Justin Timberlake flinched as the gavel pounded against the desk, the noise sending a jolt of panic through his entire body. He stood as the judge began his descent into his chambers and gave his lawyer a forlorn look before the door slammed shut indicating that the judge had made his final exit.

The murmuring of the court rose from a quiet gale into a giant windstorm as Justin looked down at the desk he was sitting at moments before. It was strewn with papers and legal documents, the facts and figures enough to alert his once fading headache to return full force.

Never in his twenty-eight years of existence did he think he would be going through something like this. He had been to court before, but it had never been this heated, drawn out, or painful for him to bear. The fact that six years of seemingly blissful marriage would die in the coming weeks was something Justin wasn’t ready to face. In all actuality he would much rather be back at home, snuggled under covers and watching Dora the Explorer with the love of his life; his daughter.

The cloud of divorce cleared for a few moments as his daughter’s goofy, smiling face filled his mind’s eye. The thought that he would be able to see her when he got home was enough to send him singing and dancing through the flashing cameras and questioning reporters and to his car.

But his happy emotions were fleeting because no sooner had he walked towards the back of the court; his soon to be ex-wife, Kate filled his vision. Her plump lips were pulled back into a tight line and the corners of her eyes were turned down to show her displeasure in having to look at her estranged husband. She was immaculately dressed in a Chanel business suit and her blonde hair was pulled back and away from her beautiful face. If Justin weren’t divorcing her, he would have fallen in love with her all over again. But after months of fighting he saw her for what she really was – a sleeping dragon now fully awake and ready to attack.

“Justin,” she said curtly with a quick nod of her head. It was strange to think that he once loved this woman more than life itself. Now she was just a shell of the warm and loving person she once was. The person he had fallen in love with years ago was long gone – the product of constant media abuse and speculation remained. There was no doubt that the outcome of this divorce was going to make her a very wealthy woman, prenuptial agreement or not, and the thought of Kate making off with more than she signed up for angered Justin to an extent.

“I’m surprised you’re acknowledging me with your presence, majesty,” he responded acidly. Kate didn’t seem to mind, in fact, she laughed at his small outburst.

Justin had met Kate eight years ago when he was just shy of twenty years old. She was one of the many travel agents that Justin’s people turned to whenever they needed to make booking arrangements to various places around the world. He had been infatuated with her upon first sight and the feeling remained until she first approached him seven months ago revealing that she wanted a divorce.

“I’m glad you can resort to third grade humor in times when it’s required for you to act like an adult,” she retorted and Justin hoped that his lawyer would show up soon to stop his client from pummeling the enemy down into the floor.

“What do you want, Kate?” he asked his voice tired.

“Just wanted to make sure that you know that Vanessa needs to be in bed by seven thirty tonight. She’s got a big day tomorrow and I don’t want her showing up at my apartment acting like a zombie.” If there was one thing Justin hated about his estranged wife, it was how she always spoke about their daughter as if she wasn’t his.

“You’d think after four years I’d know how to take care of my own daughter,” Justin mumbled quietly.

“I wouldn’t know, you were never around…” Kate bit, her voice fading away as she let the words sink in. It wasn’t that Justin was never around for their only child. He was busy working on his career, trying to make his daughter’s life as stable as possible. He opened his mouth to say something but she beat him to the point, “Whatever. Remember, seven thirty.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Justin muttered under his breath. She didn’t bother to say goodbye. Kate turned on her heels and strutted through the court and into the crowd of reporters who were waiting with cameras, tape recorders, and inquiring questions. Justin sighed deeply and went back to his seat to grab his jacket before heading home.

*-*-*-*-*

His hand pushed the garage door remote and he paused for a moment to watch the door slowly shut before he pushed his way into the kitchen. The sound of laughter immediately filled the house and allowed to push the stress away. He couldn’t help but smile as the laughter escalated and was joined with the laughter of his mother. As he inspected the kitchen, he saw that the place was in disarray.

Pots and pans were piled high in the kitchen and the smell of waffles and syrup coated the air. Batter was splattered all over the counters and Justin even saw a few traces of it drying on the walls and ceiling. He couldn’t help but smile. It seemed that Vanessa convinced her grandmother to cook again.

As he neared the living room he could hear the quiet droning of the television advertising the latest in squishy, cute children toys. But as he peered into the room his eyes weren’t on the television, but the little girl standing in the middle of the room, dancing about to the noise of the television. A long, colorful scarf that Justin brought home for her when he went on tour in Japan two years ago accented her sporadic and childlike leaping.

He leaned against the doorframe for a moment, watching her spin and twirl with an innocent grace that most professional dancers worked all their lives to achieve. The scarf waved on behind her like a long ribbon flowing seamlessly out of her hands and into the air, the purples, silvers, and blues that made up the scarf shimmered in the dim light of the living room and it was almost as if the Northern Lights were dancing for their enjoyment on his living room walls. She spun around quickly and stopped when her eyes landed on the figure in the doorway. The scarf fell unceremoniously to the ground, its dance ending for right now. The only thing that mattered at that very moment was that the small child get to her father as quickly as possible.

“DADDY!” the four year old screamed in a volume that almost shook the foundations of the very house. The scarf fell from her hands as she bounded forward and leapt into her father’s open arms. Her hands clasped around his neck as he was given a shower of Vanessa Lynn kisses, the best in the world in his opinion.

“Hello my little Oompa Loompa,” he laughed in between her kisses before he twirled her around in a little circle. Her giggles echoed through the cavernous house and it wasn’t until he put her back down on the floor that he turned to look at his mother who was watching the scene from the couch.

“Hey, Mama,” he stated softly as he walked over to her and kissed her lightly on the forehead. It was strange coming to a house that had the whole makings of a family except for one thing – a wife to be his best friend, his companion, and his guide through the rough patches in his life. His wife had become his rough patch.

“Hi. How was today?” Lynn asked quietly as her son sat beside her. He sighed heavily and put on a brave smile as Vanessa hustled over and climbed onto her father’s lap, hugging onto him tightly.

“Oh, it was good,” he lied. The last thing he wanted to do was start bad mouthing Vanessa’s mother while she was in the room. He wasn’t going to be like one of those divorcing fathers. He refused to paint a negative picture of Kate in Vanessa’s eyes even though she was tearing him apart a little bit more each day.

“I mished you, Daddy,” Vanessa cooed from her position on her father’s lap. He leaned forward and kissed her head.

“I missed you, too sweetheart. Tell Daddy what you did today with Nana.” The four year old erupted off of her father’s lap and began to divulge in a fantastic story about how dragons were upstairs in his closet and she and Nana had to get rid of them before he came home,

“Nana say Daddy is ascared of draggins,” Vanessa exclaimed before she picked up her brilliant scarf and threw it over her head so she disappeared from sight. She was about to continue her story, but the scarf distracted her and soon she was left to dance around the room to the television again, the scarf entrancing everyone in the room.

“Are you alright?” Lynn questioned when she knew that her granddaughter wasn’t listening.

“I guess. It was the same old stuff today – she wants the twenty-five million, any future income I make from that song I wrote for our wedding, and she wants full custody…”

“She isn’t getting that. Over my dead body,” Lynn exclaimed fervently, “I refuse to see you and your daughter torn apart because Kate is a greedy little…”

“Mama, not right now, please,” Justin muttered before he leaned back into the couch. He wanted it to suck him away to a place where once upon a time, he was apart of a happy family and not one that was being torn and destroyed with each passing day.

“Daddy, we made wabbles!” Vanessa suddenly crowed as she twirled about with the scarf.

“You did?” Justin asked feigning excitement for his daughter’s sake.

“Yesh. They was yummy in my tummy. Can we make some for morning food?”

“Of course, baby, of course,” Justin agreed. He looked over at the clock situated on top of the television. It was quarter to eight o’clock. He was late getting Vanessa to bed, but he had a feeling that she wouldn’t be ready to shut her eyes just now. And this was the last time he was going to see his daughter for at least four days. Screw it he thought as he grabbed Vanessa and walked his mother to the door, I’m going to party with my daughter and fuck all that Kate says.

With that thought agreed upon, Justin looked at his daughter and smiled sheepishly. “What ish it, Daddy?” she questioned with a quizzical looked etched into her tiny features.

“I think I heard a dragon upstairs. Can you help me get it before I go to sleep?”

“Yesh.”

*-*-*-*-*

His dreams were haunted by the happy life he used to have. Family picnics in the park sans photographers and inquiring fans, days spent in theme parks, nights of endless love making – all tainted by the unveiling of who his wife really was.

But unbeknownst to him, a small figure had crept into his bed and was quietly snuggled up against his chest. It wasn’t until she giggled in her sleep that Justin cracked open one eye and saw his daughter curled up beside him. He reached out and pulled her closer to him, the little girl chasing away the demons that were on the edge of his sanity. Vanessa was the only real love he had at the moment and he wasn’t going to let it go for anything.

He glanced towards the clock and knew it was time to wake the slumbering child. He nudged her gently and kissed her cheek but she didn’t move. Truly her father’s daughter. Justin took the time to sit back and look at her for a moment. She was a perfect mix of Kate and himself. She had inherited both their blonde hair, but its texture was curly. When her eyes were open, they showed the world her bright blue eyes that were a perfect blend of both Justin and Kate’s. Thankfully she was given her mother’s nose, but her stubbornness and love of putting on a show came exclusively from her father, and that was something Justin took great pride in knowing. With each passing day she reminded him more and more of himself and he silently thanked God that there was some inch of hope that she wouldn’t turn out like her mother.

“Nessa,” Justin began and finally the little girl stirred, “It’s time for morning food. Do you want wabbles?” The little girl seemed to awaken instantly and before Justin could get himself ready, his daughter was talking nonstop about wabbles and how much she loved to make them.

Almost an hour later, their attempts to make waffles were a successful, albeit messy, venture. Both of them had batter stuck in their hair and clothes, and a good amount of the batter didn’t make their journey into the skillet – most of it was added onto the mixture firmly secured to the walls and ceiling from last night’s effort.

Justin watched with a smile as Vanessa stuffed her face with waffles, strawberries, and whipped cream. It was these perfect early morning moments that Justin enjoyed so much with his daughter and he couldn’t wait until they had another morning together.

He was about to start cleaning up when he caught the clock out of the corner of his eye. The pair had been up until ten o’clock the night before and Justin, being so exhausted from vanquishing dragons, had forgotten to set his alarm. His heart plummeted to his feet when he realized he had a court date today…and it was set to start in twenty minutes.

“Shit,” Justin said loudly.

“Shit,” Vanessa repeated and Justin turned to look at her with a face of horror. He had just sworn in front of his daughter and she had waffle batter in her hair and he was almost certain he didn’t look any better.

“Don’t say that word, sweetie,” Justin scolded softly as he picked her up and raced to the nearest bath. He turned on the water as quickly as possible and got his daughter into it without pulling off her pyjama bottoms.

“Daddy!” she squealed with joy before Justin swore under his breath and again, Vanessa repeated it.

“Vanessa Lynn, don’t say that!”

“Sowwie, Daddy.” He shook his head to shake off his nerves and continued to get his daughter ready for today. There was no way he wanted to be late…

*-*-*-*-*

“Where the hell have you been?” Kate seethed just outside their courtroom as Justin rushed up with Vanessa in his arms. They had just made their way through a seething nest of paparazzi and Vanessa was still trembling in his arms. He covered her up with the scarf she seemed to be carrying around a lot more lately and she didn’t want it taken off of her at all.

“I’m sorry, we got a little tied up,” Justin exclaimed before Kate reached out and all but snatched their daughter from his arms.

“Whatever. Just get into the room.” Justin obliged silently and it wasn’t until he was situated in his seat that his wife walked towards her lawyer and, after a few minutes of quiet whispering, turned towards the judge.

“Your honor, I would like if we could move the custody hearings for my client’s daughter to today? It has come to my attention that the father may be unfit to raise her.”

“Bull shit!” Justin yelled out from his seat. He was already in a bad mood due to his tardiness and his wife pulling the rug out from under his feet was beginning to piss him off more.

“Bull shit,” a small voice came from the viewing area of the court room. Justin turned around and saw Vanessa smiling at him and waving with her scarf. A woman Justin had never seen before was sitting next to her and quietly scolding her for such a slip up of words.

“I rest my case”

“Very well,” the judge relented and Justin gripped the ends of the table as hard as he could to keep himself from attacking his wife and her lawyer at the same time. Over his dead body would they take his daughter away from him.

The proceedings started out simply enough. Both Justin and Kate were interrogated by each lawyer and asked why they were the best parent to watch over their small daughter. Others were called in and it wasn’t until after Justin’s mother took to the stands that Justin realized that he might have a fighting chance to receive full custody of his only daughter.

“I’d like to call Vanessa Lynn Timberlake for questioning,” Kate’s lawyer demanded. Justin turned around quickly and watched as the anonymous woman picked Vanessa up and carried her up to the witness chair. Justin watched with bated breath as she quickly bunched up the scarf and carried it in her arms up to the stand. She turned to look at her father and smiled at him before waving quickly and then turning to look at the lawyer in front of her.

“Vanessa how old are you?” he began.

“Fthour,” came the unabashed response. Justin looked at his daughter with pride as she sat in the witness chair looking so quaint and adult in her little dress.

“You’re a very big girl to be sitting up here all by yourself. Do you think you’re a big girl?”

“My daddy says I’m a big, brave girl.”

“Really? What do you like about your daddy?”

The little girl squirmed in her seat and looked over at her father. She smiled brightly and waved frantically at her father issuing a few chuckles from the rest of the court. Justin lifted a hand and waved his fingers back and forth. He almost crowed with pleasure at the stoic look on his estranged wife’s face.

“He’s fun. He watches TeeVeed with me, and lets me help him cook din-din.”

“And what do you eat?”

“Maccy Cheese and sometimes we just have a big old bowl of ice scream…”

“Only ice cream?”

“Yesh.”

“What do you eat at your Mom’s?”

“Veggies and gross stuff. Daddy calls it Mean Cruisine.” Justin smiled widely and knew that Kate was ready to blow up.

“Does anything scare you about living with daddy?” There was a long pause as Vanessa looked down at the scarf bunched in her hands and looked between her mother and father frantically. There was a quick cough from someone in the back of the courtroom and Justin had a feeling that something was wrong with his daughter.

His thoughts rang true when he saw the tears begin to well up in her eyes. She blinked hard a few times and Justin was about to rush up to the witness chair if it weren’t for his lawyer putting a not so comforting hand on his shoulder.

“Vanessa?”

“There are scary men that follow us sometimes. To the park. They have picture-takers and ask daddy questions about mommy and me. He gets mad sometimes and keeps me safe. Sometimes at school Miss Newburry finds scary men hiding in the potty trying to take pictures of my friends and me…”

“Vanessa, before your mommy and daddy stopped living with each other, do you remember your daddy being at home?”

“Yesh.”

“Your mommy tells me that you like to dance…”

“Yesh.”

“Has your daddy ever been to one of your performances?”

“Once. But his celly-phone started to ring and he had to leave…” Justin sighed and leaned his back against the chair. He remembered that horrible day and how terrible he had felt when he had missed the majority of Vanessa’s ballet recital. That was one of the many last straws in his marriage to Kate and it was something Justin still regretted to this day. He had told himself that after his latest tour he would spend every waking moment with Vanessa and her dancing. But of course, the divorce proceedings got in the way…

“Do you love your mommy more than your daddy?”

“Oh come on now!” had Justin just shouted in the middle of court? He looked around quickly and saw that he had risen halfway out of his seat and was ready to pounce on the lawyer that was giving his daughter the fifth degree. The judge pounded his gavel and he flinched again before resuming his seat.

“I-I…” Vanessa stammered and Justin looked over at Kate to see if she was as upset as him. She looked cool, calm, and collected. There was no trace of concern for her daughter etched on her face.

“Would you rather live with your mommy or daddy?”

“You better start doing your fucking job,” Justin whispered feverishly to his lawyer, “I swear to God if I lose my daughter I will kill you with my bare hands.”

“Mr. Timberlake!” the judge all but yelled. Justin looked up at the judge and saw that his daughter had buried her head in her hands and was trying hard not to cry. “Please restrain yourself or you will be removed from court!” After a few minutes of ringing silence, the lawyer turned his attention back on Justin’s daughter and reposed the question.

The little girl trembled before she turned to look at her father and mother once more. Justin watched as the scarf tumbled down to the floor just as his daughter whispered, “Mommy.”

The gavel fell and Justin was completely numb to what the judge was saying. He looked down at his feet and didn’t move until his lawyer nudged him to stand up to face sentencing. When his eyes scanned the front of the room, he saw that his daughter was gone, but he could hear her quiet sniffles behind him. He didn’t dare look back because if he did, he would be reduced to tears at the sight of his daughter being tormented and confused by people who probably saw her as a way to get money.

“Mr. Timberlake,” the judge began and Justin had no choice but to look up to face him, “There is no doubt in my mind that you love your daughter more than life itself and while that is commendable, I’m sorry to say that loving her just isn’t enough. After listening to these people share their accounts of both you and Miss Frost’s parenting abilities I have been able to pass my judgment. It is apparent to me that the lifestyle that you keep is not suitable for a four year-old to be apart of. You can’t very well quit your livelihood as it is your main source of income and you need it to support your daughter and the rest of your family as well. I am sure you are a very good father, but I can’t help but question how your daughter will be raised in a house where pictures of her will catch a large sum of money and she is subjected to foul language, poor diets, and late nights of fun. She needs a stable and constant environment where she can grow into a formidable young lady and learn the life lessons that are pivotal in her life. Therefore, it is by the power invested in me that I give full custody to one, Miss. Karen Frost. You will have visitation rights every Saturday, Mr. Timberlake, with an appointed court liaison. We will review this case one year from today. Right now, Miss Frost, I suggest you get your daughter home.” And with that Justin’s death sentenced was passed with the slamming of the gavel.

Standing up, he turned to look at his wife who hurried back to their daughter. She scooped Vanessa up in her arms and hurried to leave. Not caring about protocol or breaking the law in the least, Justin rushed after them just as a clap of thunder sounded over the courthouse.

“Kate, stop!” he yelled loudly as he forced his way towards his daughter. He caught up to them just before she reached the doors leading out into the lobby. Justin reached out and grabbed her shoulder, spinning his estranged wife around to look at him.

“As far as I’m concerned you aren’t apart of her life anymore. Get away before I get the police involved,” Kate spat. Justin choked back the tears that were threatening to fall as his life slowly started to crumble around him.

“At least let me say goodbye! Give me that much, Kate, please.” He hated begging in front of her, but that was the only thing that would make her listen to him and allow Justin to say goodbye to the true love in his life.

“Fine. You can do it out by the car,” she said shortly before she turned on her heels and made her way through the lobby and towards the swarm of photographers who were waiting for them to exit.

Justin followed his daughter into the pouring rain and to the parking lot, the photographers hot on his heels. He turned around and yelled a few choice words at them and thankfully they kept their distance. It wasn’t until they were safely at Kate’s sedan that she turned around and let Vanessa down from her perch.

The little girl ran towards her father who knelt down and swooped the little girl up in his arms. He didn’t care that he was getting soaked and he couldn’t give a damn if this was pissing Kate off to no end. This was the last time he would be able to hold his daughter without some person looking on to watch his every move with her.

“Daddy, I’m sowwie,” the little girl whispered into his ear. “I wanted to say yew, but I got ascared.” Justin took in a deep breath and the tears mixed with the rain when he realized her hair smelled like the waffles they baked this morning.

“It’s okay, baby. You did great up there.”

“I don’t wanna go with Mommy,” Vanessa confided, “I wants to make wabbles with yew.”

“We’ll always make wabbles,” Justin croaked as he tried to keep it together for his daughter’s sake. “I don’t know who’s going to help protect me from the dragons in my room.” His heart sank as the little girl nuzzled her face into the scoop of his neck and tried to hold onto him tighter.

“Oh for God’s sake would you hurry it up?” Kate demanded from her position. She was standing underneath an umbrella and was waiting for her daughter with violent impatience. Justin shot her a nasty look and continued to hold onto his daughter for all he was worth. “Jesus, Justin I don’t have all day. You’ll see her in four days I don’t understand what the huge deal is…”

“Would you just shut up for ten minutes while I say goodbye to the one good thing I have in my damn life?” Justin snapped. Vanessa cried out and held onto her father tightly as he continued to kneel in the rain and take her in. “Hey,” Justin said softly to his daughter, “You’ll be just fine. I’ll see you in a couple of days and we’ll spend the whole day making wabbles.”

“Otay,” his daughter said sullenly before she pulled herself away from her father and softly kissed the tip of his nose.

“Oh for heaven’s sake,” Kate grumbled her patience finally wearing thin. Surging forward, she grabbed her daughter by the hand and yanked the child away from her father. Vanessa began to cry instantly as Kate pulled her towards the vehicle. Justin was on his feet in an instant, ready to fight his ex-wife to the death. “We need to go, now. I don’t have time for this.”

“Daddy!” Vanessa yelped from her car seat. Justin rushed forward to try and grab his daughter but before he had a chance, Kate slammed the door closed and ran around as quickly as she could to the driver’s seat.

“Stop this! You can’t do this!” Justin shrieked as Kate started the car and pulled out of the car park. He saw her fighting with Vanessa who was holding onto something for dear life in the back seat. Kate tore it from her grasp just as Justin sprinted after the car. He was soaked to the bone but the thoughts of catching a cold were far from his mind as he continued his chase of the car.

He saw Kate put down the driver’s window and he watched with bated breath as she threw the scarf out the window. It fluttered in the air and flew on the breeze like a flying ribbon of the sky above him. Justin rushed forward and grabbed the scarf out of the air and held it to his body tightly. He struggled to contain his mounting sobs knowing that his daughter’s would change for forever and, as he breathed in deeply, he could smell his daughter’s beloved waffles.