middle of the room."

Kevin gave the blond his coat, who looked at it with a frown on his face. There were wrinkles all over it. He turned around, tilting his head and lifting an eyebrow at Sarah.

She giggled at him.

Kevin chuckled slightly at her antics, thankful for the fact that Nicky didn't complain about the wrinkles.

Nick only shrugged and put the coat on.

Kevin turned around, smiling at Sarah. "You sneaky little Sarah. Taking away our clothes. Did you want us to walk out in our underwear?"

Sarah seemed to think about it for a moment before shaking her head enthusiastically.

Laughing, Kevin shook his as well. "Thought so." He leaned over, gave Sarah a small kiss on her forehead before he smiled at her. "We have to go now Sarah. It's getting late."

Sarah nodded.

"Take care, all right. Just stay here. Josh will be outside looking after you while I'm not here. If you need me, go to him."

She nodded.

Kevin gave her another small kiss before they all five left the room, each one of them saying their goodbyes to Sarah.

Sarah sat there, tilted her to the side and thought. Yep. Mommy had made a very good choice.

*****

Holding the precious little girl in his arms, he pushed the door open with his elbow as he entered the room. He sighed softly, managing to walk around the room with the dim light of the moon that cracked its way through the closed curtains.

Taking her in only one arm, he pushed the covers down with the other, placing her on top of the bed ever so slowly. He was careful enough as not to wake her as he tucked her in the bed lovingly. He wanted her to sleep as much as she could.

He had been it was a good idea he'd suggested she put on her pjs before dinner came. She had been fast asleep before Alex had finished his sixth slice. It was probably due to the complicated day they've both had.

He took his clothes off in one quick motion, tiredness reaching its claws at him and almost holding him hostage. Something in the back of his mind told him that maybe he should sleep on the couch, but at the same time, he knew he meant no harm to her.

Walking to the other side of the bed, he pulled the covers down as he slid under them. He looked at her with proud green eyes, a small smile on his lips. He was starting to fall in love with her, and he had only known her for two days.

He sighed, content He had never felt so deep for anyone, not even those women he thought he had once been in love with. She was different. She depended on him, she put her life on his hands; and he treasured that with the utmost love he could feel. His hand moved on his its own accord over to her hair, pushing a satin like lock behind her ear.

He smiled at his little sweetheart, but stopped himself from saying the words.

He leaned over, placing a soft kiss on her forehead. She was his now; as had been intended by her mother. She was his. And he forever would be grateful for that gift.