Lance took a seat on the steps of the front porch and looked out into the night. Stories were already circulating about the battle that happened less than a week ago. People who had previously been unaffected or were in denial about the existence of Saurians were now realizing just how serious it had really been. Lance couldn't turn on the television without hearing about JC Chasez, Lance Bass and their group of hunters - even the Ducks couldn't go around without being noticed.
Lance was still coming to grips with the fact that Nicolette was really gone. He almost expected her to walk up and say her sweet hello any minute now.
"She's really gone, Lance." Lance turned to see JC watching him from the doorway.
"I know. Somewhere, deep down, I know that. I'm just having a hard time accepting it." He looked back up at the stars.
"Maybe you should be thinking more along the lines of.. 'I'm glad I got a chance to see the real her in that creature'?" JC sat down alongside Lance.
"It's still hard."
JC nodded but remained silent. He looked up at the night sky. He searched himself for the words Lance needed to hear but he couldn't come up with anything good enough. Lance had lost his girlfriend, been thrown into hunting aliens, faced having to save the world and almost lost his best friend. It was a lot to come to terms with.
"Hey Lance?" JC asked cautiously.
"Yeah?" Lance answered in a mellow tone.
"Are you considering to continue to lead us in the future? You know, if another alien tries conquest."
Lance looked back at JC. "No, I'm not Wildwing. I'm not a leader. I'm not even sure I want to continue doing this. I don't think I can handle watching anyone else I care about die!"
"Of course you're a leader, Lance. We've been following you just as much as the guys have with myself. Both of us were running this show. I trusted you. I came to you for advice, for ideas, when I needed someone to talk to. You think we didn't notice that? If the guys and all those hunters put that much trust in you, so do I."
"We're friends, that's all."
"Stop kidding yourself, Lance. Those guys in there are ready to take on all the evil in the world but they need someone to lead them and so do I."
Lance looked at JC in shock. "No you don't, Josh. You've got tons more experience than I do at hunting. Why can't you lead them?"
"I'm no leader, Lance. You know that. I'm too emotional. I also don't have the best judgment in panic situations."
"I just can't, JC. I don't know if my sanity could handle it. What if we get in a situation where one of you guys gets hurt or killed? I can't deal with that kind of pressure."
"But it'll be easier to sleep at night knowing there are aliens out there killing people's loved ones? Come on, Lance. What are you going to do now? Go home and forget about helping people?"
Lance looked away again, considering what JC was saying.
"All we need is someone to lead us."
"And that someone has to be me?"
"Yup. Come on, what do ya say? You're our friend, Lance, and we'll respect whatever decision you make but we'd really like you to lead us when the time comes."
Lance knew that everything JC was saying made sense. He still had a home and a family in Mississippi, but Nicolette was gone. He couldn't just ignore it when aliens threatened earth again. All he really wanted to do was crawl into a hole somewhere and hide forever but he knew that was no way to live life. At least here he had friends and a goal, a purpose.
"Okay, I'll give it a shot, but I'm not promising anything!"
"I knew ya had it in ya!" JC patted Lance on the back. "Now that we got that over with, the boys have requested our presence in a game of Monopoly. Chris has the strange idea that he's going to win no matter what..." JC smiled.
"I guess we'll just have to show them who's boss then, huh?" Lance smirked.
JC laughed and headed back into the house.
Lance looked back at the sky and hoped that Nicolette was happy and at rest now. He bid his final farewells to her and headed back into the house.