Jon hadn't told Correy about Lelah yet, as he wasn't sure he'd be able to get a hold of her. It was going to be a surprise, introducing him to all his old friends. Jon dialed the last known number for her while Correy was still sleeping.

"Lelah's phone. This better be good. You're interrupting my spinning class," came a heavily New York accented voice after three rings. The sound of music - something with a heavy beat - could be heard in the background, mixed with a woman's voice shouting encouragements.

"Baby, this is a blast from your past and much more exciting than spinning," replied the voice on the other end. You could almost hear the smile on his face and the teasing nature in his voice.

There was a heavy silence for a moment as Lelah puzzled out that voice. Then a high-pitched girlie squeal, followed by "Jon"! Jon Granger"!" There was a soft thud and suddenly the music was cut off.

He chuckled on the other end. "Do you know any other Jons?" Wait, that didn't sound right.

She cackled, a loud, raucous sound. "Oh, my God. Jonny Boy! How the hell are you? Where the hell are you?"

Correy rolled over on the bed and his arm flopped down where Jon should be. His eyes opened up a crack and he frowned as Jon was definitely not in the bed. Gathering Jon's pillow to his chest, he closed his eyes. He could hear Jon's voice. That was enough.

"Would you believe New York" I'm only here for a few more days and was wondering if you'd like to get together. There's someone I'd like you to meet."

"Hell yeah, I'd love to see you! What're you doing tonight?" She was silent for a moment and then said with a sly tone, "Will I like this mystery person or will I want to fake a head-ache and go home?"

Jon chuckled into the phone. "You'd better like this mystery person or you might hurt my feelings, and I'm not doing anything tonight. What did you have in mind?"

"Dinner" Drinks" Where are you staying?" There was another pause and then the distinct sound of Lelah popping her chewing gum, one of many little idiosyncrasies she'd had for as long as anyone could remember.

There was a short pause as he tried to decide whether or not to tell her the truth. He didn't want to sound like he was bragging, but he had splurged in hopes of spoiling Correy a little. "Trump Tower." He waited for the inevitable reaction.

She whistled and chuckled. "Nothing like doing it up right, huh?"

"If I'm going to do New York, why not go all out?" He'd spent enough time in hovels and cheap hotels. He felt like he'd paid his dues and then some.

Correy fell back asleep. He'd been up the night before, talking to Kaylee on the phone and then the extracurricular activities with Jon had worn them out. And they had found their way into his subconscious as he dreamed about them.

"Amen, brutha. So, how about meeting up at this little place I know in SoHo' You're not some froufy vegan or something now, are you?"

He laughed again. "Are you kidding me" I'm a meatatarian."

She laughed. "Okay. It's called Ed's Lobster Bar. It's at Spring and Thompson. Wanna say nine tonight?"

Jon looked over at the sleeping form still huddled in the bed and figured nine gave them plenty of time to squeeze in a few other things they had planned. "Sounds good. I'll see you at nine."

"Oh, I'm so excited! See you then!" She clicked off and wandered back into the spinning class, looking properly ashamed and sheepish.

Jon clicked the phone off as well and went about rousing Correy for the day's events.



Ed's was a New England transplant. Inside, the owners had somehow managed to make the place look like any seafood shack one might find on the Maine or Massachusetts coast. Lelah was sitting at the second-best table - the first was currently occupied by Robert DeNiro and some friends - flipping through the brief menu and waiting for Jon and Mystery Guest. She was dressed in skinny jeans and a blue-and-white stripped shirt under a darker blue cardigan. Her hair was pulled back into a casual braid and she looked infinitely better than she had the last time they'd seen each other.

A quick glance at her watch showed that they were now five minutes late. She was prepared to cut Jon some slack; after all, he'd spent longer in LA than she had and no doubt the city's bad habits had rubbed off on him. She ordered a long neck beer and a basket of fries to tide her over while she waited.

Jon chose a dark blue suit and tie, overdressing for the occasion as usual, or maybe just dressing to impress. His hair was carefully combed back and away from his face, and the suit was topped off by a dark overcoat.

Correy was holding Jon's hand in his as they approached the Lobster shack. He was dressed similarly to Jon, only he wore his dress shirt unbuttoned at the top and the charcoal gray made his eyes look a little darker than usual. "We got dressed up to eat lobster?" he laughed as he pulled open the door for Jon. "Age before beauty." Smirk.

Jon paid the cab driver and started toward the restaurant hand in hand with Correy. "I got dressed up anyway," he teased, smirking when Correy played the age card. "Careful or they might proof you."

"I don't need alcohol, I'm drunk on love." He smiled and followed Jon into the restaurant. "Or maybe your spunk," he whispered, taking Jon's hand again.

"My spunk" You're the one with spunk, not me."

"Yeah, because I swallowed yours," Correy pressed a kiss to Jon's cheek as he laughed softly.

Jon smirked at Correy's comment and whispered something about behaving. He glanced over, noticing DeNiro at the number one table. He gave him a long look, but decided not to bother the man, looking past him then and seeing a familiar face at the next table. His smile broadened and he tugged Correy toward her table. "Excuse me, miss, is this table taken" I'm supposed to be meeting an old friend."

She glanced up, a witty comeback dying on her lips when she spotted Jon. "Oh my god!" she shouted and popped up out of her seat, hurling herself at Jon and catch him in a huge, enthusiastic hug. "Jonny! Oh, my god!" She held him out at arm's length and gave him a careful once-over. "You look...amazing!" She hugged him again, just for good measure, before extending her hand to Correy. "You must be the Mystery Guest. I'm Lelah."

He hugged her back just as enthusiastically, grinning broadly, another sight for sore eyes. "You're as gorgeous as ever Lelah." And then he turned to introduce Correy with a dimpled smile. "Lelah, this is my fiance, Correy." He purposely left the last name off, not wanting to have to go into explanations about how they were distantly related and all that.

Correy took a step back to avoid the girl type projectile that came flying at Jon. He laughed softly and looked between the two. "Mystery Guest?" He extended his hand to shake hers. "I'm Correy. But Mystery Guest is good too."

A brow quirked and she looked back and forth between them, her jaw hanging open in shock. Then she punched Jon right on the ball of his shoulder. "No way! Oh, my God!" She hugged Jon again and then hugged Correy, too, beaming and laughing the entire time. "Oh, I'm so happy for you! Sit, sit! Lemme get you guys a drink."

Correy frowned slightly when Jon was hit, but that frown disappeared the moment he was hugged. He laughed and hugged in return before letting go and sitting down. "Thanks," He looked up at Jon, then back at Lelah.

Jon didn't complain about the girlie punch, but only laughed and rubbed his shoulder and got hugged yet again. It was nice to be with someone who was actually genuinely happy for them for once. "Lelah's an old friend," he explained to Correy as he pulled out a chair and sat down. "We did some movies together. She beat me to the Golden Globes and the Oscars."

She waved a waiter over and ordered two more long necks before sitting down across from Correy. "What he means to say is that I directed him in a film," she said, an impish smile on lush lips.

"Oh, you're a director?" Correy sat back and tipped up the bottle of beer. He took a long sip and put the bottle back down. "I'm his manager now. So, if you want him, have to go through me." He grinned, though, teasingly.

It was no secret that Jon had always dreamed of winning an Oscar, but thus far, he'd been panned. "She was an actress first, and a damned good one," he broke in.

She nodded solemnly. "It's true. I did." That brow quirked at Correy's announcement and then she glanced at Jon, an inscrutable expression on her face. The waiter came with the beer and the fries and then disappeared again. Lelah sipped her beer and then said, "So what have you been doing" You sorta dropped off the face of the Earth and then popped up out in Lala Land in court. How'd that go?" She had the grace to smile gratefully at Jon's praise.

Jon shrugged, not really wanting to go into what had happened in L.A. He literally had dropped off the face of the Earth to return to Rhydin after going through about a year of rehab. "I'm doing theater now."

"He's been busy with the Shanachie Theater, back at home," Correy explained. "'Taya's got him so locked up in that contract he may not see light of day for ages." He put his hand on Jon's arm and rubbed it gently. "I miss him when he's rehearsing, but we make time for each other."

"Taya." Le's eyes narrowed a touch as she tried to place that name. "Mataya De Luca" You're doing theatre with her?"

Jon laid a hand against Correy's and nodded to Lelah. "She's an old friend, too. We did some Shakespeare together back in the day." Back in the day was only a few years ago. He didn't mention the shared cocaine habit or the half-remembered affair.

She made a thoughtful noise. "What kind of stuff are you doing?" DeNiro and crew left and she smiled and waved to him as they passed the table. Once they were gone, she turned back to Jon, reaching out to snag a handful of fries and nibble at them. Correy reached across the table to snag a fry, grinning at her as he took it, then nibbled.

Jon turned his head to see who she was waving at and leaned in, jerking a thumb at the departing icon. "You know him?" Correy sat back, sipping on his beer. He was listening, smiling when appropriate. She nodded. "Yeah, he's a great guy. He's been really helpful with the whole directing thing."

"You could have introduced me. It's DeNiro, for Chrissakes." Jon wasn't really put out, but hell, DeNiro' He was one of Jon's idols.

"But you're doing theatre now," she said, adopting the air of the hoity-toity, before breaking down in a fit of giggles.

"You want to meet DeLuca?" Jon smirked. "Then you should have intro'd me to DeNiro."

"Hmm," she said thoughtfully and picked at the label on the bottle. "Think she'd deign to toss me an audition?"

Jon's smile faded and he looked to Correy, for some reason. Lelah knew next to nothing about Rhydin. "I think she'd hire you on the spot."

"What?" Correy had been behaving, except for the fry incident.

She picked up on that fading smile and looked back and forth between them again. "What is it' She doesn't do the whole casting couch thing, does she" I'm not into girls...well, except for that one time."

Jon furrowed his brows at her quizzically, curiosity piqued. "What one time?" He wrapped a hand around his beer and pulled it toward him.

Correy left this one to Jon, sitting back and sipping his beer again.

"Pfft. Please, that story would be wasted on you." She grinned and winked at him. "So, c'mon. What gives" What's with the look" Don't tell me she's running some weird avant-garde theatre and we'll have to do everything naked."

Jon was taking a sip of his beer when she mentioned the nudity and he coughed, the beer going down the wrong way, making him choke.

"Oh, my God. No! No freakin' way! I turned down Playboy; there is no way I'm doing stage work naked!"

"The Shanachie is a very reputable theater. Best in Rhydin." Correy nodded and put the bottle down.

She may have turned down Playboy, but Jon hadn't turned down Playgirl. Hell, it had been good money. He shook his head, trying to catch his breath. He and Mataya hadn't done nude or almost nude theater in years. Correy jumped in and defended him, which was probably good since he was having trouble finding his voice.

"Rhy'Din, huh?" Le said. "Isn't that where you're from, Jon?"

"Yep," Correy smiled and put the mostly empty bottle of beer down. "Born and raised in that crazy place. But I love it."

"You're from there, too?" The corners of her mouth pulled down in a thoughtful expression. "Huh. Maybe I should move there. Maybe I'll find myself a handsome hunk, too." She winked at Correy and nudged the fries closer to him.

"Not as handsome as Jon," he grinned and willingly took one of the fries. "But you can try." Brow waggle as he popped the fry into his mouth. "Right, babe?"

Jon's voice came out in a squeak, which was mostly from the choking. Mostly, but not all. He cleared his throat, wondering if Lelah had any clue just where Rhydin was. "Umm..." His head bobbed back and forth between the two of them like he was watching a tennis match.

She sat back, cradling the beer bottle in both hands, eyes ticking back and forth between them like a Felix the Cat clock. She let the silence spool out as she waited for Jon to get himself together.

"Where's the damned waiter" I hope you like lobster, because that's about all they've got." Changing the subject' Jon' No, never.

"Excuse me," Correy stood then and placed his hand upon Jon's shoulder. "Got to shake hands with the Chief of Staff." He winked playfully to Jon, bowed to kiss his cheek, then hurried off to the bathroom.

Jon rolled his eyes at Correy's innuendo for having to take a leak. "What do you want to order?" he asked before Correy hurried off.

"Whatever you're having!" he called over his shoulder, then into the bathroom he went.

She sat up, raised a hand and waved in the general direction of the bar. Moments later, their waiter wandered back to the table. Lelah ordered lobster ravioli and a Boston Bibb salad.

Jon was going to kill Correy for his timing later, but not now. He'd wait until they were in private and then he'd pay. Jon looked at the menu and ordered them both Lobster Bisque. He took a sip of his beer and turned back to Lelah. "Where were we" I have a feeling he did that on purpose."

She watched Correy until he disappeared and then turned back to Jon, her face serious. She leaned forward and lowered her voice. "So....Please don't take offense at this, but....Isn't he a little young to be managing you?"

Rhydin, Rhydin....How was he going to explain Rhydin" "We're doing Chekhov end of the month." He was a little taken aback at her question and he turned toward the departing Correy a moment before turning back, a small frown on his face. "It keeps him busy and out of trouble and believe it or not, he's actually pretty good at it. I trust him, Le. He only has my best interests in mind, unlike some others I've had over the years. Besides, I've already got a job, so there's not much to manage."

She nodded and held her hands up in a peaceful manner. "I was just making sure. Can't be too careful, you know." She sat back and sipped her beer before saying, "Chekhov, huh' That's serious art there."

"We did Godot last month."

"See" Serious art. I'm not sure I can do that level anymore. It's been...well, a long time since I've acted. I've been doing a lot of writing and directing lately."

"We share the theater with another company. They're just finishing up Pirates of Penzance."

She grinned. "That's more my style...if I could carry a tune in a bucket." She finished the beer and set the empty on the table before sitting forward once again, elbows resting on the table as she fixed Jon with an intense look. "So. What's with Rhy'Din" You know, I couldn't find it on a map and the Post Office doesn't have a ZIP code for it." She'd been intrigued enough once upon a time that she'd actually spent time hunting for the place, wondering what sort of town would turn out someone as truly talented as Jonathon Granger.

Jon took another sip of his beer before lowering the glass to the table. "You don't give yourself enough credit. You won an Oscar, for God's sake. It's like riding a bike, Le."

Correy came out of the bathroom and meandered to the bar. "Another round at that table," he motioned towards where Jon and Lelah were sitting before finishing the trek and landing back in his chair. "Did you miss me?" He bat his eyes at Jon and reached for his hand.

"We should talk Tay into doing Oscar Wilde."

"I still maintain that it was a pity Oscar." She smiled up at Corr when he came back and then she looked at Jon with big eyes. "Oh, yes! Dorian Grey or Earnest! That would be fan-freakin-tastic!"

Jon smiled warmly over at Correy's return and linked his fingers with his, smiling then at Lelah. "Dorian Grey! Now that would be an interesting role. But I was thinking Earnest." Jon leaned over to smooch Correy's cheek, telling him without words how much he was missed.

Correy smiled and gently squeezed Jon's hand when his cheek was smooched.

She got all dreamy-eyed for a moment. "I could handle Cecily, I think."

Jon leaned forward,smiling. "It would be great to work with you again."

"It would, huh' And I could finally see this Rhy'Din of yours, too." She gave the returning waiter a grateful smile as he brought another round of beer and their food.

Correy had fizzled from sight, only to reappear again. He sighed and shook his head, taking the fresh beer that the waiter had left. "Freakin' Nexus."

Jon arched a brow at Correy. It must have happened quickly because he hadn't noticed he'd gone missing. He cleared his throat at Correy's statement, knowing he had to answer Lelah's questions regarding Rhydin. He thought about it a moment before speaking. "Remember Wizard of Oz?" He'd played the part of the Tin Man a long long long time ago.

"Nexus?" She looked back and forth between them while taking an experimental taste of her ravioli. Then she nodded slowly, "Yes. I always wanted a pair of ruby slippers."

Jon ignored the comment about the ruby slippers. In the original novel, they were silver. "You remember the part where Dorothy first arrives in Oz?"

Correy frowned slightly, listening. A sudden grin appeared on his face when he thought about Jon using Dorothy as an example. They were both friends of Dorothy's.

She hummed the winged monkey theme and smirked. "Yep. A tornado took her. So....Rhy'Din's in Kansas?"

"Uh, no....Rhydin is sort of like Oz." There he'd said it, though his cheeks were flushed with nervousness.

She stared at him for a long time and then looked around the room, peering intently into the corners. "Okay, where are the cameras" Is this like a pilot for a new show or something" You turning into Tom Bergeron?"

"No!" Jon's flush deepened and he sighed, letting Correy take over.

"Let me explain." Correy squeezed Jon's hand. "Oz is in Rhydin." He smiled and tipped his drink up to have a sip. "And that's all there is to it."

"Yeah," she said in a dry, sarcastic tone. "That makes everything so much clearer." She sipped beer and ate ravioli while she waited for a little light to be shed on the subject. Okay, more than a little light - like an entire freakin' search light.

"There's a whole multiverse out there, Lelah," Corry said. "Any creature imaginary or otherwise is real there. It's a huge cross roads of people and creatures. Some are born there, others are brought there. There's a certain peace to it, and it's very beautiful. But dangerous, too."

Jon picked at his soup, feeling a little uncomfortable, doubting she'd believe them until she saw it for herself. "It's another world, Lelah," he said quietly, for their ears alone.

She chewed and swallowed very sedately, looking back and forth between them like a spectator at Wimbledon. Their pupils were normal sized, they weren't fidgeting excessively, nor were they sweating or flushed, so drugs and booze were out. She stared at them for a half a minute and then said quietly, "You're serious."

Correy nodded, and picked up his fork. "We can show you."

"Show me. For real?"

"We were born there. We're going back in a few days," Jon explained.

"Once we pick out rings," Correy smiled and looked up at Jon. "And do a few other things. A club was being discussed."

She set her fork down and took a huge swig of her beer. "You're absolutely freakin' serious with this" No kidding?"

Jon returned Correy's smile, glad he was there. He had never handled this sort of thing well, explaining the unexplainable and unbelievable. He turned back to Lelah. "Do you trust me?"

A brow flicked up at the question. She was silent for a few moments as she weighed that question. Then she nodded slowly, "Within reason, I do, yes."

"Mataya is there, on Rhydin. She's from Brooklyn originally." Jon sighed and set his spoon down. "There's only one way to prove it and that's to take you there. And if you don't like it..." He shrugged. "We can bring you back."

She took a deep breath. "Obviously I can come back here, right' I mean if I hate it..." She grinned and trailed off as Jon spoke the words she was thinking. "Great minds and all. Okay. I'm game. When" What do I bring?"

"Over night bag?" Correy grinned and took a sip of the bisque.

"Your picnic basket and Toto." Jon grinned.

Correy laughed and leaned to kiss Jon's cheek. "I love you."

"How about my Blackberry and a Prada bag" They do have cell service in this place, right?"

Jon grinned at Correy's laugh, leaning in for the kiss. "No, Le, it's like the Flintstones. We push cars with our bare feet."

"And wear bones in our hair, rocks around our necks." Correy giggled softly. "Sorry."

"Fred and Barney," Jon smirked.

"Oh, this will be delightful, won't it?" She took another sip of her beer and then applied herself heartily to her ravioli. . Correy nudged Jon before bursting out laughing. "You are so bad, Jonathan David Granger." He kissed Jon's cheek again before turning to Lelah. "You'll love Rhydin. Everybody does at first."

"At first. So it has an expiration date?" She glanced at Jon. "Is that why you ended up here?"

"Me?" Jon arched a brow, picking his spoon back up and ladling some soup. "I came here because I wanted to be a movie star."

"Ah. And there's no film industry in Rhy'Din. Only the theatre?"

Jon took up a bite of his dinner, a smile over at Lelah. "We could start one."

"They have some television stuff, but mostly newspapers." Correy nodded to Jon's idea. "You know, that's a pretty good idea, babe. I'm sure that the theater group would really get into that, too."

"Oh, that would be freakin' genius!" Le said with a huge grin. "Are there movie theatres there at least?"

"There's a movie theater at the spaceport," Jon said. Had he really just dropped the word spaceport"

"That's true! I forgot about that." Correy looked to Lelah and smiled. "It's unlike any other place you've been. I promise, you'll have a good time there. Lots of beautiful men."

"Space. Port." She held up a hand. "Wait. Spaceport' Like...Star Trek kind of thing?"

"More like Star Wars," Jon replied, straight-faced.

She blinked. "Dude. I think you just broke my brain."

"Or your very best dream," Correy smiled as he looked up at Jon, adoringly.

"Okay. I'm sold," Lelah said. "I'll come stay for a long week-end and maybe dip my toe into the waters of starting a production company while I'm there, too."

"Rhydin is at the center of the Nexus. It's where everything sort of....converges. Different worlds, dimensions, planes of existence," Jon pointed out. "You think vampires aren't real? They are on Rhydin. Just pretend you're on a movie set and you'll be fine." Jon lowered his spoon again, sobering. "Seriously, it can be a bit of a shock at first. It's like a bad science fiction movie sometimes."

She nodded and pushed her plate away, leaving just two lonely ravioli on it. "I can do that. I've always wanted to play a space cowboy."

The conversation turned to small talk as the trio finished dinner. The end of the month was fast approaching, and Jon needed to be back. It was agreed they'd meet in two days time to make their return to Rhydin. For one, it would be the start of a new adventure; for the other two, it was the beginning of a lifetime together.

((The above is based on live role-play, which took place between the players of Jon, Correy, and Lelah. Thanks to all for this scene.))

Jon wrapped Correy in his embrace, not caring who was watching or who might see them or what they thought. His lips lingered against Correy's, his heart on fire, putting all the love he was feeling for Correy into that kiss.

Correy thought his heart would beat out of his chest, so full of love for the man whose arms he was held tenderly in. He wouldn't dare break that kiss or trade it in for a million diamond rings. He was a very happy and content little man.

And then the spell was broken when a salesman cleared his throat to get their attention. "Can I show you gentlemen something?" he asked, looking from one to the other.

Correy nearly pouted when the kissing stopped and he looked at the salesman as if the man had just curb stomped his puppy. "We like that one," he pointed to the platinum and diamond band. "May we try it on?" He looked up at Jon, almost sad that the kiss had ended.

Jon reluctantly pulled away from Correy's lips, an arm remaining wrapped around his shoulders to hold him close. He smiled down at Correy and brushed a kiss against his cheek.

The salesman pulled open the case and reached inside for the platinum and diamond band, holding it out to Correy. "It's a half carat diamond in a titanium band. Very stylish."

Correy had never been one big on style. He just knew what he liked and he wanted something that would last them forever. He wanted something that was uniquely their own. He lifted the ring from its velvet bed and moved away from Jon's grasp. He then held out his hands and gently placed the ring onto Jon's finger. He gazed up into eyes so like his own and smiled.

Jon turned to Correy, smiling back at him, blue eyes shining, and held out his left hand to allow Correy to slide the ring onto the finger that had previously held the makeshift ring. The ring looked good there on his hand. "What do you think?" he asked Correy once the ring was in place.

Correy reached for Jon's hand and led him from the jewelry store. "You can't take a person, invite them to where you live, across millions of miles and push them off on somebody. That's just mean, babe."

"I'm not gonna push her off. I'll help her find a place to stay, but it's not gonna be with us. There's an apartment open at Zen, if she wants to stay there."

"Babe, she's just going to be visiting. If she only stays a few days and wants to go back home, what?s the point of renting an apartment?" he looked to Jon with a smile. "She can stay with us for a few days. If she likes Rhydin, then we'll help to get her a new place. If not, we take her home."

Jon frowned, falling into step beside Correy, hand in hand. "Just a few days."

"Good, that's settled then." Correy glanced around once they were outside of the store. "So, what are we going to do now?" Jon had been full of surprises, one after the next and Correy couldn't hold the excitement from his voice in anticipation of the next event.

Jon's thoughts were distracted a little by the possibility of Lelah staying with them, but it would only be a few days. He'd make sure of that. The whole reason for getting an apartment was so he and Correy could have a place of their own.

He blinked out of his thoughts and looked back at Correy. "Hmm' Oh, I was thinking about taking you to this club I know."

Correy laughed softly and squeezed Jon's hand. "Now this I have to see."

That brought an amused smile to Jon's face. "What does that mean' You think I've never gone clubbing?"

"I've never seen you dance anything that wasn't choreographed," He chuckled and looked at Jon fondly. "I can't wait to get in there and see this. You will save a dance for me, when you're done dancing with your pals, right?"

Jon laughed. "How about I save every dance for you?"

"You'll actually get on the dance floor?" Correy laughed again and squeezed his hand. "I like the idea of that, but I'm not so selfish that I can't share you for a little while. You're with your friends and it's been a long time since you've seen them. I understand that."

"Why does that surprise you?" Jon let go of Correy's hand and swung an arm around his shoulders as they walked alongside each other, each now with a matching ring on their left hand that declared them taken.

"I told you, I've never seen you dance without it being choreographed." Correy slipped his now free hand into Jon's back pocket and took the hand that was on his shoulder to link his fingers into. "I can't wait. If you dance like you make love, we may not be there for long."

"You've never seen a lot of things," Jon muttered with a smirk. The Jon he showed to his family wasn't necessarily the Jon that used to frequent the party scene.

"Then show me your world baby." Correy laughed and canted his head to the side, just to be closer to Jon. "I want to see it all."

"I'm not really that Jon anymore." Jon sighed, his smile fading a little. "I mean....I was out of control. I can still have fun, but..." He trailed off.

"It's ok to peek from the outside, right?" Correy turned his head to look Jon in the eyes. "I know what you mean, Jon. We do have fun."

"Someone probably just spotted us, Corr. It happens all the time." He shoved his fingers through his hair to comb it back from his face, though Correy had already done that, trying to keep his hands from shaking. He leaned against the wall and took a deep breath. He'd felt claustrophobic in that crowd, like they were going to rip him to shreds.

The reporter sputtered some response and Correy seemed somewhat satisfied with it. The phone was hung up and Correy shoved it into his pocket as he walked to Jon. "Come on babe. Let's get to the room." He wanted to hold onto Jon, to be comforted and to comfort; but not in the lobby. Taking Jon's hand, he gently tugged and led towards the elevator.

Jon pushed off the wall, taking Correy's hand, looking a little bewildered. He'd been mobbed a few times, but never quite like that.

Into the elevator he shuttled Jon, the operator knowing them on sight pushed the button to their floor. Correy remained quiet, looking grim as he held onto Jon's hand.

"I'm sorry about that," he told Correy with a frown as they entered the elevator. He wasn't sure why he was apologizing. It wasn't really his fault, but he felt he needed to for some reason.

He still felt a little shaken by it all; the sudden unexpectedness of it, the almost violent nature of the mob, even though they were fans.

"It's not your fault." The elevator reached their floor and he tugged Jon out of it. Their room was down the hall and Correy let go of Jon's hand to wrap his arms around Jon's waist as they walked. "They just need to beef up security a bit more."

"What did the reporter say?" Jon asked, one arm snaking around Correy's shoulders as he followed him down the hall, his face a shade paler than normal.

"That he's holed up in his room, and that whoever leaked it out also leaked his name in connection with yours. So he's got girls doing the same thing to him, hoping to see you." They got to the room and Correy let go of Jon long enough to slip the key card into the lock and open up the door. "Let me get you a drink."

Jon was in no mood to argue. A drink would do him good, calm his nerves. He stepped inside and pulled the torn coat from his shoulders, examining the rips before searching the pockets. "Do you have any cigarettes?"

"I do," he pulled the pack from his pocket and tossed it over. He made quick work of closing the blinds with a push of a button. Then he headed to the bar. "Only drink I know how to make is snakebite. Is that ok?"

He wasn't that worried. They wouldn't be there much longer and he'd make sure they took a cab from now on. He wasn't worried about the club. He felt they'd be fairly safe there. He caught the pack of smokes and patted his coat for a lighter. "Yeah, that's fine."

Correy pulled the lighter from his pocket, and that was tossed over, too. Then he set about making the drinks. "Maybe you should sit down, Jonny. You don't look so hot."

He shook out a cigarette, stuck it in his mouth, and lit it, grateful that his hands had finally stopped shaking.

Correy finished mixing the drink, the black currant the last thing he put into the glass before bringing it over to Jon. "Here, this should help." He took the cigarette from Jon long enough to take a hit from it before handing it back.

He was about to answer Correy when his phone rang. He took a drag off the smoke and pulled his phone from his pocket, looking to see who it was, but the number wasn't showing.

Jon was starting to feel dizzy, the blood rushing from his head. It felt like he was in the midst of a bad horror movie, only it was for real.

He saw the fear in Correy's eyes and he felt a shiver creep up his own spine. "We should report it," he told him, voice quiet and shaky.

When Jon's eyes started to glaze over and he became even paler, Correy tossed the phone onto the counter nearby and grabbed a hold of Jon. "Sit, baby." He gently helped to lower Jon into a chair. "It doesn't matter. We're leaving tomorrow morning. Fuck going to the club. We're staying here where it's safe. Let me call security so that they're on guard." He pressed a kiss to Jon's forehead, then his drink into his hand. "I'm on top of it, don't worry."

Jon lowered himself into the chair, feeling dazed, numb, scared, not only for himself, but even more so for Correy. His eyes were a little glazed, almost as if he was in a state of shock. Correy was going into action, but Jon was petrified with fear.

Correy kept one hand on Jon's shoulder as he picked up the house phone. "Yes, we just received a threatening call." He waited a moment then shook his head. "No, on my fianc"'s cell phone. I'd just like for security detail to keep an eye on the room for the night. We're leaving in the morning." He nodded as they went over the details. "Thank you," he nodded once more and hung up. "It's going to be alright baby." Correy sunk down beside Jon and wrapped his arms around him. "It'll be ok."

Jon looked up into Correy's eyes, looking sick with fear and worry. "I wanted to take you out tonight," he told him quietly. "I wanted to celebrate."

"I know," he sighed and gently ran his hand along Jon's neck and shoulder. "Tell you what. Call some of your closest friends and invite them over. We can celebrate here. How about that?"

Jon shook his head. He wasn't feeling much like partying anymore. He just wanted to spend a quiet night with Correy. He just wanted to make sure he was safe. They'd be back home in Rhydin tomorrow and everything would be fine. It had to be. "Would you be disappointed if we stayed in tonight' Just the two of us" We can....watch a movie or something."

Correy nodded his understanding. Getting up, he reached for Jon's hand. "I won't be disappointed baby. Spending time with you is all I need." he smiled in what he hoped was a reassuring way. "Let's get you out of those clothes into some pajamas."

Jon took Correy's hand and pulled him back down. "Corr, just..." He broke off a moment, feeling weak. "Just hold me a while." He looked up at him, eyes pleading with him.

Correy was pulled back down and his arms went around Jon's shoulders. "Shhh," he whispered softly, pressing gentle kisses to Jon's temple. His eyes closed and he began humming softly, a lullaby.

Jon leaned into Correy's embrace, leaning his head against his shoulder, his arms going around him. It seemed like every time things were going well, something happened to set them back again.

For a long while, Correy sat there with Jon in his arms. The only sound in the room was from Correy's soft humming. He'd asked to see Jon's world, all of it. He hadn't expected it to turn so ugly, so fast. Grateful that they'd be leaving the next day, Correy just wanted to go home.

Jon closed his eyes, clinging to Correy, trying to push the fears away, to rationalize things, to let Correy's voice comfort and soothe him, though his stomach was tied in knots. "I'm sorry," he whispered, his voice shaking with emotion. He'd wanted this trip to be fun, and it had been until now.

Jon glanced at the ring he now wore upon his finger and curled his hand into a fist, pulling away from Correy, eyes suddenly flashing with anger. "I'm not gonna let anyone hurt you, Correy, I'd die before I let anyone hurt you."

"Hey, hey, hey!" Correy got up and grabbed Jon's drink. "None of that, do you hear me? Nobody's going to hurt me. And if they try, that's what security is for. One night, babe; and we're staying here. I'm safe with you." He held out the drink, wanting Jon to finish it.