About two months later....

"How are you feeling?" VJ asked Brian. They were in her and BJ's new apartment, just sitting together and enjoying each other's presence.

"I'm feeling really good," Brian said. "Physically, anyway."

"What's wrong?"

"I don't feel like I'm ready to jump into another tour so soon after the surgery."

"If you don't feel up to it, why not push back the tour?"

Brian looked at VJ. "We can't. All the venues have been booked and everything's all set and ready to go. Besides, all our fans are counting on us."

"Brian, honey, listen to me." VJ took both her hands and placed them on either side of his face. "All the fans would understand. They know how much you've been through these last couple of months. I'm sure they wouldn't want you risking your health."

"Physically, I'm fine, but mentally, I'm not sure. I'll be over it soon. And I truly am excited about touring the US. We're finally getting the chance to show our home country what we can do."

VJ looked at Brian for a second. He really did seem excited about the tour, but something inside her told her he wasn't really being entirely truthful about getting over his worries. But she didn't get the chance to say anything about it. The phone rang just as VJ was about to open her mouth. She picked it up.

"Hello?"

"VJ, I have a problem," BJ said into the phone.

"What is it?" VJ could feel the anxiety over the line.

"I think my dad found out about the wedding. He wants to meet with me and AJ tonight."

VJ cringed. "Yup, I'd say there's a problem. What are you going to say?"

"I don't know. I need some advice. What do you think I should do?"

VJ thought for a minute. "Just be truthful. If you're dad is willing to work things out, he's gonna have to accept it. He might get pretty angry for a while, but you should expect that. I mean, you have been hiding it for three months."

"Okay. Be truthful. Man, I hope he's not too angry. I don't know how much more fighting I can take. I just want to end it, but I want my father to know that I'm not a little girl anymore. I'm a married woman with a wonderful husband. Have you told your parents about marrying Brian?"

"Yes. They took it better than I thought they would. My father was angry for only about an hour. Other than that, all is well in the Johnson clan."

"That's good," BJ sighed. "I don't want you and Brian going through what me and AJ went through. You two deserve."

"Don't go knocking your wedding, girl," VJ scolded. That comment made Brian give her a curious look. "You and AJ did what you had to do. And it was better than either of you expected, am I right?"

BJ laughed. "I have to agree with you on that. It was a very special day to me and him. It always will be. But you know I just keep thinking it would've been better if our parents were there to share in our happiness. Well, there's nothing I can do about it now. I just hope my father's eyes won't pop out of his head when he hears what we did."

"Good luck, BJ," VJ said. "Call me later and tell me what happened."

"Will do. If I live that long. Bye."

"Bye." Both girls hung up laughing.

"What was that all about?" asked Brian.

"BJ's father asked her and AJ to meet with him. And her mother, I guess. She thinks her dad found out that she married AJ."

"I can see why she's nervous. I hope everything turns out okay."

"So do I."

"Speaking of weddings, when are we getting married? We haven't set a date yet. Everything else is all taken care of, with the exception of your wedding dress and sending out the invitations, but we got time. Just how much time we're gonna give ourselves is what we need to figure out. Also, I talked to Johnny and Donna a couple of days ago. Saying they were less than happy would be putting it lightly, but they didn't say we couldn't do it."

"VJ shook her head. "They're just gonna have to deal with it 'cause I'm not going to wait until the next century to marry you." Then a thought occured to her. "Does AJ wear his wedding ring when he's around the fans?"

"No. He takes it off and puts it on a chain to wear around his neck, then he hides it under his shirt. I don't think the fans know how 'unavailible' he is. But that's the way he wants to handle the situation. Do yout think it would be a good idea to let the whole world know we're married?"

VJ heard fear in his voice. "I guess not. So, Johnny's and Donna's objections have a little kernel of truth to them, huh?"

Brian nodded. He reached over and took VJ's hands in his. "I don't want people coming to your apartment, or our house, and going crazy on you. Trust me, sometimes the fans can take these things a little too personally and they make the girl out to be the evil one. If our marriage gets out, or if AJ's and BJ's marriage gets out, you and her will be the targeted to hostile acts."

"I don't understand why that happens, though. You'd think they know that all five of you are normal guys who have a life."

"I'm not saying all our fans are this way. What I'm saying is when you're as popular as the Backstreet Boys are around the world, and are starting to be in the US, we don't belong to ourselves anymore. We belong to our fans. What we do affects them, too."

"I get what you're saying," VJ said, softly. "I get evil looks just being your friend. I can't imagine what will happen when I become your wife."

"As long as the fans don't find out, we'll be okay." Brian leaned over and kissed VJ. "Do you think it's too early to make love to you?"

VJ smiled at him lovingly. "It's never too early."

Brian smiled. The two of them proceeded to show their love for one another. Afterward, they laid on the couch talking about their future together. Meanwhile, in a nearby apartment, AJ was using his body to calm BJ down for their meeting with her father. BJ didn't have any objections to the method he was using. In fact, she couldn't think of a better way to calm her nerves than letting AJ love her and letting herself love him.