Legal Stuff: I don't know NSYNC or any other celebrity mentioned. While real people are the basis of characters, they are characters here and do not represent the real lives, thoughts, or feelings of the real people. Again, these are characters based on them, not the real people themselves. If you are too young, or live in a location where it is illegal to read stories that include love between men, read no further! Like that would have ever stopped me...
It's Never Easy -- Chapter 4
I hate being sick. Really I do hate being sick. As if the court case with Nathan, having both of my grandmothers decide the occasion warranted a week-long visit, tight deadlines for a revised script, Nathan breaking up with his boyfriend because Evan was insisting on anal sex and Nathan wasn't ready for that, and Manuel and Josh breaking up (if you have two brain cells and remember the events at the end of A Phone Call, you know why!), on top of all that, I had to go and get sick.
Not just Oh my! I have a cold' sick. This was extremely high fever I think I'm going to die! Take me to the hospital sick.' Add to that having not one, but TWO grandmothers staying with you, both of who were feuding ever since your parents got a divorce, and I learned what hell might be like. Okay, my grandmothers. Grandma Young was my dad's mother. Of her three kids, none are still alive, just us, her 5 grandkids. Grandma Barrow, who we all call Nanny had 3 kids of her own, and 5 step-children from her second marriage. Her second husband, who I called Papa, was now in the advanced stages of Alzheimer's and was hospitalized since she could no longer care for him. Grandma (Young) was 78 while Nanny was 84. Nanny had lost 2 of her children, including my mother and 3 of her 21 grandchildren. She also had eight grandchildren, not including Nathan.
Both of these women were products of the Great Depression. Spendthrifty, and great home cooks. Can we say scratch biscuits and lots of greens all the time? Grandma hailed from Oklahoma and worked her way across the country until she met my Grandfather (he died in 1975 from brain cancer). Nanny was an orphan and the oldest daughter of four children. Her and her older brother worked from the time they were 13 until the younger kids were grown up. She met my mom's natural father and moved to California. She divorced him in 1951 while pregnant with my mother. Turned out he was a gambler and was in deep with the mob, and she wanted nothing to do with him. She met Papa two years later and voila! The Brady Bunch. So, here I had two strong-willed women who were taking care of me, their scapegrace grandson. I was either their favorite, or their biggest disappointment depending on their mood and how bad they wanted babies to spoil.
So they spoiled Nathan instead.
While I lay in bed dying of the flu. Then they came back and took me to the hospital where the doctor shrugged, gave me some codeine-laced cough syrup and told me to rest.
Right, I had a script to finish re-writing.
Poor James. He so badly wanted to come back and take care of me. I told him I wouldn't let him in the bedroom if he did. Instead he called me every hour. I loved it, unless I was sleeping or working on the script. I did get the script done, but I was uncertain of its quality (I won a Saturn award for it later. Maybe I should write while on codeine more often?).
The week from hell ended on a Sunday afternoon as Nanny and Grandma boarded their plane. Of course they were escaping before I saw the big scrape on my bumper. You know, I never did get them to spill the beans on who did it, but they seemed to get along better after that.
Eight hundred dollars for repairs to the bumper is a small price to pay for your grandmothers to really get along with each other again.
Trust me on that. Please, just trust me?
Why did they leave that second week in January? The answer is simple: Nathan was going back to school and they didn't want to have stick around all day with me. They stayed to spoil Nathan, not look after me. I drove my red-haired son to school, and he scrunched down in the seat as I mistakenly got into the wrong lane. Boy did he let me know that I was the most embarrassing dad in the world!
Poor kid, he got even more embarrassed when I started laughing real loud.
Luckily, his shiner had gone down by them and he was feeling a lot better. I noticed him being surrounded by a bunch of friends and they were patting him on the back. Yes, I breathed a sigh of relief that recent events were being taken so well. I later learned there had been some attempts at bullying him, but his friends stepped in and stopped things before they got past words being said. When I did find out, I took them ALL to Magic Mountain on a Saturday and paid for EVERYTHING they wanted. That little trip cost me around $8,500 dollars, and was worth every penny for being declared the `kewlest' dad in the world by ten teenage boys.
You hear that James? I'm the `kewlest' dad! Beat that!
I was recovered in time to catch the end of principal photography on the new episode, and found that I liked the new sets better than the old sets. We later discovered the fans agreed with me, so that rainstorm damage was actually a blessing in disguise. Most of my production work (I'd gone from Assistant Producer to Co-Producer with Luke Perry) was done in editing the actual film shots. This was done digitally, since the show was shot totally digitally and we found actually took a lot less time than the old film methods. We were even able to try out multiple effects shots for the same scene with little or no effort.
That's probably what helped us get an Emmy for special effects, but again, I'm like way ahead of myself there.
What it didn't do was get me to Boston in time to see James, so he flew out for his free day. He left right after the show, arrived after midnight, slept. We woke up, made love, had breakfast. He followed me to the studio where I did some work, came home early, made love again, ate dinner, then went to bed. He almost missed his flight back to the tour the next morning. Nathan went to Boston under the "care" of Chris. Believe me, I was nervous, but he came back in one piece with no observable tattoos or piercings.
I breathed a sigh of relief.
Manuel had moved out of Josh's pretty soon after the court case ended. I noticed he was becoming more and more of a stranger and dragged him out one night while Christina had Nathan over for dinner. It seemed he was having second thoughts about his break up with Josh. I encouraged him to get in touch with Josh and see how he was feeling.
I didn't expect Manuel to disappear for a week and go on tour with NSYNC as Josh's friend, but he did. He even sweet-talked his boss into giving him the vacation time on no notice. Manuel! Sweet-talking someone! I think the world's coming to an end.
February rolled around, and NSYNC was on break for two weeks. Their tour really was not heating up yet, they were building buzz by performing in select cities, really gauging public reaction to the revelation of Lance Bass being gay. Their one show in the mid-west determined there weren't going to be many concert dates throughout that conservative region. A couple of the really big cities, but nowhere else would see NSYNC pull into town during the big summer tour. The European leg was actually going to kick off in mid-March.
We were also filming an episode of Ganymede in London at the same time that NSYNC would be there. I worked things out so that Nathan would be on spring break at the time, and could travel with me. February passed relatively calmly, no legal battles, no major scandals. I worked my butt off, as did James. We managed to keep our every two-week rendezvous plan working, and it really helped. I'd not felt the longing for him like I had backing December. During the two-week break in February, I even managed to rebuild my friendship with Josh. We had a deep heart-to-heart chat that could really have gone sour fast, but we were both dedicated to listening to what each other had to say.
You know, that's part of communication with friends, being able to listen until they are done talking and THINKING about what they said from their point of view. You don't have to agree with them, but UNDERSTANDING them is vitally important.
March saw me struggling to get approval for the London shoot, which I managed to do in one day. The studio at first didn't like my idea of filming in London and flat refused to fund the trip. Then they got a phone call and found out the special guest stars I had lined up secretly. I wasn't allowed to tell them, the guest stars' staff had to tell them.
They agreed immediately, even contacting Jive to work out a deal on a 777 charter flight for our combined staff. We ended up filling two complete planes, but the flights were a heck of a lot cheaper on charter than buying individual tickets. Unlike the Concorde, the 777 takes a long time to fly to London from New York, much less LA. The stop in Orlando didn't help. Okay, it didn't help until James sat down next to me in first class and we snuggled up in a single sleeper seat.
It was no worse than the bunk on their tour bus.
Getting Nathan's passport had been a pain in the ass. The State Department fought my right to take him out of the country because the adoption had not been made final yet. We had a hearing scheduled in April that James would have to fly back for (while the rest of the guys partied in Paris) before it would be finalized. He almost didn't get to go, which meant I wouldn't have gone, but some fast-talking by certain attorney friends in Phoenix smoothed the ruffled feathers. A very happy Nathan boarded the flight with me in LA and embarked on his first trans-Atlantic flight.
It was almost his last. I don't know who was ready to strangle him first, James, the flight attendants, me, or the rest of the passengers that were trying to sleep. Thank god for a single Tylenol PM. It calmed him down enough for him to go to sleep.
Note to self: Sometimes drugging a teenager is acceptable. Get over your squeamishness.
We landed, and tiredly made our way to the waiting limousines. Almost four hundred people from the two crews combined, and it included most of the senior management of Korvan Studios (are you kidding, they insisted on coming!). Nathan was very hard to wake up. We should have given him the pill sooner.
I won't forget that on the flight back.
Poor James. He was tired already and we still had to check into our hotel room. I know I surprised him there. I convinced Jive and Korvan to get us a bigger suite. We were sharing a suite and they started fighting over which company was going to pay until I stepped in. I made them both pay and ended up with the two of us having the biggest suite in the hotel.
What, you thought I'd make them split the cost of a regular suite? Are you NUTS? This is Hollywood.
Josh got pissed because the only way Manuel was getting to go along was because we needed someone from his company there to help us plan effects and to run the rough drafts of the actor involved effects on a laptop. We had people acting who had never been in front of a blue (or is it green now?) screen before and I wanted them as prepared as possible.
As planned, our planes had landed a little after 7:00 p.m. local time, and it was 9:00 before we settled into our bedroom (Nathan was staying in one of the other rooms. The rest were empty). We were both passed out a half-hour later.
Okay, waking up with two bodies scrunched up to you is a little warm at most times. With a heavy comforter over you, it gets worse. Then when both those bodies have morning wood, it gets worse. Opening your eyes and seeing your fifteen-year old foster son as one of those with morning wood results in a very edgy tone saying "Nathan, go take a damn piss and stop poking me!"
Have you ever seen a short red-headed teenager blush? It goes all the way down. I wondered when he'd taken up our habit of sleeping in the nude, but shrugged it off when I saw it was three a.m. I snuggled my back up to James, he positioned himself perfectly in his sleep to run his manhood between my legs and then let out a deeply contented sigh. The flushing toilet announced the return of a (now soft) teenager who crawled right back into bed with us.
"You know, you're making it difficult for us to have sex." I whispered to him, just as James started to thrust his hips and groan in his sleep.
Now I blushed as I tried to shake James awake. He didn't want to wake up.
Nathan started giggling, and his giggling only grew louder as I tried to shush him. The giggling woke James from his sleep, and he immediately jumped back in the bed, horrified that Nathan was there with us.
That's when we all broke up laughing.
"Nathan, if you ever..." I started to tell him.
"I'm sorry, dad, pops." Nathan giggled out. "I really didn't mean to cause you guys problems. I was just kind of scared being in another country."
"Next time go bug Justin." James said, his voice holding a tinge of anger, but a lot of amusement.
"He's got Amy in bed with him." Nathan pouted. Amy was one of the actresses from my show and about the same age as Justin.
"Well, he's certainly moving fast." I commented. It seemed that right now, every NSYNCer was off the market. Poor girls. I really felt sorry for them. NOT. I had my NSYNCer and they can't have him. He's mine.
We settled down after that, snuggling up tightly, sans excited body parts. That had been a little too close, and way too uncomfortable for me. I never wanted a repeat. Briefly I wondered if straight parents ever had to deal with similar problems, albeit minus one penis? Maybe I'd talk to Joey about it. Briana was getting older and I wondered how he'd deal with that kind of situation.
He's still a big practical joker, but now that he's a father, he's gotten a really serious side to him you would not believe. Don't even think of hurting his little girl. You'll find out why everyone's afraid of the Italian Mafioso. Trust me on that as well.
What you don't have to trust me about is that later in the morning, our beautiful, spacious suite was crowded. We're talking all of NSYNC with their significant others (including Justin's Amy), Johnny Wright, Scott Bakula (who was directing this episode), the remaining four cast members who were playing a part in this episode, and Nathan gathered in our suite for breakfast. The buffet table was set up, and everyone lounging around chatting up the day's events before we'd done more than get showered and dressed in some casual clothes. Our new Armani suites were hanging in the closet waiting for us to change.
"So, while you three are relaxing, drinking tea, the rest of the Ganymede crew will be at the soundstage getting things set up." Scott was saying as the Studio executives joined us for breakfast. A spot was cleared for them at the table, and they gave me dirty looks. How was I to help it that the invitation didn't include them? They could wait until the guests showed up on site for blocking.
"Meanwhile, the rest of us NSYNC people are going to be doing soundcheck." Chris said, glaring at James.
"Yeah, how are we going to survive without our Scoop?" Justin wailed in mock horror.
"You'll make it just fine." James told him smiling. A half hour later, we were shooing them out of the suite and getting ourselves dressed. We all three exited into the main room at the same time and I immediately noticed one of us would have to fix his tie. He was even more nervous than we were, but that was to be expected.
One year ago, if you had told me I would be standing here wearing an Armani suit, I would have laughed. I would been hysterical if you had told me I would also be waiting to be introduced to the Queen of England. I would have been comatose if you'd told me that my foster son would be standing next to me, and that James Lance Bass would be standing on the other side of him.
We had already met with a protocol official who had politely demonstrated how Americans typically greet the Queen, which was not much different than say, meeting the President. That still did not ease my nervousness, and as I looked Nathan over one more time to make sure he was presentable, I realized he was as nervous as I was. James just looked calm and gave me a small smile.
The bastard.
Finally, the door opened and we were announced. No, this wasn't the throne room, or any such place. It was actually a large, well-appointed sitting room. The occupants of the room were standing, and His Royal Highness, Prince Charles sauntered over to us, giving James and I a warm greeting. The door closed behind us as we were led into the room and he introduced us to his mother and both of his sons.
Nathan was red-faced as he was introduced to Prince William, and even stuttered as he was introduced to Prince Harry. He was closer to Harry in age and was shown to a seat between the two princes. It was kind of funny seeing his flaming red hair between the Harry's brown head, and William's blond. Meanwhile, James and I were seated between the Queen and her eldest son (yes, we all did wait for her to sit first, although Nathan was only saved by Harry touching his arm before he forgot and sat down).
"It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance." Queen Elizabeth said after we were sitting and servants appeared to pour tea. Yes, we were in England and it was time for morning tea.
"The honor is ours, your majesty." James said, his voice steady and calm. I kept my mouth shut.
"My son, and grandson had nothing but good things to say after meeting you the other month." She continued after nodding her head at James' comment. "I must say that my youngest grandson is reported to be a fan of your music, Mr. Bass, and both of them are fans of your television show, Mr. Young."
"I am pleased that he enjoys our music. Maybe he will be able to attend one of our concerts? I'd be happy to have him backstage." James replied.
"I do believe our security staff are making arrangements with your tour staff as we speak." Prince Charles said, smiling at his youngest son. Poor kids, they were having to sit there and listen to the adults prattle.
"Have all the security arrangements been made for your visit to the soundstage?" I asked Prince Charles.
"Yes, quite satisfactorily." He replied.
"I'm glad to hear that." I said with a small smile. "I'm also deeply honored by your desire to participate in the filming of this episode. I don't think any television show has ever been graced with the presence of three genuine Princes as guest actors."
"I admit that when William first broached the subject, I dismissed it out of hand." The Queen said, smiling gently. She reminded me of my Nanny in her sharply cut suit. "However, he did convince me to read the script you wrote and I was impressed with how well you understood what the monarchy means to the British people."
"I have studied a lot of history, your majesty." I told her. "Including the history of the British Empire. I have followed the debates over the last few years regarding the royal family and decided that I agree with your position on what role the monarchy plays in the lives of its citizens. Even more importantly, I've heard the same opinions expressed by many of the people I've met over here. I decided to write an episode that highlights that role, and how it can result in internal conflict for those in the positions you and your family share."
"Yes, very well written, I believe." The Queen said, then adding with a smile. "Not to mention that with the three Princes all appearing in one episode, your ratings will be tremendous."
"That always does help." I agreed with her, and we all chuckled.
The hour passed very quickly after that. Nathan was blushing as she asked him about school, about having the two of us as his parents, and seemed very interested in his everyday life. The two younger princes were silent through most of the hour, but did laugh a little at some of Nathan's responses. The hour we were allotted was soon over, and we were escorted from the room after what I would call a very polite conversation over morning tea.
You have to love British traditions sometimes.
I was surprised as the two younger princes accompanied us out of the room. They flanked Nathan, all three walking in front of us as we headed out of the palace. As soon as the door to the sitting room was closed, they both became a lot more animated and started asking him questions about his interests, what music he liked, what he did for fun, all sorts of things. As we reached one of the exits to the building where our limo waited, they stopped and finally said something to James and I.
"Dave, we really appreciate your agreeing to let us be in your show." William said with a smile. "Both Harry and I love watching it, and we always thought it would be brilliant to be able to act on the telee."
"I'm just happy your father and grandmother agreed to what I wrote." I told him. "I'm also happy they agreed to you receiving scale pay instead of some huge payment."
"Well, what we are receiving will go to charity anyway." William said with a laugh.
"I am also excited about being able to go to your concert, Lance." Harry told my partner.
"Please, call me James." Was his reply. "It's always good to be able to make our fans happy, even royal ones."
"Will you be on the set and at the concert?" Harry asked Nathan. Uh oh. I knew that tone. I was going to have to have a little talk with Nathan. I knew that not only from Harry's tone, but from the way Nathan looked at him. William looked at his brother, confirming my thoughts with his expression.
"Yeah, I'll be at both." Nathan said, smiling. "Maybe we'll get a chance to talk more."
"Hopefully." Harry said with a small smile. That was when we said goodbye to the young pair. Amazingly, there had been no leaks so far about what we were doing in England and there was no press waiting as the car drove outside the palace. We all returned to the hotel room where we changed into clothes more suitable for the remainder of the day's activities. James then left for the venue while Nathan and I went to the soundstage we'd be using to film parts of this next episode.
Of course everything was a mess. James came by to pick up Nathan and we all ate a dinner there on the soundstage before they went back to the hotel. While I worked with Scott and our crew on fixing the myriad problems, they went to a play with the rest of NSYNC and had a fun evening. I stumbled in sometime after midnight and passed out next to an already asleep James.
I was back at the soundstage by 6:00 a.m., munching on a croissant and sipping my fourth glass of tea before they even got out of bed. The mess of yesterday was finally taking shape into ordered chaos that was normal for any production. The green screens were in place, the sets that were produced locally were ready (they were areas not shown previously in the series so I didn't have to worry about continuity with sets back in America), and we were ready for blocking.
Did I mention that security was tight? The British security services had that place locked up so tight even the mice wore ID tags. Of course Nathan forgot his at the hotel and wasn't allowed in when he and James arrived. That's why they missed the arrival of Prince Charles and his two sons.
When they finally did show up, we were in the middle of blocking a scene with Prince Charles. You've seen the guy on television, right? I mean he makes Al Gore seem downright lively.
Guess what? Trying to get him to put emotion into a scene was going to be tough. We were working with him on positioning and expression of emotion when James and Nathan came up to where we were. Harry immediately stood up from his chair and went to greet Nathan, followed closely by William. That was when I realized I hadn't talked with Nathan after all.
Just at that moment, Charles asked me about some of his lines, and my attention returned to the older prince. A half-hour later, we started another walkthrough of the scene and I turned around to find Nathan and Harry had disappeared while William was talking to James. I left Scott to his directorial duties and went looking for them.
Guess what? You and I were right. I found them behind some props, kissing like mad. I immediately took a deep breath and cleared my throat.
I had to pinch my crossed arms to keep from laughing as they jumped.
"Excuse me, boys." I said in as stern a voice as I could manage. "We need to have a talk."
"I...I...uh" Nathan was staring as Harry looked down at his feet.
"Calm down." I told both of them. "I'm not going to bite anyone's head off...yet."
"Please don't mention this to..." Harry started to mumble.
"He doesn't need to mention it to anyone." I heard William's voice say from behind me. He looked angry. "You do remember what happened last time, don't you?"
"Yes, but Nathan's different." Harry said, blushing slightly. "He's not like the chum who was just trying to get into the papers."
"Getting into the papers is the last thing any of us want." I said firmly, looking at William, who nodded. "Likewise, I don't want to see Nathan get hurt."
"We're just fooling around, Dad." Nathan said to me. "We're not doing anything too serious, and we know nothing can come of this, except maybe being friends."
"You've talked about this already?" I asked them, raising my eyebrows.
"No, but that's what I'm thinking." Nathan admitted, looking me in the eyes. "He's a prince and even if he liked me, he has an image to uphold. It's not like Pops where he can just come out and the worst that can happen is people won't buy his records. It's like what you talked about yesterday with the Queen; they have responsibilities to their people. But that doesn't mean we can't enjoy getting to know each other now."
I could see that William was looking at Nathan a little differently now. There was some respect in his eyes, and Harry had a hopeful expression on his face. William looked between the two of them for a few minutes before letting out a sigh.
"Alright." He said softly. "I'll talk with father and see if he might let you stay with them while they are here. You don't have any appearances scheduled so he might let you do this. Just remember, it'll probably be the only time he lets something like this happen."
"Ahem." I said, making all three jump. "Haven't we forgotten something here? The question remains on whether I will allow Harry to stay with us while we are here."
"Oh." William said, looking at me like I was crazy. Harry just stared.
"I know you are royalty, but Nathan is my charge." I continued, staring at Harry and Nathan. "I'm not anxious to see him get hurt, and I definitely don't want to have his name in the news as part of a scandal. I'm not convinced letting you two explore a, uh, friendship is a good thing. Harry, I know very little about you, why don't you share some things about you that might convince me it would be okay to have you around."
"Um," Harry said, biting his lower lip. "Well, I've been thinking I'm bi for a few years now. Wills and I talked about it last month after a close call with a guy who was trying to seduce me and then sell the story. I really wanted to...um...try seeing what it was like with a guy, but I didn't really think I'd ever meet someone that I could trust."
"What are you looking for from Nathan?" I asked him seriously.
"I really like him." Harry said quietly, hanging his head a little. "He's really nice and good looking. I want to be friends, and maybe to...explore...a little."
"Do you think you might be friends afterwards?" I asked.
"I hope so." Harry barely whispered.
"Okay," I said softly, smiling at Harry's sudden looking up and staring at me. "As long as you both know where you are coming from on this, and know what to expect when our time here is over, I'm not going to object. One rule though, no displays of affection anywhere but in the hotel. That's not negotiable, and any, stressing ANY here, slip-up on that rule will result in Harry being asked to leave. Is that clear?"
"Yes, sir." Came from the throats of the two younger boys. Williams looked over at me and was smiling.
"How about you chat with father instead of me?" he asked me with an impish grin. It's a good thing I had James or I'd be hopelessly in unrequited love with this kid.
"No, you can talk to him. If he wants to talk to me after you have your chat, then I'll talk to him." I said, grinning back.
"Damn you're good." Harry mumbled, smiling a little as they moved out from behind the props. "Most people cave at that smile when Wills really turns it on."
"I've got a man who'd castrate me if I let that smile get to me." I said seriously, causing all three of them to break up in laughter. That was when we all walked back in the direction of where the blocking was going on. Scott was done with the older prince, and started working on scene that would be just Harry and two other characters, giving William a chance to pull his father aside. From the looks on their faces, the discussion was heated. Finally, the older prince caught my attention and summoned me with a nod of his head.
"Yes, sir?" I asked him cautiously as I approached the pair.
"What do you think of this situation?" He asked me rather bluntly. Honestly, I was expecting a more...diplomatic question.
"Well, sir" I began, thinking things through before speaking. "I think that letting the boys, uh, get to know each other better in a controlled environment will be better than anything else we might do. This way, they are more likely to stick by the rule I made, and they are less likely to be caught. A boy in Harry's position is not going to have an easy time no matter what. This way, he can...explore this side of himself without too much risk of exposure."
"What do you see happening in the long term?" He asked me, looking me directly in the eyes.
"They'll probably be friends for life." I answered honestly. "Nathan understands the situation and won't harbor any fantasies of living his life with Harry as lovers. If things go well, Harry will have a good friend who knows his deepest secrets and who he can trust. I doubt either of them expect more."
"I hope you are right." He said, a frown on his face. "Would it be possible for Wills to stay with you as well? The press is bound to notice Harry with you over the week. If they both are there, it will be less likely that they suspect anything...untoward is occurring."
"That shouldn't be a problem." I answered immediately. "We have two extra bedrooms in our suite. Not even the people with us will necessarily suspect anything."
"That is a relief." He said, then told William to inform Harry that they would be staying with us for the week, and to inform one of their security people to make arrangements. As William moved off, Charles turned towards me and I realized we were about to have a parent-to-parent talk.
"Is it any easier hearing your child is gay when you are gay yourself? He asked me quietly.
"No." I answered honestly. "Life would be so much easier for Nathan if he was straight, but he's not and we just have to learn to deal with what life throws at us. Look on the bright side, at least Harry is bi-sexual. He's likely to meet some woman he can love and have a marriage that is acceptable to the public's eyes."
"If he doesn't decide he likes boys better." Charles said soberly.
"Whatever happens, though, he needs to know his father cares." I said softly.
"His mother would have dealt with this situation better." He said uncomfortably. I was surprised. I had been doing my best to not refer to the deceased Princess, and here he was mentioning her.
"Maybe, maybe not." I allowed cautiously. "There's a difference between having gay or bi-sexual friends and having your child be gay or bi-sexual. Some parents don't react at all positively to hearing this news. To be honest, your reaction is far better than I would expect."
"I have had a few weeks to deal with his." He said softly. "As well as a very tough decade teaching me to be more...compassionate when issues arise."
"Well, I hope you realize that your sons are very lucky right now, especially Harry."
"Thank you," He said, then paused to look at me again. "Do you think it is possible that I might contact you when situations arise with Harry and I might need...a more open-minded point of view?"
"I'm always willing to help out friends." I said, smiling.
"Friends. You realize that people in my position, and my sons' positions rarely have people that they can count on as friends?" He said, holding his hand out, and shaking it.
"I've learned that in Hollywood the last year." I said, smiling as well. "I've been lucky though and found myself a good group of friends."
"Yes, well, you have made some more on the other side of the pond." He said, just as Scott called for him to come back in front of the cameras. The rest of the day was extremely busy. Manuel took two hours explaining to each of them how the effects would look after the editing process. Our costumer spent another hour explaining how they would be `adjusting' the costumes throughout the episodes and about maintaining continuity. Nathan was kept busy as a go-for the entire time, running errands. Lunch came and went, as did afternoon tea, and before we knew it, it was time to wrap for the day. Tomorrow would be a longer schedule.
Arrangements had been made for the two princes to ride in the limo with Nathan and I. Clothing would be delivered for them directly to the hotel. What was unexpected was the crowd at the hotel when we pulled up. Somehow, the fans had found out where we were staying.
There were about three hundred all combined, split into two groups. Each group fanned out from the entrance back towards the street corners. One side was mostly teenage girls holding up signs declaring their undying love for NSYNC. The other side were dressed up as characters from my show and declared their undying devotion to `Ganymede."
Just great.
William and Harry tried to hide their identities by raising the collars on their light windbreakers, but that was useless as the cry went up "It's Prince William! It's Prince Harry!" and the flash of cameras almost blinded all of us. We made it inside, and scurried towards the elevator. Nathan was laughing, but he was the only one.
I hate leaks. I really do.
Our suite already was full of executives and Ganymede staff as well as NSYNC staff. Most of them jumped to their feet when they saw who accompanied us, and James was smiling brightly. Nathan took the two princes to the min-bar and served them some sodas, then took Harry off to show him the bedrooms. William walked back over to us and stood at my shoulder on the other side of James.
"...so with all the crowd outside we're just trying to decide if we should move hotels or not." The NSYNC manager was saying to us.
"Is it really going to be worth all of the trouble for a couple of days?" the NSYNC tour manager asked the head of security.
"Well, with the guards for the princes that have been assigned, I seriously doubt any fans will be able to sneak into the hotel." The woman said firmly. Yes, the head of security was a woman.
"Having decided that, I wonder how you managed to get these two young men to stay here?" Tom Johnson, the studio executive asked.
"We always like to visit our friends when they are in town." William said in what I would call a `royal' tone. "Father decided that we could use a little vacation, and we always enjoy spending our vacations with our friends, even working vacations."
"So, are you a fan?" Chris Kirkpatrick said, leaning back smugly.
"No, that would be Harry with the atrocious taste in music." William said, wrinkling his nose a little. The room burst out in laughter at the look of surprise on Chris' face.
"You criticize me on my music?" Harry said from the door to Nathan's bedroom. "I'm not the one who was listening to Sinead O'Connor for my entire fourteenth year!"
Okay, that broke the ice, and the two were soon mingling with the assembled staff and stars. After about a half-hour, James loudly announced that we wanted some quiet time before dinner, and the room cleared fairly quickly. Soon, we were alone with our two guests, who were talking to Nathan as James turned towards me and spoke.
"So, to what do we owe the honor of royal guests? He asked me. Behind him, James and Harry had realized that we were alone in the room now, and that they were free to display affection. They were immediately lip-locked and William cried out "That is disturbing!" Of course, James turned around. He made a choking sound, then a chuckle.
"Okay, you almost got me on that one." He smirked, punching me in the arm lightly. "Like any royalty would want to kiss our red-headed excuse for a son."
"Hey!" Nathan sputtered, breaking their kiss as William and I broke up laughing.
"Let's take this somewhere private." Harry said to Nathan, and the two disappeared into Nathan's room. William was still laughing as James turned back to me, a look of shock on his face.
"No, please tell me they aren't..." He whispered, loud enough for William to hear. Of course that set the poor guy off laughing harder.
"They're getting to know each other better." I said calmly, then was interrupted by a knock at the door. It was the palace staff with luggage for the two princes. We directed them to the two spare rooms where they put the luggage. The room for Harry was actually connected to Nathan's by a shared bathroom. William had his own wash closet. They left, and it was time for dinner. We were all meeting downstairs at the hotel's restaurant, so James banged on Nathan's door and told them to get ready.
Fifteen minutes later, everyone emerged from his room dressed a little more formally for dinner. Slacks and button down shirts were the uniform of the evening and we walked down the hallway as a group. I noticed that men in dark suits who exuded an air of danger augmented the tour security. Two of them fell in behind us and followed us down to the restaurant.
Fortunately, an entire section had been blocked off for us, and we ate with the Studio Executives, stars, Scott Bakula, and of course NSYNC. The wait staff seemed especially nervous serving royalty, and I noticed the chef peeking out of the kitchen several times. For once, hotel food was actually quite good.
I had fish and chips in case you were wondering. I love fish and chips in London.
Dinner went smashingly, and lasted for about two hours with all the after-meal conversations. Soon enough we were heading back upstairs with our guests. When the door to the suite closed, Nathan and Harry took off towards the bedroom, barely remembering to say good-night. William shrugged and we joined him on the couch for a movie (pay-per-view). The three of us talked about growing up. James talked about Mississippi and finishing his high school while on tour. I talked about dropping out of high school and joining the Navy, and William filled us with tales of what those English boarding schools are really like.
You don't want to know. Really, you don't.
After the movie, he retired to his room. James and I picked up the main room of the suite a little, then headed off towards our room. We also stopped and listened at Nathan's room. It was quiet at the moment. Then we rushed off to our room. William's stories had us both ready for some action.
Okay, you want to know, but I don't want to tell you. Go ask William if you really want to know.
Morning came way too early. We'd been up until the wee hours of the morning (which is how we knew Nathan and Harry had taken a shower at 2:30 in the morning). Did we get to sleep in? Of course not. A very high-pitched scream woke us up at 6:10. We rushed into the main room of the suite just in time to see the front door open and two security guards point their pistols at a very surprised Joey and Chris. They raised their hands and a feather floated onto the floor. At the same time, Wills came out of his room with a big dollop of shaving cream on his face and his hands.
Even the guards were laughing. Nathan and Harry joined us in laughter as they opened the doors of their bedrooms (yes, they were even smart enough to use separate bedroom doors to come out into the suite! I'm so proud of him!). Poor Chris and Joey were still standing there with their hands in the air when William came up to them and spread the shaving cream in his hands on their faces.
"Very funny." He remarked as he went back into his bedroom. "Too bad that joke was tired by the time I left grade school, old chums."
The guards put their weapons away, exiting the room, still laughing. Joey and Chris didn't seem to know how to respond to Wills parting comment, but they finally lowered their hands. Harry just kept on laughing.
"Oh, you two are in for it now!" he smirked between laughs. "Wills is the best when it comes to getting revenge."
"I think we should go back to our rooms." Chris said, looking at Joey who nodded. Without saying a word, they left the suite. James had to be picked up off the floor, he was laughing so hard. That was when the phone rang, and Nathan answered it. He hung up a moment later and announced that everyone was meeting for breakfast elsewhere. If we wanted breakfast here, we'd have to order.
I took care of that immediately. I'd gotten lots of exercise last night and was starving. The food had arrived before I got out of the shower, and a vibration in the floor announced the herd had smelled the food. I mean the young men, not a herd. It just sounded like one. James called out from the sink where he was brushing his teeth, demanding they save us some food. I knew better and turned off the shower, drying myself quickly.
From the way William and Harry were staring, you'd have thought they'd never seen a man wearing nothing but a towel before. Luckily, there was some food left by the time I sat down and filled my plate. James was right behind me and decided to eat off my plate before getting his own.
How typical.
Our conversation, in-between sly glances at me from the two brits, was focused on the days events. James had a bunch of interviews with the BBC and local radio stations along with the rest of NSYNC. Nathan was going with us to the soundstage, and well, the two princes would begin their filming today. We had a total of three days to film with them and I knew Scott planned on using every second of that time.
After eating, I returned to our bedroom and quickly got dressed, using my fingers to get my hair under control. James sighed and motioned me to sit down next to him, and he spent twenty minutes getting my hair done for me. I kissed him, told him thanks, and went into the main room to find Harry and Nathan kissing on the couch while William flipped through the channels.
We left through the door, with William walking between Harry and Nathan, just as James started cussing. Hey, it's not my fault he's going to be 20 minutes late for his interview. It's not like I asked him to do my hair.
Haha!
The mob of fans was three times as large, and had blocked off all of the sidewalk on both sides of the street and was threatening to cut off traffic altogether. I winced when a roar sprang up as the four of us exited the hotel. Fortunately, a thick line of bobbies (you know, London police) held a space free for us to walk down. Soon after we were in the limo and it was speeding away towards our destination.
Too bad the fans figured out where we were shooting now.
At least there was a gate here far enough back that the soundstage wasn't affected by the 2,000 people outside the studio lots. I wasn't sure exactly who had leaked, or what had leaked, but I knew I wanted someone's head for that leak. It got worse when we walked into the soundstage and Scott handed me copies of the Mirror, the Sun, and a few other magazines. They all mentioned that we had the princes shooting here. I wanted someone's balls THEN their head.
Get your mind out of the gutter you slut.
Prince Charles arrived on time and we got ready for our first day of shooting. He wasn't as bothered by the British press as I was, a fact I was thankful for. He did, however, keep a careful eye on his youngest son and Nathan. They were sitting in studio chairs near the set, engaged in practicing their dialogue, with Nathan playing the parts of those characters interacting with the two.
Yes, Harry and Nathan were behaving.
We started rolling about twenty minutes later. The scene was actually near the end of the episode and featured Prince Charles with Chad. The first three takes were absolutely dreadful, and Scott called a break. He walked over to where I was sitting with Nathan and the two younger royals shaking his head. I knew why he was upset, and I wasn't sure either on how to solve the problem.
Maybe I should explain a little about the episode here. Heck, I need to explain a little about the show, period. If you really don't care, just skip this part.
Ganymede is your classic science fiction story where the earth gets invaded by aliens. What sets this story apart, is that there are two sets of invaders. The first set are actually humans who were abducted 10 years before, trained by a mysterious race, then sent back to Earth to convince the planet to join their Empire.
The second race of aliens is the real bad guys. They just want to conquer the Earth, use it as a transport hub, and have dinner (they love humans. We're a delicacy). While the planet is in the middle of debating the offer to join the first race's empire, the returnees set up bases throughout the solar system on various planets and moons. On the eve of Earth's first vote on joining the empire, the second group of aliens attacks.
What follows is a devastating battle both in space and on Earth. The fleet of friendly space ships is defeated, and all but one of their bases destroyed. They inflicted severe damage on the enemy fleet, which tries to press the advantage and conquer the relatively defenseless Earth.
Luckily, a squadron of three friendly ships that had been on long-range patrol returns in time to surprise the remaining enemy ships and destroy them. Then they assist the various countries of Earth in wiping out alien ground troops that landed. After everything's done, Earth realizes it really is defenseless now, and the vote to join the empire is overwhelmingly affirmative.
The largest ship of the three survivors takes off for the nearest Imperial outpost to report the outcome of the vote, while the leaders of a newly united Earth search for ways to improve their defensive capabilities. As the only surviving base, Ganymede becomes the center of this effort (hence the name).
During the battle for Earth, Britain's government was decimated. The royal family took up the leadership of the nation and led the fight against enemy invaders, as well as directing the efforts to rebuild their shattered country. Under the newly adopted rules of the Empire, they elected the head of the Royal family to lead them, and adopted a constitution similar to the United States. The `King' was basically the President for Life of the government, assuming most of the duties formerly held by the Prime Minister.
In this particular episode, the King was visiting Ganymede on a trip designed to boost public morale back home. His two sons are kidnapped by a terrorist group that opposes Earth joining the Empire and blames the Empire for the attack on Earth. They demand the release of several of their leaders from British prisons and five million dollars for the safe return of the princes.
The scene we were trying to shoot that day was where Chad Allen's character approaches the King (played by Prince Charles) with news that, for the sum of five million dollars, he can locate the kidnapped princes and lead security forces to that location. The King is supposed to act angrily to the suggestion. Then Chad's character will talk about the beating both young men were taking at the hands of the captors and calmly informs the King that "at least this way you won't have to release the terrorist leaders from prison."
What was the problem? Al Gore would have been more emotional.
Scott and I were talking about this fact softly, with Nathan being the only one who could overhear us. We still had no idea of how to tell Prince Charles that he was too wooden. Scott insisted I do it because I was Producer, and his friend. I insisted Scott do it because he was the Director and didn't have a friendship to wreck. Nathan was the one who finally solved our problem.
"Film the torture scene first." Nathan said, smiling at us. "I bet when he recites those lines after watching his sons being beaten, even if it is fake, he'll be able to be more emotional."
Okay, I have to remember, teenage boys do not like their parents to kiss them in front of other people. It's okay in private, or when they are upset. It's not okay when you're excited about something and thanking them in public. Yes Nathan, I got the message. Next time though, you don't have to be so dramatic.
We told Prince Charles and Chad we'd decided to film another scene at that point, and let things get set-up for the torture scene. This one was where the two princes tried to escape and failed. In retaliation, their captors beat them seriously. We were only going to show a few seconds of the beating, then the aftermath with make-up, but we had the stunt-men who were playing the terrorists `beat' on them for a good two hours. Both William and Harry performed excellently.
Prince Charles' face turned pale a couple of times, and when he saw the make up job, he looked absolutely sick.
After a short break, we went back to the green-screen set and re-shot the scene with Chad. Guess what? His voice was seething with anger, the edges of his lips curled in distaste, and when he called Chad a "bottom feeding, self-absorbed, despicable disgrace to everything called human", you could feel the hatred rolling off of him. That was in person, on camera it was even more intense.
Nathan's name is going into the credits on this one.
What really surprised me, though, was what happened after we were done filming the scene (only 1 take this time...it was perfect!). Prince Charles got up, left the stage and walked over to his sons who were practicing for the next scene. The he hugged them both. I heard Harry whisper to William "He hasn't done that since I was little!"
I felt all warm and tingly inside. A little smug too. I'm not perfect you know.
That day, we ate lunch and dinner on set, and didn't leave until after 10:00 p.m. The next night was the concert, so we were going to be breaking off early and I wanted to get as much done as we could. We actually got almost halfway done before we left.
Nathan and Harry both passed out in the limo, and William was nodding furiously. Okay, I was fighting off sleep as well. Poor Scott and most of the crew were still there getting things ready for tomorrow. That's why I'm a Producer. It's not as intense on time. The street had now been blocked off, and most of the crowds dispersed, so getting inside wasn't too bad. Nathan and Harry disappeared into one of their rooms, William made it to his, and I collapsed down on my bed, wondering where James was.
He had been in the bathroom. By the time he joined me, I was passed out. Frankly, this trip to London was exhausting and I couldn't wait to get back home. The only reason I wasn't looking forward to that, was the separation from James while they finished their Europe leg. He was here with me, but I was already missing him.
What, you thought their entire trip to London would be in one chapter? I think not! To be continued.