Through her alcohol induced haze she recognized the feeling of his tongue sliding over her thigh.  His hand greedily grabbed at her exposed breasts as he travelled his way up her body, his tongue still blazing a trail.  She clutched his shoulders, letting her hands slide up over his head and through the stubble he called hair.  Moans and sighs escaped both their mouths.

She could vaguely remember the night club they’d been at previously.  The dancing they’d been doing eerily echoed the moves they were doing now, except there had been a lot more clothing then.

“Oh shit.”  His voice was gruff in her ear as he settled himself over her.  “I don’t have a condom.”

Her response was a thrust of the hips, connecting their bodies together in one, swift motion.  Apparently it was enough to rid him of any thoughts of protection, because he didn’t waist any time creating a rhythm that kept both of them panting.

She lifted her leg, throwing her thigh up over his hip in an attempt to pull him deeper.  The other leg followed shortly, her ankles crossed over his lower back.  The sensations that followed her move were toe curling, and she was sure she’d never had sex this erotic before.  A second later he stopped his thrusting, pulling out and grinning down at her.

“Roll over for me, baby.”  She did as he asked, feeling his weight settle back over her.  She lifted her ass, allowing him a grand view and perfect access to her slick wetness.  He wasted no time slipping back into her.  She could feel his breath across the back of her neck, fanning in short bursts.  She could feel the tightening in her belly, the tingling of her entire body. 

“Oh God.”  She panted.  “Oh God, I’m gonna…”  She snaked a hand down underneath her belly.  Her fingers felt the length of him slipping inside of her and she knew she was getting even closer.  She played with her soft skin, chasing after the high she knew was coming.

“Fuck.”  His pace increased and she knew he was close too.  The tension lasted a few moments longer before both of them were calling out, reaching a blissful peak and letting it take them over.

He rolled off of her, landing next to her with a soft thud.  “Shit, that was amazing.”  His voice was drowsy as he struggled to catch his breath and slow the beating of his heart.

“Mmhmm.”  She let her eyes close as her pulse started to calm down.  She was sweaty and sleepy and completely satisfied.  She was close to drifting off when a sound from her left startled her.

“Hello?”  She was somewhat aware of him answering his phone.  His voice floated over to her for a moment or two before she felt the bed shift.  He placed a kiss on her cheek, “I’ve gotta go.  It was…uh…nice meeting you.”

She watched as he slipped on his jeans and threw his t-shirt over his head.  The click of the door sounded moment later and she thought for a second that this felt wrong, but her exhaustion pulled her into sleep before the thought could fully form.

Two Months Later.

“Say that one more time, please?”  Adah James sat on the exam table of her doctor’s office with her jaw near the floor.

“You’re pregnant.”  The doctor gave her a sympathetic smile, “I can’t tell how far along you are until you have an ultra sound.  I’m taking it that this wasn’t planned?”

“Uh, no.  No, not at all.”  She sat back, straining her mind to remember when and how she’d gotten herself into this mess.  Well, she new how, but she really wasn’t sure about the who.  She didn’t have too exciting of a love life, and except for that one random encounter at the club…. “Fuck.”

“Excuse me?”  The doctor spun, giving the girl a strange look.

“Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to say that out loud.”  Adah blushed, her thoughts racing.  She knew exactly when this immaculate conception took place, and she was pretty damn sure of who the father was, too. 

“Well, Adah, I can schedule an ultra sound for you later today, if you’d like.”  She scribbled on her clip board as Adah thought it over.

“I’m starting a new job this afternoon, do you think there’s any chance you could make it earlier?” 

“I’ll see what I can do.”  She ripped a piece of paper off of her clip board and handed it over. “This is your prescription for pre-natal vitamins, and I’d like to schedule another appointment with you in a week or so to discuss all of this.  I can give you the number of a gynecologist, too, if you’d like.”

“Yeah, yeah that’d be great.”  Her mind was scattered and she couldn’t seem to catch her breath.

Pregnant.  Pregnant?  How could this have happened?  She was twenty-five, single, and managing her rent by taking care of other people’s dogs.  Could she really afford to have a baby?  She was just starting to figure out how to take care of herself, she really wasn’t sure that being a single mother was something she could handle. 

And on top of that, she was sure that Justin Timberlake was the father to this baby. 

It sounded so random and outlandish, but it was true.  She hadn’t been in a relationship in over a year, and she’d only had sex that one night that she and Justin hooked up.  On a whim, she’d gone out to a club and ran into some friends that managed to get into VIP.  The drinks were flowing, the music was loud, and before Adah knew what was going on she was grinding up against Justin Timberlake and inviting him back to her place.  One freak accident of a night and amazing sex and now she was pregnant.  At least the sex was good.

“Adah?” The doctor’s voice broke through Adah’s hazy thoughts.  “You have an appointment at the gynecologists down stairs for an ultra sound in twenty minutes.  Is that Ok?”

“Perfect.  Thank you.”

The doctor left and Adah grabbed her clothing.  She placed a hand on her stomach, barely able to imagine that there was a baby in there.  What the hell was she going to do?  She had another new client to meet tonight for a new job, and all she could focus on was the fact that she was pregnant.

~*~

Adah slowly rolled her car through the gates, staring up at the mansion in front of her.  Her ultra sound had confirmed in her mind what she already knew.  Her baby was conceived eight weeks ago, or the night that she’d managed to bed Hollywood’s hottest bachelor.

Shaking her head, she attempted to clear her thoughts.  She had a new client to deal with and she didn’t want to be a space cadet.  It wouldn’t look good if she could barely keep her thoughts straight and she really needed this job.

Adah had started training dogs a couple of years ago.  She’d had two unruly German Shepherds of her own and had a terrible time trying to handle them.  The trainer that she’d hired to help her taught her a lot about handling the animals, so she took a couple of short training classes and figured it’d be a great way to make some money while she attempted to figure out what she wanted to do with her life.

So, here she was, driving up to another house on her way to taking care of someone else’s dogs.  She really needed to find a new job for the baby…oh God, she was having a baby.

Adah parked the car, taking a minute to collect her thoughts.  She could do this, she could get life under control and handle this job and worry about the baby later.

It took a couple of knocks on the door before someone answered.  Unfortunately for Adah, she wasn’t expecting the face that greeted her when the door opened.  Fate must have been laughing at her expense today.  Someone up there was pulling strings and playing games and Adah was the pawn.  Just wonderful.  She did her best to plaster on a smile as the man in front of her spoke.

“Can I help you?”  He looked different in the day light.  His face was scruffier than it had been that night.

“Uhm…I’m looking for…Rachel?”  Adah was slightly confused because she was sure she’d talked to a woman about training dogs, and nothing had been said about Justin Timberlake.  It was probably Justin’s girlfriend that she talked to.  Wonderful, she thought, just what I need.

“Do I know you?”  He leaned against the door frame, not making any movements to ask her into the house.  His eyes traveled the length of her and she almost put her hands over her stomach as if to hide.  He had a contemplative look on his face, questioning where he knew this girl from.

“Uhm…I’m Adah.”  She put her hand out and he took it tentatively.

“Justin, who’s at the door?”  A brunette poked her head out from behind Justin and Adah was sure that she was meeting the girlfriend of the man whose baby she was carrying.  What drama.  She must have done something terribly wrong in a past life and now she was paying for it.

“Rach, this is Adah, she’s looking for you.”

“Oh! Adah!”  The door was pushed open even farther and Adah was ushered into the house.  “Justin, this is the dog trainer I was telling you I hired.”

“Oh, right.  I remember that.”  They walked into the living room of the house and out through a set of French doors.  Adah spotted two boxers romping around in the spacious back yard.  “Have we met before? You seem really familiar to me.”  The look was on his face again and Adah mentally battled with herself over telling him or not.

“Uhm…”  She was being rather articulate today, obviously.  He probably thought she was some psycho coming over to peep at a celebrity and not the actual dog trainer.  Her mind was completely wandering.

“You probably saw her on ET or something.  She trained Ellen Degeneres’ dog.”  Rachel was busy calling the two animals over to notice Adah’s obvious discomfort.  Justin was too busy trying to remember how he knew this girl.

“I’m going to go grab some coffee, do you want anything?”  He asked, leaving when Adah shook her head no.

A moment later he returned with a mug of coffee and Adah almost doubled over with nausea when she caught the scent of the French vanilla drink.  She clutched her hand over her mouth, trying to quell the churning of her stomach.

“Are you OK?”  Rachel caught onto the green look that had tinged Adah’s face.  “The bathroom’s just inside, first door on the right.”

Barely acknowledging Rachel, Adah rushed inside and made it to the bathroom just in time.  She had thought that morning sickness had left her alone, but the sudden smell of that coffee had taken her by surprise and suddenly she couldn’t keep her breakfast down.  She really was pregnant. 

After a moment or two more of dry-heaving, Adah rinsed her mouth and splashed her face with cold water.  She couldn’t do this.  She couldn’t carry this baby, especially since it was Justin’s and it suddenly seemed that she was working for Justin.  How was she supposed to tell him?  How was she supposed to be around him every day for the next couple months and keep this huge secret?  He wouldn’t believe it was his baby.  He didn’t even remember the night they’d slept together.

Adah felt the familiar prickle stinging her eyes and she couldn’t help the tears that started to form.  This was probably the day from hell, and it should’ve been an exciting moment in her life.

There was a knock on the bathroom door and Rachel’s voice came floating in through the wood.  “Are you all right in here?”

Adah took a deep breath and opened the door to pass a sheepish smile to the brunette.  “Yeah, I think so.”

“How far along are you?”  The question was seemingly innocent, but Adah was taken totally aback.

“I’m sorry?”

“You’re pregnant right?”  She glanced down at Adah’s stomach and Adah placed her hand over it protectively.  “I know that look, sweetheart.  A lot of my friends have been pregnant recently and there’s no questioning that look.  It was the coffee, wasn’t it?”

Adah meekly nodded her head.  “I’m sorry, if you’d like to find another dog trainer, I understand.”

“I don’t care that you’re pregnant.  If it’s not going to affect your work, then it doesn’t matter to me.”  Rachel led Adah back out into the kitchen and handed her a glass of ginger ale.  Justin was no where to be found, and for that Adah was thankful.  Of all the gin joints in all the world…

“So, how long have you been with Justin?”  Small talk was always uncomfortable, but silences were even worse.

“I took over for Trace a couple of years ago when they first started their Rast.”  Adah gave the girl a strange look, not understanding what she meant.

“Trace?”  That was a strange name for a female, and what did she mean, took over?

“Yeah, Justin’s best friend.”  Rachel paused, staring at Adah for a second before laughing.  “Don’t follow Justin’s career much, do you?”

“Oh, well I like his music.  But no, I have no idea what you’re talking about.”  She was ashamed to admit it.  She felt like she should at least know what Rachel was talking about, but following tabloids was not one of her past times.  She could sing along to most of Justin’s songs, and she even owned both of his albums, but past the movies and music, she really didn’t know much about him.

“Well, Trace is Justin’s best friend.  You’ll probably get to meet him at some point, but he’s in New York right now working on their clothing line.  I’m his personal assistant as well as his cousin.”  Oh, so she’s not the girlfriend.  Somehow, Adah still didn’t feel better about all of this.

“Well that helps a little.”  Adah sipped at the ginger ale again, placing a hand softly over her stomach.  “I’m sorry about earlier.  I just found out I was pregnant this morning.  It’s all still sinking in, I guess.”

“Your boyfriend must be excited.”  The male voice that spoke from behind her startled Adah and she jumped a little in her chair.

“Oh, hi, Justin. I didn’t know you were there.”  So, he knew she was pregnant.  Now all he needed to know was that the baby was his.  Right, like it was that easy.

“Sorry to intrude.  I just heard that you were expecting, though, congratulations.  Have you told your boyfriend yet?”  He was giving her a strange look, but Adah just assumed that it was because she had puked in his bathroom.

“Oh, I don’t have a boyfriend.  This, ah, came as a surprise.”  She could feel her cheeks burning with a small form of shame.  He was going to figure it out, she knew it.  He was going to suddenly remember that they’d slept together and he was going to discover that it was his baby and then all hell would break loose.

“Do you know who the father is?”  Adah heard Rachel gasp at the man’s question.

“Justin!”  She hissed, “That’s not a really appropriate question to ask someone you don’t really know.”

Thankfully, Justin looked apologetic for his outburst.  “Sorry, Amy.  I didn’t mean to insinuate anything about you.”

“It’s Adah.” She mumbled.

“What?”

“My name, it’s Adah.  But it’s OK.  I guess it was a natural question to ask.  And yes, I know who the father is.  There’s really only one person it could be.”  She didn’t go any further, afraid that she would give herself away if she said much more.

This was like an episode of the Twilight Zone, or something.

She wished she could go back to sleep and wake up and start this morning all over again.  She couldn’t believe that in the span of a few hours she’d discovered that she was carrying Justin Timberlake’s illegitimate child and then found out she was working for the man.  Things were only going to get bad, she could feel it.

“Will it be any trouble to still train my dogs?  I’m headed off on tour in a couple of months and I really need them to behave because I’m taking them with me.  Rachel said you’re the best.”

Adah blushed at the compliment.  “Well thanks.  I think I should be fine.  It won’t take more than 6 weeks or so, so the dogs should be all set by the time you leave for your tour.  I don’t think my pregnancy will get in the way, either.  I understand if you want to find someone else, though.”  She twisted her fingers together, looking anywhere but at the man standing next to her.

“No, I don’t need another trainer.”  He shrugged his shoulders toward the door, “you should probably meet the dogs, then.”  He led her back outside to the yard and called the two romping animals over to them.  He was acting a little strange, and he could tell that he was making Adah uncomfortable, but he was pretty wary of letting someone new into his house.  It didn’t help matters that he was sure he knew this girl from some place but he couldn’t remember where.

“This is Buckley, and this is Brennan.”  He scratched them both behind the ears as the dogs grinned up at him, their tongues lolling out of their mouths.

Adah stood off to the side, watching Justin interact with the two dogs.  “What is it you’d like me to do with them?”

“I just need them to listen better.  They’re not bad dogs, but they also have this yard to run around in all the time and I’m afraid that once we get on tour they won’t be as well behaved.”

“Okay, I can do that.”  She crouched down, clicking her tongue on the roof of her mouth in a small sound.  The dogs’ ears perked and they instantly headed in her direction.  “Hey there.”  She ran her hands over both their heads and grinned as she got a tongue in the face.

Justin was glad to see that she wasn’t intimidated by his dogs, and she seemed to have pretty good control over them and she’d barely done anything yet.  He had been extremely wary when Rachel mentioned that the dog trainer she found was a woman and her small size hadn’t done much to quell his concerns, but she seemed to know what she was doing.  He just hoped that she was right and that her pregnancy wouldn’t cause any problems.  He didn’t know why, but he had a bad feeling about the whole thing.

Of course, having a pregnant woman in his house was something he certainly never expected.  He was just glad it wasn’t his.  That’s the last thing he needed at the moment.

“If you want, we can get started today.”  Adah startled Justin out of his thoughts and he shook his head slightly before looking down at her questioningly.  “Here.”  She handed him a small, metal device and a bag of small dog treats.  “This is called a clicker.  You’re supposed to use it instead of saying ‘good dog.’  It’s a faster response and they’ll start to learn that it means they’ve done something right.  Like this.”

Justin watched as she called the dogs over and when they came to her she clicked the device in her hands and handed them both a treat.  She then asked them to sit, and she clicked the device again.

“Don’t give them treats every time, because then they’ll associate the sound with a bone and that’s not what you want.  You want to use this so they understand when they’re doing what you want and you don’t have to keep praising them out loud.”

She had Justin try it, using the clicker every time the dogs did what he asked of them.  It seemed fairly simple to him and he was really wondering why they had to pay someone to tell him these things, but he also knew that he would never have the time to look all this stuff up on his own.  She seemed to know how to handle his two beasts and if they’d listen better to him after all of this it was well worth it.

“I think that’s all we’ll do for today.  Try and spend some time with them using the clicker.  Don’t be afraid of giving them cookies, just don’t do it too often.  I’ll come back over tomorrow and we can start some leash training.”

Rachel led Adah back through the house and to the front as Justin watched her leave.  He knew that he’d met this girl before and he was pretty sure she knew it too.  He just couldn’t remember where.  He’d figure it out, though.  He knew he would.

“What do you think?”  Rachel was back out in the yard, using another clicker that Adah had left with her to get the dogs to sit and lie down.

“I think I know her.”  Justin saw Rachel roll her eyes.  “What?”

“You say that about a lot of beautiful women.”  She gave Buckley a pat on the back before sending him across the yard after a tennis ball.  “I was asking about the training.”

“Oh, well, she seems to have a handle on things.  I think it’ll work out.”

Rachel watched her cousin for a moment.  “You really think you know her?”  She twirled the clicker around her finger, waiting.

He nodded his head. “I’m almost sure of it.  She just seems really familiar to me but I can’t figure out where I know her from.”

“Trace will probably know.  He should be home in a couple of weeks, he can tell you then.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.”  He shrugged his shoulders, knowing that it was going to bother him until he could figure it out.  He supposed that he would have a lot more chances to stare at her and try and attach a memory to the face.  She was going to be at his house twice a week for the next six weeks.

He would definitely figure this all out by then.

Adah pulled three more tissues from the box and dabbed at her face.  The tears just didn’t seem to want to stop not matter how hard she tried.  Her nose was running and she felt nauseous but she couldn’t stop crying.

“Hey, what’s up, Ace?”  Brett, Adah’s roommate and one of her best friends, ruffled her hair before claiming a seat next to her on the couch.  “Why the tears?”

“I don’t know.”  She hiccupped.  She felt like she was on an emotional roller coaster that she was stuck on for the next 32 weeks.  She hated roller coasters.  “Hormonal, I guess.”

“Oh, on the rag?”  He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her into him.  Brett, Adah, and Samantha had lived together for the past couple of years.  He was no stranger to women and their moods.

“Not exactly.”  She drawled, knowing that she had to break the news to her roommates.  She was almost relieved to be telling him, though, because she really needed someone on her side at the moment.  She was feeling pretty alone and desperate.  Her mother had passed away when she was in high school and she’d never met her father.  Brett and Sam were the only people she had in her life, well, not including this new baby.

“Okay, so what’s bugging you then, Ace?”

“I’m pregnant.”

She almost wanted to laugh at the way his eyes widened with her declaration. “It’s not mine, right?.”  At this she did laugh.

“Yeah, Brett, it is.  That one time you kissed me when we were drunk last year was enough to knock me up eight weeks ago.”

“How the hell did this happen, Adah?”  His fingers stroked through her hair and she let out a sigh.  “The last time I checked you were practically a nun.  I didn’t even know if you remembered what I penis was.”

“You’re fucking hilarious, my friend.”  She deadpanned.  “Remember that club we went to a couple of weeks ago?  The one over near Sam’s work?”

“Yeah, when we got into VIP.  I remember.”

“Well I went home with a guy that night and we slept together.  I had no trouble finding his penis, just so you know.”

“No shit?  Wow…so…who’s is it?”

“Justin Timberlake.”  The face he gave expressed his complete disbelief.  “I’m serious.”

“Yeah right, Ace.  Who’s the father?  It wasn’t that football player guy, was it?  The one with the shoulders that wouldn’t fit through a normal doorway?”

“Brett, it’s Justin Timberlake’s.”  He watched her, his stare measuring her expression.

“You’re serious.” His hands stopped running through her hair and he placed them on his own head.  “How the hell do you get yourself into situations like this one?”

“That’s not the best part, though.”

“Don’t tell me that you’re married to him or something.”  Adah snorted, rolling her eyes.

“No, not quite.  But I do work for him.”  She picked at a loose string on the couch.  “He’s the new client that I’m training for.  His dogs are adorable.”

“His dogs are adorable?”  It was Brett’s turn to snort.  “You’re having the man’s baby and all you can say is ‘his dogs are adorable’?  Ace, this is a huge deal.”

She looked at him with an incredulous stare.  “I’m well aware of that, thanks.”  The tears started to well up again, “What am I going to do?”  She leaned into his side letting him wrap her up into his arms.

Brett kissed Adah’s forehead.  “You need to start by telling him that you’re knocked up with his spawn.”  She laughed a little, wiping at her eyes.

“Just like that, huh?  Well, he already knows that I’m pregnant; he just doesn’t know it’s his.  I have no idea how I’m going to convince him that I’m not just some gold digger.  He doesn’t even remember me.”

“He has no idea that you two slept together?”  Brett moved himself down on the couch a little so Adah could lay across his stomach.

“He kept asking me if we’d met before, but you know how articulate I can be when I’m nervous.”

“So you stood there with your jaw on the floor?”  She punched his shoulder.

“Rhetorical question, B.  But yeah, I avoided saying anything about that night.  He’s probably going to put two and two together at some point.”

“You should tell him before that, Ace.  He really needs to know.”  He paused, not really wanting to ask this questions.  “You’re sure it’s his?”

“It can’t be anyone else’s.  I haven’t had sex with anyone else, not in the past two months.  Hell, not even in the past six months.  I’m sure it’s his, Brett.”  She started to sniffle again and Brett placed the box of tissues on her stomach.  He had no idea what to tell her at this point and he was sure that there really wasn’t anything that would make her feel better.

“Have you told Sam yet?  She should be home soon.”  Adah shook her head, blowing her nose a couple of times and taking a deep breath.

“No, I haven’t told her.  I just found out this morning.  I had my doctor’s appointment and then I went over to Justin’s house.  I puked in his bathroom.”

Brett’s nose wrinkled.  “You did?  Way to make a first impression, Ace.”

“He had just made coffee and I caught a whiff of the scent and I could barely keep it together in time to make it to the bathroom.  His cousin, Rachel, she was there and she figured it out pretty quickly.  I was hoping to maybe keep it a secret.”

There was a pause between them for a moment, “You mean not tell him at all?” Brett’s tone suggested his disdain.  “Are you talking about not keeping the baby?”

“No!”  She sat up, her eyes wide.  “That’s not what I meant at all.  I mean that I was thinking that I wouldn’t tell Justin at all.  When I first found out this morning I had no idea that I’d even see the man again.  It might be better off if he just doesn’t know.  I don’t want to ruin his career or anything like that.”

The sound that came from Brett’s mouth alerted Adah to the fact that she just said something he didn’t like.  “Ace, you need to tell him because it’s his baby too.  Forget the fact that he’s a musician, forget that he’s famous…he’s a man and he created a baby with you.  You. Need. To. Tell. Him.”

He gently lifted Adah so he could get off the couch and he left the room without another word.  She sat back on the couch letting his words ruminate in her brain.  She knew he was right, but that didn’t make this whole thing simple.  For all she knew, as soon as she told Justin he would deny the whole thing and refuse to have anything to do with her.  He didn’t know her at all and he would have every right to question the paternity. 

“Crap.”  She exhaled loudly.  Maybe Sam would be able to give her a little more insight into this whole dilemma.  Grabbing her phone she pressed the speed-dial button for Sam’s phone and waited.

“Hey darlin’, what’s up?”

“Where are you?”  Adah glanced at her nails, trying to keep from biting at them.

“I’m walking up the stairs.  Where are you?”

“Sitting on the couch waiting for your ass to get through the door.”  An easy grin slid across Adah’s face as the door swung open and crashed against the wall with a thud.  Sam appeared in the doorway with a mock scowl on her face.

“Impatient much?”  The petite blond threw her bags down on the floor and shuffled over to the couch to claim a spot next to her roommate.  “What’s going on?”  She studied Adah’s face for a minute, sure that something was wrong.

“I’m pregnant.”  Adah figured that straight-forward was the way to be.  Maybe all this practice with her roommates would help with telling Justin.

Samantha’s eyes widened, her eyebrows disappearing underneath her bangs.  “Run that by me one more time?”

“I’m pregnant.”  The words were almost starting to taste more familiar on her tongue.  Almost.

“Holy shit, Adah.  Who? What? When? How?”  Adah watched the confusion play out across her friend’s face along with a slew of other emotions. “You’re kidding, right?”

Sadly, Adah shook her head.  “I wish, Sammy.  Remember that club we went to a couple months ago?  The night I snuck off with that guy?”  Sam nodded her head, understanding dawning on her features.  “It was that night.  And the guy was Justin Timberlake.”

Laughter spilled out of Sam’s mouth in a musical manner.  She tilted her head back against the couch and Adah watched as the laughter grew from a few small chuckles to a full-blown belly laugh.  Sam clutched her stomach, her giggles shaking her body. 

“That was a good one, Ad.”  She caught the look on Adah’s face and sobered almost immediately.  “You’re serious?”

“As a heart attack.”  She started to bite at her nails and Sam pulled her hand out of her mouth.  “It gets worse, though.  I had a new client today and it just so happened to be the father of my unborn baby.”  Her face twisted as she spoke.  “Those words still seem totally unnatural coming out of my mouth.”

“Let me get this straight.  You’re pregnant with Justin Timberlake’s baby and now you’ve found out that you’re training his dogs?”

Adah nodded, “That sounds about right.”

“Well shit, Ads.”  She exhaled slowly, “This is a big deal.”  The thoughts settled themselves into her brain and Sam wondered how long it would take before they felt at home there.  “Did you tell him today?”

It was Adah’s turn to laugh.  “No, I was too busy puking in his bathroom.”

“Ew, that’s gross.”  Sam wrapped her arm over the back of the couch, rubbing Adah’s shoulders.  The tension was so visible in her friend that it made Sam’s own muscles ache.

“That’s what Brett said.”  Adah’s eyes closed at the relief Sam’s hands were bringing her.  “I’d say that I’m fucked, but I’m pretty sure we’re all aware of that fact now.”

Sam couldn’t help the giggle.  At least her friend had kept some of her sense of humor.  “It’ll be all right, Adah.  You’ve got me and Brett to help you out.  We can be with you when you tell Justin, if you want.”

“I haven’t really figured out how I’m going to tell him yet.”  She shrugged.  “I know I need to, I do.  It’s just not as easy as it sounds.  It’s not like he’s some regular Joe-Schmoe.  He’s this world famous pop-star and I don’t think it’ll look to good on him if it gets out that he’s having an illegitimate child.”

“He better not mention anything to you about getting rid of this baby.”  Sam paused, thinking for a moment before asking what was on her mind, “You are going to keep it, aren’t you?”

The tension returned to Adah’s shoulders.  “Yeah, I am.  I know that I need to tell Justin out of respect, because it is his baby.  But I want to make sure that he knows that I’m going to have this baby with or without his help.  With his help would be ideal, but I can understand if he doesn’t want to be a part of this.  It was only supposed to be a one night stand, anyway.”

There was silence between the roommates now as both tried to get a handle on this news.  It was a moment or two later when Brett emerged from his room, eyeing both of the girls sitting on the couch.

“Hey Auntie.”  He called, knowing by the intense looks on both of their faces that Adah broke the news to Sam.

“Hey Uncle.”

“Okay, you guys need to lay off that one for a while.  Please.  It just sounds way to strange and I don’t think I can handle that at the moment.”  Adah’s voice was filled with fatigue as she threw a glance to her two best friends.  The exhaustion was evident on her face and both Brett and Sam felt for her.  This couldn’t be an easy predicament.  “I think I’m going to go lie down.”

“I’ll wake you up when dinner’s ready.”  Sam offered her a small smile as she and Brett watched Adah pad out of the room and down the hall to her bedroom.  When the door closed with a soft click, the two roommates glanced at each other.

“Well fuck.”  Brett was the first to speak.

“Don’t say that word.  That’s what got her into trouble in the first place.”  Despite the seriousness of the situation, Sam couldn’t help but smile.  “Of course, now that she’s pregnant I suppose she could fuck all she wanted and it wouldn’t matter.”

“Way to be crude, Sam.”  He grabbed a sat in the recliner across the way from Sam.  “But you do make a good point.”

“Seriously, though,” the tone grew somber, “What is she going to do?  This is a big deal.”

Brett scratched the back of his head, a sigh leaving his mouth as he did so.  He lifted his shoulder’s in a shrug.  “There’s not much she can do until she tells Justin.”

“So, you really think he’s the father?”  Not that she thought her friend would be lying, but it was a pretty outrageous scenario for anyone to swallow.

“I don’t think she could make something like this up even if she wanted to.  I just feel so bad for the girl.  She can barely figure her own life out and now she’s got another one to worry about, too.”

Sam stood from her spot on the couch, stretching out her tired muscles.  “Yeah, I know what you mean.  Hopefully he’ll be receptive when she tells him.  I would hate to see her left on her own.  It’s not entirely her fault that she’s knocked up.”  Sam made her way out of the living room and into the kitchen, Brett not far behind.

“I’m not sure what to expect out of this guy, but I hope for Adah’s sake he’s as cool as all my girlfriend’s seem to think he is.”

Sam looked thoughtful for a minute.  “Do you know how much ass you could score if you toted around Justin Timberlake’s offspring?  That’s like fifty times better than having a cute puppy.”  She grinned as Brett’s laughter filled the kitchen.

“I’ll make sure to offer to babysit once the kid pops out.”

“We are so going to hell.”  Sam laughed along with her friend.

“At least we’ll have each other.”

Her stomach hurt, her head hurt, and her knees were sore from spending so much time kneeling in front of the toilet. 

Adah James was not a happy pregnant lady.

Since the news from the doctor’s office, it seemed that Adah had found so many things that made her nauseous and even more things that made her throw up.  She couldn’t stand the smell of coffee, as she discovered at Justin’s.  She couldn’t eat anything remotely spicy because it gave her terrible heartburn.  The smell of onions, peppers, and mushrooms made her queasy, and apparently milk made her puke.

Again, not a happy pregnant lady.

What was even worse was the stress she was feeling over needing to tell Justin.  She never pictured herself in this position, and she was sure that there would be no more one night stands in her future.  Although, once she had a baby there would be even less opportunities for her to find a man. 

“Hey, Ads.  How’re you feeling?”  Sam handed Adah a glass of water and some crackers before sitting down on the side of her bed.

“Like shit.”  She munched on the crackers, praying that these would stay down.  She really didn’t want to puke anymore.

“Do you have to go over to Justin’s today?” 

“Yeah,” Adah nodded, “This afternoon.  I’m really not looking forward to being there with him.  I’m not sure I’m ready to tell him the baby is his yet.  I feel like I need to get to know the guy before I spring this on him.”

Sam shrugged, “I don’t know what to tell you, Ads.  Maybe it might be a good idea to keep this to yourself for a little while, give Justin a chance to get to know you, so he doesn’t think you’re just out for his money.”

“I’m sure he’s going to think that no matter how chummy we may get.  I can’t imagine he’s going to be very fond of some random chick coming into his house and springing news like this on him.”  She chuckled a little, but it wasn’t a very happy sound.  Sam frowned.

“Whatever his reaction, it doesn’t matter.  If he decides that he wants nothing to do with you, that’s his loss.  Brett and I will play Daddy.” 

“Brett I can believe, but you…I think you’re missing some crucial parts for playing daddy.”  Adah managed a small grin at her friend.

“Eh, that’s a technicality.”  Sam patted Adah on the knee, “I’ve got to be getting off to work.  Call the office if you need me for anything, though, okay?”

“Sure thing,” Adah gave Sam a hug and watched as her friend left the room.  She let out a long sigh and rested her head against the backboard of her bed. She should probably get up and shower, seeing as she felt like ass.  She had 31 more weeks of this to go and she was not looking forward to it.

There was so much to plan for and so much to think about, it was making her head spin.  She needed to think about her living situation because as much as she knew Brett and Sammy loved her, having a baby in a fairly cozy apartment would only work for so long.  She needed to think about names and all of that other stuff, and she needed to find herself a better job because dog training wouldn’t cut it forever.  She also needed to break the news to the father, but that was something she wanted to put off as long as possible.

Secretly, Adah was hoping that Justin would figure it out on his own.  He would be upset about it either way, but if he happened to remember their little rendezvous, she wouldn’t have to figure out how to tell him.  She’d just have to deal with the aftermath.

The huge, colossal, crap load of aftermath.

Glancing at the clock, Adah let out a groan.  She had about an hour before she needed to head back over to Justin’s.  She was dreading this, and she almost had half a mind to tell them that it wouldn’t work out.  She could easily give them the number of someone else she knew that did dog training, and then she’d be free of this mess.  Of course, she still needed to tell Justin.  She supposed that it might be beneficial to her that she’s working with him.  She’ll have the chance to get to know what kind of person he is and he’ll get to know her before she drops a huge bomb on him.

How the hell did her life turn into this?

Stretching, Adah pushed herself off of the couch and headed toward the bathroom so she could shower and get ready.  For some reason she almost felt the need to get dressed up and look presentable.  She wasn’t sure why, though, because obviously she’d already gotten the guy into bed.

Forty-five minutes later, Adah was on her way to Justin’s with a lump in her throat.  Blaming it on the baby, she swallowed the rest of the ginger-ale she’d brought with her and chewed on some Tums.  This was going to be a long and interesting day, she could feel it already.

“Hey Adah.”  Rachel greeted her at the door and she managed a small smile for the brunette.  “Justin’s in his office, I’ll go grab him and we’ll meet you out back.  The dogs are outside already.”

“Okay.”  She made her way out through the French doors and grinned at the two Boxers playing in the grass.  At least there was something here that made her at ease, even if they were dogs.

“Hey…” Justin’s voice sounded behind her and she jumped a little.  If he was going to make a habit out of sneaking up on her she was going to have words for him.

“Hey Justin.”  She fidgeted with the bag in her hands for a minute, feeling uncomfortable under his intense gaze.

He watched her for a minute longer, still convinced that there was something oddly familiar about this girl.

“Here,” She handed him the bag she’d brought.  “I thought we could work on some leash training today.”

The awkward tension between the two of them was so thick that Adah felt a little suffocated standing near him.  If things were this bad now, she couldn’t imagine what things between them would be like when she finally broke the news to him.

Justin could sense that something was off with this girl and he couldn’t take it anymore, so he broke the silence. “Thanks.  I’ll call the dogs over.”

His retreating form relaxed Adah a little and she let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding.  Talk about building something up.

She watched as he wrestled with the dogs, trying to put on the harnesses and tugging on the leashes she’d brought.  A chuckle escaped her lips.  This she could handle.

They spent a good two hours working with the dogs and Adah was glad to see that they were making a little progress.  She was worried that in her flustered state she’d mess everything up and nothing would get done, but the Boxers were great and things were going really well.  Justin seemed to listen to her, too, which was a good thing.

“I’m hungry.”  He announced after they’d removed the harnesses from the dogs and let them return to romping around the yard.

“I was thinking about ordering something from down the street.  Adah, do you want to stay for lunch?”  It was Rachel that extended the invitation, but Adah couldn’t help but turn to Justin to see if he approved.  He gave a non-committal shrug.

“No, that’s Okay.  Thanks, though.”  She sensed the discomfort of the man next to her and it was making Adah feel nauseous again.  “Can I grab some water, though?”

“Sure, are you feeling okay?”  The group headed inside and Justin disappeared down some hallway as Adah followed Rachel into the kitchen. 

“Yeah, I’m all right.  I guess I’m still getting used to this whole pregnancy thing.”  It felt awkward to be talking about this in Justin’s house, but she’d have to get used to it pretty quickly.

“How’re your parents taking it?”  The question caught Adah off guard.  She wasn’t used to all the questions about how everyone else was taking the news of her pregnancy.  All she was concerned with at the moment was how she was handling the whole thing.

“My mother passed away a few years ago,” She confessed, gladly taking the bottle of water that Rachel handed her.  “And I haven’t seen my dad since I was a little girl. My roommates have been nothing but supportive, though, and that’s a good thing.”

“I’m sorry,”  Rachel looked slightly mortified at Adah’s answer.  Everyone always seemed uncomfortable when she told them about her family life, but Adah was pretty used to it by now.

“It’s okay.  You didn’t know.”  She sipped at the water, glad that her nausea was subsiding.

“So you’re really not close with the father at all?”  Forget that, her stomach was still rolling.

“Uhm…no, not at all.”  She took another sip to give her mouth something to do.  It was on the tip of her tongue to tell Rachel, but she knew that Justin should be the first in this house to know.  “Thanks for the water; I’ll see you guys next week.”

“Uh, bye.”

Rachel looked a little stunned at Adah’s hasty retreat, but Adah couldn’t take the strange tension and pressure.  She needed to get out of there and fast.

At least she had the weekend to think things over and really figure out how she was going to do this.  Maybe she could invite Justin out to lunch or something, although, he probably wouldn’t want to be in public when he found out.  Maybe she would just corner him in his house and blurt it out.

Yeah…that would go over well.

It has been two weeks since Adah started working with Justin and his dogs and so far things were going well.  It was still awkward and Justin had this weird way of watching her every move.  He hadn’t connected the dots yet, and it made Adah wonder how drunk he must have been that night.  She remembered almost all of that night (including the part where she disregarded his lack of latex) and she knew that she had been fairly sloshed.

She still hadn’t mentioned the little tid-bit of information about him being her baby daddy, but she was still working up the courage.  She was hoping that they might strike up a friendship so she’d feel more comfortable telling him, but he disappeared moments after the training session was finished.  So much for that plan.

Today, though, was going to be the day she finally spilled the beans.  She had to.  She knew that the longer she waited the worse it was going to be and she wanted to give him time before he took off for his tour. 

Mentally preparing herself for the worst, Adah took a deep breath and peered across Justin’s yard at the man in question.  She’d been at his house for almost an hour now working on more leash training with the dogs.  She’d been gearing up since she walked through the front door, but her resolve was slipping with each awkward moment she spent with Justin.  He listened to her instructions with Buckley and Brennan but he never seemed to warm up to her or regard her as anything more than the dog trainer.

It was really off-putting.

Currently, he’d gone inside to answer the phone, so Adah was waiting outside with Rachel.  Rachel had been learning the training techniques too because she’d be handling the dogs just as much as Justin, if not more.

“How do you think the dogs are doing?”  Idle chit-chat happened far too often between Rachel and Adah. 

“They’re responding really well.  I don’t think you’ll have any trouble with them, really.  Just make sure to keep using the techniques on a regular basis and everything should be fine.”

“Good.”  Rachel’s response was slightly overshadowed by a commotion coming from the house.  The two girls glanced over to see Justin and another man chatting animatedly on the patio.  “Oh, Trace is home.”

Adah stared at the new occupant, knowing that she had met him before, too.  She vaguely remembered him being at the club with Justin and for a long moment she worried that her cover would be blown.  If Trace remembered her being the woman that Justin took home he might put two and two together and then word would be out that her baby was Justin’s, too.

“Do you think Trace will join us?”  Her question seemed innocent but really she wanted to know how much time she had before all hell broke loose.

“Nah, he won’t.  He might join us on tour for a few dates but he’s got the clothing line and all that to take care of.  He won’t be needed to handle the dogs at all.”

“Oh, okay.”  She paused, shuffling her feet against the grass, “Do you think I might be able to catch Justin alone for a minute?”  Her insides were jumping and right now it had nothing to do with the baby in her belly.

Rachel eyed the other girl cautiously, “If you’re thinking about asking him on a date, I can spare you the embarrassment and tell you that he won’t say yes.” 

Adah was taken aback by the somewhat abrupt response of Rachel, but she let it go.  She assumed that Rachel was just looking out for her cousin.  “No, I think that we’re a little past going on any dates at this point.”  She mumbled, the other woman still heard.

“What?  What do you mean by that?”  Rachel’s tone was biting and Adah knew that the news she was about to share wasn’t going to be well received.

“I think I should talk to Justin,” Adah started to move toward the house but Rachel caught her elbow and stopped her.

“What’s going on?”  Rachel’s voice was cautious and maybe a little angry and Adah didn’t want to tell her before she told Justin. 

“Rachel…”  She wasn’t sure what to do, but it didn’t look like Justin was going to be coming back anytime soon.  Maybe she should start with Rachel and work her way up to Justin.  “Justin’s the father of my baby.”

The look that marred Rachel’s features was the ugliest thing that Adah had ever seen in her life.  The anger and disbelief was enough to push Adah back another few steps and she could feel the tears starting to prickle at her eyes.

“Get out.”  It was soft, but it was clear and cutting.  Adah held back a sob and tried to move as quickly as she could.  “Don’t you dare come back to this house, you lying whore.”

Adah wiped at her eyes as she ran for the house, passing a confused looking Justin and Trace, but she was entirely too upset to notice their questioning looks.  All she could see was the disgust on Rachel’s face as her words kept playing in her head.

That didn’t go well at all.

~*~

Justin was starting to get bored with this whole dog training thing.  It was good to see that Buck and Bren were listening to him now, but it didn’t mean that he enjoyed wasting two hours of his day.  He especially didn’t enjoy being around Adah because all he did was thinking about how he might know this girl.  He still couldn’t place her.  Small blips of memory would flash through his mind every now and then, but it wasn’t enough for him to truly remember anything substantial.

Faintly he could hear his phone ringing so he gladly took a break from the monotony and raced into the house.  Talk about being saved by the bell.

“What’s up?”

“Hey Fucker, what’s up?”  Trace’s laughter filled voice could be heard over the line and Justin smiled.

“Not too much, outside with the dogs.”

“Can you come let me in?”  Justin laughed at Trace’s request.

“Can’t remember the gate code?”

“If you didn’t insist on changing it every fucking week, I might be able to keep track,”  was the other man’s reply.  Normally, Justin would give Trace a ton of shit for not knowing how to get through the gate but today he was so relieved to have his friend back that he didn’t even bother.  He could always make fun of him later.

“You have no idea how happy I am to see you,”  Justin greeted Trace at the door, grinning at the shorter man.

“You’re not going to kiss me or anything, are you?”  The face that Trace made was enough to stretch Justin’s grin further and cause him to chuckle.

“Only if you want me to.”

“In your dreams, you pansy ass.”  Despite the insults, it was good to have Trace back.

The two men moved back through the house and stood near the French doors, watching as Rachel led Buckley around the yard. 

“Why is she here?”  Trace pointed and Justin followed until his gaze found Adah.

“She’s the dog trainer, the one that Rachel hired.”  He watched as Rachel stopped and let Buckley go before she and Adah started to talk.  They looked tense but Justin wasn’t surprised, there was something incredibly awkward about Adah.

“She’s also the girl you went home with after the club opening.”  Trace’s statement was so nonchalant that Justin almost missed it.  As it was, it took him a minute to process the words but when they finally registered in his brain, alarm bells went off.

“What?”  He frantically searched his memory for a recollection of that night and now he suddenly knew why she seemed so familiar to him.

“Yeah, you remember.  You went back to her place and boned for a while, you were so snockered that night I’m surprised you were even able to get it up.”

The two men watched as the conversation between Adah and Rachel seemed to get heated and moments later Adah was rushing toward the house with tears in her eyes and an ashamed look on her face.

“I think I did more than that.”  Justin’s face paled and he could feel his stomach rolling as Adah passed him at a trot.  Things were clicking in his brain and Justin’s dread grew as Rachel approached them, seemingly spitting fire.

“That stupid little whore is trying to claim that you’re the father of her baby!”  She pointed in the direction that Adah had headed, toward the front drive.  “Fucking liar.”

“What?!”  Trace looked at Justin, who could do nothing but stare at Rachel.

“She might not be lying.”  His voice was shaky and he could almost taste the bile in his throat as more images from their night together started to piece back together in his head.

“You got her pregnant?!”  Again, Trace’s voice shouted at him, anger and shock lacing his words.

“Well, I did sleep with the girl.”

Rachel threw her arms up in exasperation as she started to pace the yard.  “Right, and she just happens to waltz in here two months later claiming that she’s pregnant and you’re the father.  What an awesome fucking coincidence. I don’t buy it.”  Her face was red with anger and Justin wished he could feel anything but dread.

“He did sleep with her, I picked him up from her place later that night.”  Trace clarified for Rachel and if possible, her face darkened.

“No fucking way.  I will not believe it.  She’s just some money grubbing whore and she’s only here to extort you.”  Her feet were planted solidly on the ground, hand attached to her hips.  “It’s a fucking lie, Justin.”

He watched her for a second before calmly responding, “But you were the one that hired her.”

Rachel roared, “I don’t care! She’s making it up, she’s lying…whatever.  She saw a chance to make some money and now she’s just using you.  She probably cooked it up the minute found out she was working for you!”

It seemed plausible, although Justin really didn’t believe that Adah was making it up.  He almost hoped she was, only because the idea of being a father was much worse than the idea of being extorted by some girl.  He would gladly pay her some hush money if that’s what she wanted, he just didn’t want to be having a baby.  He didn’t even know the girl.

“Give me her number,”  He asked his cousin.  She stared at him with an incredulous look and shook her head.

“I’ll give her number to your lawyers.  They can deal with the fucking bitch.”  She stomped into the house, slamming the glass doors with such force that Justin worried they might shatter.

Trace whistled, “She’s pissed.”  He stood with Justin for a moment, studying the other man.  “You think she’s telling the truth, don’t you?  You think that she’s pregnant with your kid.”

Justin glanced over at Trace with wide eyes.  “Yeah, I do.”

“She’s not available at the moment.”  Samantha’s voice was edgy and her eyes rolled violently in her head as she listened to the man’s voice on the other end. “No, I’m not going to leave her a message.  She has nothing to say to you.”

Brett watched with a sense of grim amusement.

“If Justin wants to talk to her, he’s more than welcome.  Obviously he’s got her phone number.  As for you tight wads, she’s got nothing to discuss.  She doesn’t want his money and she doesn’t want the publicity.  She just wants to be left alone.”  There was another slight pause before Sam clicked the phone off, stalked over to the wall jack and pulled the plug.

“What’s the matter, Sammy? Tired of talking to lawyers?”

The snort that left the petit blonde’s mouth was more than enough answer but she graced him with a response anyway.  “I don’t understand why it hasn’t gotten through their thick skulls! She doesn’t want anything to do with Justin unless he wants something to do with the baby.”

Brett shrugged.  “They just have to cover their asses, Sam.  Justin’s a huge star and they’re not going to take the chance that she goes to a tabloid or talk show or something and makes millions off of tarnishing his name.”

He was greeted with another snort.  “He could just as easily call her up and talk to her about this whole thing.”

“Maybe they won’t let him call until she’s signed an agreement.”  It was a suggestion, but Sam didn’t seem to like it at all.

“He’s a big boy, obviously.  If he can make the decision to stick his dick in Adah, he can pick up his phone and dial.”

Brett grinned, “That’s so eloquently put, Sam.”  He’s met with her toothy grin.  “Has Adah come out of her room today?”

Sam shook her head, the smile falling from her face.  It had been two weeks since the scene at Justin’s, and Adah had crawled out of her room for only the necessary bite to eat and glass of water. Her roommates weren’t even that sure she’d been showering regularly, but since she had her own bathroom in her room they had no way of knowing.  What the two did know was that they were sick of fielding calls from lawyers and representatives.  No one had heard anything from the man himself, and both Sam and Brett were getting pretty pissed off with Justin.

It took a little while for them to get the full story out of Adah, but it was pretty obvious that Justin just sat back and let his legal team take over without talking to Adah first.  It seemed pretty low of the guy to ignore a situation, especially a situation as life changing as this one.

“Whatever, I can’t hang around here and field calls for her anymore.  I have to get to work.”  Sam let out a huge sigh and grabbed her bag from beside the door.  “Can you pop your head in there and tell her I’m leaving?”

Brett nodded.  He watched Sam shut the front door and let out a deep sigh.  He really didn’t want to have to bother Adah but he was getting a little tired of being in the middle of all this crap.  Obviously he and Sam thought the world of Adah and he was going to do whatever it took to make sure she was taken care of.  Although, he had never thought it meant going as far as keeping lawyers of pop stars away from his girl.

A sound broke him from his thoughts and he looked up to see Adah shuffling out of her room.  She looked showered and her clothes were clean and unwrinkled.  “Well hey, what’s got you up and about?”

She glanced at him and shrugged.  “I have a doctor’s appointment for the baby.”  She sat on the couch and started to slip on her sneakers.

“Are you OK, Ads?”

She shrugged again.  “No. Yes. I don’t know.”  She finished tying a shoe and looked up at Brett with glassy eyes.  “I’m pregnant and I have no idea what I’m going to do about it.”  She took a shaky breath and attempted to calm herself down.  “I know that you and Sam have been taking calls for me.  I’m sorry that I’ve been such a recluse lately, I just needed some time to think.”

“Ads, you know Sam and I will do anything for you.  Don’t worry about the phone calls; Sam pulled the phone off the hook anyway.”  He caught a glimmer of a smile on her face and it made him feel a little bit better.  “Do you need me to come to your appointment with you?”

Adah shook her head.  “That’s ok.  I know you have to get to work.  It’s just a regular check up anyway.  No ultra sound this time.”  She grabbed up her purse and stood for a moment, looking around the room.  Things looked different even though she knew they weren’t.  Maybe it was being pregnant, or maybe it was all the soul searching she’d been doing lately.

“You still with me?  Or have you escaped to your home planet?”  Brett’s shoulder nudged her own as he walked her to the front door.

“You and Sam should really write this stuff down.  I’m sure there’s a struggling comedian out there that needs some crappy material to work with.”  Brett’s laughter caused Adah to smile and for the first time in two weeks she felt human.

“Call me later, let me know how everything goes today.”  Brett and Adah said their goodbyes and she climbed into her car. 

She was nervous about this appointment.  Facing this alone was scary and Adah had no idea what she was doing.  She had been thinking a lot about her options lately and she was seriously considering adoption.  She knew that abortion was totally out of the question for her, but keeping the baby wasn’t something she was sure she could handle.  Adah could barely take care of herself, how could she take care of a baby?  And she knew that there were couples out there that couldn’t have children of their own and would love to adopt.

It was a tough decision and she still had time to think about it.  The only problem was, she didn’t really want to think about it.

“Relax, Ads.”  She let out a deep breath and attempted to calm her nerves.  “You can get through this.”  It wasn’t a very heartfelt pep-talk, but it was the best she could come up with at the moment.

It took her twenty minutes to get to the doctor’s office and by the time she arrived she was a tangle of nerves.  All she could think about was this pregnancy and how she had no idea what she was going to do about it.  It didn’t help that she hadn’t heard anything from Justin at all and it just depressed her even more.  Not that she could blame him, but in her mind she was really hoping that he would at least sit down and talk with her.  He probably didn’t believe that the baby was his and she knew he had reasons not to.

If she were him, she wouldn’t believe her either.

She mentally chastised herself for perseverating on all of this.  She grabbed her purse and stepped out of the car, praying for this to be over quickly.

“Adah?”  A voice from behind caused Adah to jump, letting out a small squeal of surprise.

“Justin? What the hell are you doing here?”  She clutched at her chest, feeling her heart jumping under her skin.

“Hey…uh…”  he stuttered, shuffling his feet and avoiding her eyes.  His face was mostly shielded by the hood of his sweatshirt and a baseball cap.  “Sorry to scare you.”

“What do you want?”  Even though it was warm outside, Adah wrapped her arms around her waist.  Seeing Justin here was the last thing she expected and she had no idea what to do now.

“I’m sorry.”  He started, hesitating when a couple walked by and glanced in their direction.  “Can we go somewhere and talk?”

Adah found herself ready to lash out.  He wanted to talk? Now?  It had been two weeks and she hadn’t heard a damn thing from the man and he wanted to talk now?  This was ridiculous.  “I have a doctor’s appointment in a few minutes.  I can’t talk now.”

“After?  I’ll wait for you to get done and we can go grab some coffee or something.”  He seemed so different from the confident, aloof man she met those weeks ago.  Even farther from the man that had bedded her that fateful night.

“Why?”  He gave her a strange look, “Why now?  I don’t hear from you for weeks and suddenly you want to talk?  What changed?  Why not just send one of your lawyers?”

He huffed out a breath of air, still shuffling his weight from one foot to the other.  “I’m sorry about that, really.  I tried to get them to leave you alone and let me talk to you but they wouldn’t allow it.  They’re determined to get you to sign an agreement before we can see each other.  I had to find an excuse to get out so I could come find you.”

Adah was about to ask how he knew she was going to be here but she remembered that she had to get to her appointment.  “I have to go.”  She started to walk away but his hand on her arm stopped her progress.

“Please, I want to talk about…this…”  His eyes flicked to her stomach and she felt the butterflies erupt.  “I’m sorry about ambushing you but I really think we should talk.”

Adah sighed.  “Fine.  This should take twenty to thirty minutes.  I’ll meet you…?”

“Have you ever been to the diner on North Street?  Flo’s?” 

“Yeah, I have.  I’ll meet you there.”  She started to walk away again, turning once to see his eyes still on her.  “You aren’t going to stand there for the next thirty minutes, are you?”

He smirked.  “No.  I’ll see you in a little while.” 

This time she watched him walk away.

The appointment had gone well and Adah was relieved that everything was on track.  She was getting close to her three month mark and that was usually when women were in the clear and there was less chance of a miscarriage.  Adah wasn’t sure if she could keep this baby, but she would be crushed if anything happened to it.

She pointed her car in the direction of Flo’s diner and took a deep breath.  She didn’t know what Justin wanted and she had no idea how to feel about seeing him.  They had only spent one night together and even that night was laced with alcohol and sex.  The only reason she knew his name was because it was Justin Timberlake.  Who didn’t know his name?

The whole situation was completely strange to her.  Having a one night stand with a world-renowned musician; getting pregnant by a total strange; getting a job training the dogs of the same world-renowned stranger that had knocked her up.  Really, it felt like some trashy soap opera script instead of her life.  Except, in a trashy soap opera, the plot would be much more twisted and she and Justin would somehow end up related or something…

But this certainly wasn’t a soap opera.

Stepping into the diner, Adah’s eyes scanned the booths until she spotted Justin.  He was seated in the back, chatting with the waitress, a grin planted on his face.  The grin faltered slightly when he spotter her at the door, but he waved her over and attempted a smile when she sat down.  She ordered a water and waited for the waitress to leave before sitting back in the booth, forcing herself to look Justin in the eyes.

“So…”

Adah cleared her throat.  “Thanks for meeting me.”  She picked at the napkin, unable to look at him anymore.

She caught his shrug out of the corner of her eye.  “I remember that night now, and I remember you.”  He took a deep breath causing Adah to look up at him.  “This is just a little strange for me.  I want to believe you, but then again, I really want you to be lying to me, too.”

“I don’t blame you if you don’t believe me.”  She looked down again, nervous under his blue gaze.  “It’s still pretty strange for me, too.”  The conversation was awkward and Adah was really curious about what Justin wanted.

“I’m sorry about my lawyers.  Rachel wouldn’t give me your phone number and the lawyers wouldn’t give it to me until they spoke with you.”  He cleared his throat, taking a sip of his drink.  “I know they want a paternity test, and they want you to sign a contract saying that you won’t go to tabloids or anything.”

So, there’s the reason she was here.  “Oh.”  She licked her lips slowly.  “And what do you want?”

She watched as he seemingly struggled for words.  “I don’t know.” He finally answered.  “Like I said, part of me believes you, but there’s also a huge part of me that has to be skeptical.  I don’t even know you, except that you train dogs.”

Adah nodded, “You’re right, and I don’t know you, either.”  She sighed.  “I didn’t tell you because I want anything from you, Justin.  I just thought it was the right thing to do.  You had a hand in making this baby and you should at least know about it.  If you don’t want anything to do with it, I understand.  You don’t owe me anything, I just…when you opened the door that first day at your house, I knew I had to say something because you had the right to know.”

“How…how far along are you?”  He seemed extremely uncomfortable to ask, and she wondered how much of this question was about connecting dots in his head and making sure she wasn’t lying.

“I’ll be three months along tomorrow.”  The waitress came back, asking if they wanted to order any food.  Adah wasn’t sure she could stomach anything at this point, so she declined.  Justin ordered a bowl of soup.  “So far everything is going well, but after the three month mark the doctor’s relax a little.  There’s less chance of a miscarriage after the first trimester.”

“That’s good.”  It was obvious he didn’t know what to say to her and she was in the same boat.

“Paternity tests can be done during pregnancy, but they’re risky and I don’t think I could put me or the baby through that.  I’ll gladly submit to one after it’s born, if that’s what you want.”  Adah didn’t know what Justin wanted from her, but she figured honesty was the best way to go at this point.  She had no reason to hide or make things even more difficult.  If he wanted proof that the baby was his, she’d give it to him.

“That’s fine.”  He picked up his glass, spinning it around on the table, making rings of water.  “I’m sorry,” He sighed, “I just have no idea what to think or do at this point.  I…shit.”  He set the glass back down with a thud and rubbed his hands over his face.  “Are you absolutely sure it’s mine?”

Adah smiled, “Yeah.  It can’t be anyone else’s.”  She sipped her water, willing her muscles to relax.

“I just…you have to know how difficult this is for me to swallow?”  His eyes pleaded with her and she felt her stomach tighten.

“About as difficult as it was when I discovered that I was carrying your baby.”  Her face puckered into a frown.  “I can’t imagine that either of us is very excited about this right now.  I have no idea what I’m going to do with this kid.  I don’t even know what I want for my life, never mind a baby.”

His eyes widened a little as a thought struck him.  “Are you going to…to keep it?”

“Yes.” Adah nodded vehemently.  “I’ve thought about adoption, maybe,” She added with a shrug, “but I’m at least going to have it.”

Justin sat back in the booth, letting out a breath.  “How…How can I be sure that this isn’t some…” He hesitated, “some plot or something?  I remember you, I remember that night…and I just can’t help but wonder if you did this on purpose.”

It didn’t surprise Adah to hear Justin ask this question, she just didn’t think she would have to be answering it quite so soon.  Of course she hadn’t gotten pregnant on purpose, but she hardly knew what she wanted to do with this baby, defending her pregnancy wasn’t something she had counted on doing at this point.

“I can’t make you believe anything, I can only tell you that I have no intention of trapping you or making you pay me or anything like that.  This was my mistake.  I decided to sleep with you and I allowed us to have sex without protection.  I will do what I have to do to take care of this baby, I just wanted you know that that it existed.”

She was about to leave, her head spinning and her stomach turning.  She grabbed her purse, setting a few bills down on the table.  Justin sat back in his seat, watching as Adah slowly fell apart in front of him.  Words wouldn’t come to him, so he let her leave, his own head spinning with all of the new information he was trying to process.

Outside, Adah let the tears fall silently.  She stepped into her car, throwing her purse on the passenger seat before resting her head on the steering wheel and letting all of the stress and anxiety of the past few months wash over her.  Seeing Justin just made all of this even more real, and now that she’d talked to him face-to-face and told him that the baby was his…there wasn’t anything else she could do.  The decision was his now, and Adah wasn’t sure which way she wanted him to go.  It might be easier if he never wanted to speak to her again.  She could pretend that the father to her baby was someone else and raise her baby with the help of Brett and Sam.  On the other hand, it would be nice to think that her child could have both parents to love him or her.

A knock on her window interrupted her mini-meltdown, and she looked up to see Justin standing there.  “What?”  She had no room for politeness right now.

“I just wanted to give you my phone number.  In case you needed to call or something.”  He shuffled from foot to foot, looking nothing like the confident musician he really was.

She extended a cautious hand, afraid to make contact with his own.  “Thanks.”  She licked her lips, trying to calm her emotions and get a hold of her thoughts.  “What…ah…what does this mean?”

He shrugged.  “I don’t want to believe you, but I also can’t deny what my gut is telling me.”  He glanced around the parking lot to make sure they were really alone.  “I don’t have any more idea about what to do that you, Adah.”  Her name sounded foreign coming off of his tongue.  “I guess I just don’t want to leave you hanging if you need me or something.  The rest…well…” He shrugged again.

Adah nodded her head slowly.  “Yeah.”  A sudden awkwardness settled over the both of them, and Adah couldn’t think of anything else that could be said.  She gave him an attempted smile before rolling up her window and driving off, thoughts heavy on her mind.

Justin watched her car leave, heading to his own only when the sedan was out of sight.  A part of him felt as if he were making a huge mistake.  It was career suicide to take this woman’s word, especially when he had no idea who she was or what she was about.  For all he knew, she could be playing some twisted game just to get as his money.  But then again, there was something to be said for a person’s gut reaction, and Justin’s was telling him that Adah was being nothing but honest.  There was something in the girl’s eyes that looked too haunted for her to be as vindictive as this stunt would require.  He knew his management advised against it, but he trusted her.

“So let me get this straight,” Sam settled herself more comfortably on the couch, “Justin showed up at your doctor’s office and then you met him for coffee and he gave you his number?”

Adah nodded her head.  “Yeah, sounds about right.”  She picked at the seam of her sweat pants.  “I’m not quite sure what it means, but I guess it’s a start.”

“What did he say?  Does he believe you?”  Brett joined in, grabbing a seat in the recliner and handing the girls both bottles of water.  “He knows it’s his baby?”

Adah shrugged at this, taking a minute to sip at her water.  “He’s not really sure what to believe.  I can’t say that I blame him, I mean, he doesn’t know me from a hole in the wall.  He does remember that we had sex, though.”

“But it has to mean something that he gave you his number,” Brett added, “Men don’t give out numbers to pregnant women.  Believe me, I know.”  Despite the seriousness of the situation, Brett’s comment made the girls laugh.

“Maybe he’s a freak and he’s into that sort of thing.”  Sam couldn’t help but put her two cents in.  And, of course, she hated the tension that was constantly filling her apartment and she had to break it somehow.  “Maybe he just thinks you’re hot and having a bun in the oven makes it even better.”

Adah’s face twisted into an ugly frown, “That’s nasty, Sammy.  I would hope that he didn’t give me his number for that reason.”  She gently touched her pocket, finding some strange comfort at the slip of paper tucked away.  Even if she never used it, at least it was there.  That had to mean something.

“So…are you going to call him?”  Brett posed the question.  He watched Adah carefully, knowing that there was a lot going on in that head of her’s.  He was worried about her, but he also knew that he could only be there for support; he couldn’t make any decisions for her.

She shrugged, picking at her nails.  “I have no idea what to say to him.”  She licked her lips, taking a deep breath before looking up at her roommates.  “It was so awkward at the diner.  I could tell that he really didn’t want me to be telling the truth.  I hardly know the guy, how can I ask him to be a father to a baby he doesn’t want?”

Neither Sam nor Brett knew what to say to that.  It was one thing for Justin to attempt to talk to Adah and listen to what she had to say, but it was a whole other thing for him to want to be a part of this baby’s life, especially since he didn’t know for sure it was his.  Even if he did find out the baby was his, how could anyone expect him to just take responsibility?  It was a one night stand and this was a total accident.

“Have you thought about a paternity test?”  Sam asked.  “That would give him no doubt about the baby being his.”

“Yeah, I have.  I just don’t want to do something that could hurt me or the baby.  I don’t really know about testing before the baby is born.”

“I think we should look into it.  It would just make sure that there isn’t any more doubt about this baby belonging to you and Justin.”  Sam grabbed her lap top off of the coffee table and started to look into paternity tests.

“I’m sure they’re expensive, Sam, and I’m just afraid that it’s going to do damage or something.”  Adah gently clutched her stomach, already worried for this unborn baby.  She was starting to become attached to the idea of this life growing inside of her and being able to raise this baby.  Although she was scared shitless, the longer her pregnancy went, the more she wanted to protect and care for her baby.

“Expensive my ass, Ads, you’ve got a multi-millionaire for a baby daddy.  I’m sure his lawyers would be more than happy to pay for the procedure.” 

Brett sat back and watched the two girls converse.  He could see the indecision on Adah’s face and he wondered where it came from.  He had a feeling that she was apprehensive for more reasons than just the safety of her baby.  If she had this paternity test and it was confirmed that Justin was the father, there wasn’t any turning back.  He either had to take responsibility and Adah got swept up into his world, or he decided to have nothing to do with her and she was left taking care of this baby on her own.  It seemed like a tough situation to be in and Brett was proud of his roomie for being so strong about it.  He just wondered how long that strength was going to last.

~*~

Adah stepped into the apartment, bending to pick up the pile of mail that was left on the floor.  She flipped through the numerous bills and pieces of junk mail before stopping at an envelope addressed to her.  It looked like a greeting card or something, but she had no idea who would be sending her something like that.

She tossed the envelope on the coffee table and went into her room to change.  She’d found a training job for one of Sam’s co-workers, so she’d been spending a couple afternoons a week doing that.  It wasn’t the best source of income, but it was all she had at the moment.  Hopefully she’d be able to find something a little more reliable soon.  The only obstacle would be her ever-growing stomach.  Not many people are willing to hire something that’s about to give birth in a few months. 

Changing into her favorite sweatpants, she shuffled back out into the living room and grabbed the letter off of the coffee table.  There wasn’t a return address.  Shrugging, she ripped it open.  A piece of paper fluttered out and landed on the floor.  The card inside was blank and Adah was really confused until she grabbed the piece of paper off the floor.

She almost dropped it again.

In her hands she held a check for a thousand dollars.  Justin’s signature was scrawled across the bottom line and Adah couldn’t figure out why the hell he would be sending her a check for a thousand dollars. 

She sat back on the couch, holding the check in front of her like it was about to bite.

It took her a moment to collect her thoughts, but she quickly grabbed her cell phone and the scrap of paper that held Justin’s number.  Taking a deep breath, she punched the numbers into her phone and waited as it rang.

“Hello?”  It was definitely his voice, and for some reason hearing it made her incredibly nervous.

“Hey…Justin.  It’s…ah…it’s Adah.”  Apparently he made her a bumbling idiot, too.

“Who?”  His voice was distracted and there was a lot of noise in the background which made Adah feel slightly guilty for bothering him. 

“Adah.  Adah James.  You know….the pregnant lady?” 

“Oh! Adah…hold on a second.”  The noise died down and she figured he had moved to another spot.  “What’s up?”

“Well, I was just calling to ask why I got a check for a thousand dollars today.”  She looked back at the slip of paper, her nerves calming down slightly.

“For the dog training.  That’s what I owed you.”  His voice was so matter of fact, like she was an idiot for asking.

“Justin…I only went to your house for three weeks.  I don’t even charge a thousand dollars for all the sessions.  This is way too much for the few times I was there.  Plus, I pissed off your cousin.”

She could hear him chuckle over the line.  “Rachel told me that you two had settled on a thousand, and it was my fault that you couldn’t finish the training, so I thought you should still get paid.”

“This is too much.  I can’t accept this.”  She shook her head even though he couldn’t see her.

“I’ll just keep sending you checks until you take it.  I’m not going to take no for an answer.”

Adah couldn’t tell if this was because he was just a generous person, or because he felt guilty for everything that had happened.  Either was, she was extremely apprehensive to take the money.  “Are you sure?” 

“Yeah, I’m sure.”  Someone spoke in the background, “Hey, I’ve got to get going.  I’m at rehearsal for my tour.  Maybe we can grab some dinner or something sometime?”

“Uh…sure?”  She didn’t have time to say anything else before he was saying his goodbyes and hanging up the phone.

Adah continued to stare at the check in her hands, completely unsure of what she should do.  What did this mean?  How should she take this?  He could be just paying her for the work she did to train his dogs, but that certainly wasn’t worth a thousand dollars.  He could be giving her money because he felt guilty for getting her pregnant, but he wasn’t really sure that it was his baby to begin with. 

“Hey Ads.”  Brett’s voice broke her from her thoughts and she jumped a little, dropping the check.  It floated over in front of Brett’s feet.  He bent over to grab it, his eyes widening, “Holy shit, Ads.  This is for a thousand bucks.” 

“I know.  It’s from Justin.”  She stared up at her roommate, her cheeks reddening.  “He says it’s for the training I did with his dogs, but…I don’t know if I should take it.”

“He sent you a check for a thousand dollars because you half-trained his dogs?”  Brett handed the check to Adah, grabbing a seat next to her on the couch.  “Did you talk to him?”

She nodded.  “I called him because I couldn’t figure out why he was sending me a check for so much money.  He told me that he’d keep sending them until I deposited it.”  They both stared at the check like it was a foreign object.  “I’m not really sure what to do with it.”

“Keep it.”  Brett glanced over at Adah.  She gave him a questioning look.  “He knocked you up, Adah.  Even if he’s not ready to admit that it’s his baby, he still has to take responsibility at some point.”  He gestured to the check, “I have a feeling that this is his way of making up for everything.  He’s probably having a hard time with all of this, so instead of saying the money is to help with the baby, he’s using the dog training as his reason.”

Brett left the living room shortly after, leaving Adah with her thoughts.  So, she now had a good chunk of money to help out when she couldn’t get work, but what did it mean?  She was worried that he was going to want something from her now.  People didn’t just throw away money that easily, and she couldn’t imagine why Justin would want to give her so much when she didn’t even finish the training she was supposed to do.  She also had a feeling that Rachel wouldn’t be very happy if she knew about the money, either.

Adah stared at the check a moment or two longer, unsure of what to do.  She was confused and worried, and for some reason having this money didn’t make her feel any better.

The past month and a half had been crazy for Adah.  She had managed to find a few more training dogs so she could start saving money for the baby.  She had also started to grow a stomach that was undeniably a baby-bump.  She was now over five months along and she was definitely starting to pop. 

She turned, staring into the mirror trying to decide if she liked the outfit she had on.  Lately she’d been wearing a lot of sun dresses because they were the most comfortable in the summer heat and they didn’t emphasize her bump.  Tonight she had on another one, but she didn’t feel quite right.  She was meeting Justin for dinner in an hour.  They had managed to hang out a few times in between his busy schedule, but he was leaving to take off on his tour in a week and this would be the last time they could see each other.

It was safe to say that things between them were awkward.  He was trying his hardest to be understanding and kind to her, but she could tell that he really wasn’t sure about everything.  She would catch him watching her, glancing at her growing belly, and there was a lot of emotion and worry etched onto his face.  They didn’t talk much about the baby, but it weighed heavily on both of their minds.

Lately, Adah had been looking into paternity testing.  The more she thought about it, the better it would be if Justin knew for sure the baby was his before it was born.  She had talked to her doctor about it, and the doc had given her the number to a place that would perform the tests for her.  There were risks involved, but she had been assured that the procedure could be done safely.  She hadn’t said anything to Justin about it because she didn’t want too add any more pressure or stress before he left for tour, but she was pretty sure that she was going to go through with it.

“You look hot, Ads.”  Sam’s voice sounded behind her.  Adah glanced up, catching Sam’s eye in the mirror.

“Thanks,” 

“No, I meant you look hot.  Over heated.  Your face is all red.”  She grabbed a wash cloth and wet it, dotting it over Adah’s neck and forehead.

“Gee, and here I thought you were complementing me on my ‘glow.’” 

“You look radiant, but you also look nervous.  Are you OK?”  Adah shrugs, taking the wash cloth from Sam and running it over her chest and the slight swell of her breasts.  Those had grown significantly since she’d gotten pregnant.

“Justin leaves for tour in a week.  We’re having dinner tonight.”  She pursed her lips, not saying anything else as she continued to dab at her face with the cool wash cloth.

“I’m guessing that you’re not OK with this.”  Sam closed the cover to the toilet and sat down, watching Adah through the mirror.

“I’m so scared, Sammy.”  She whispered.  “I know that Justin and I aren’t close by any means, and I know that he’s still so unsure about all of this,  but I don’t think I can go through this without him.”  To her frustration, Adah’s eyes started to well up.  She used the washcloth to try and stop them from falling without messing up her makeup.

“You have me and Brett, Ads.  We’re going to be here with you for everything, I promise.”

“I know,” she sniffled, giving Sam a watery smile.  “I can’t thank you guys enough for that.  But somehow…”

“It’s not the same.”

Adah shrugged, turning to inspect her figure in the mirror.  “Maybe it’s just the stuff of fairy tales, but I’d always imagined having a baby with someone I truly loved and cared for and someone that felt the same about me.”  She ran her hands over the swell of her stomach.  “I guess I’m still not ready to give up on that thought, as absurd as it sounds.”

Sam was silent for a moment.  She wasn’t quite sure how to remind her best friend that the father of this baby was Justin Timberlake.  Anything close to a normal relationship would be impossible.  Of course, Sam suspected that Adah could never quite forget that fact. 

“You should get going, Ads.  You don’t want to be late for dinner.” 

“Yeah.”  Adah took a deep breath.  “How do I look?” 

Sam smiled at Adah, reaching up to tuck a lock of hair behind her ear.  “Beautiful.  Radiant.”

“Good.”

~*~

It was a small restaurant, dimly lit.  Adah searched the floor, hoping to spot Justin without much hassle.  She looked at the piece of paper in her hand, squinting to read the name she’d scribbled down.

“Can I help you, Ma’am?”  The hostess looked at her expectantly.

“I’m here to see…Trace Ayala.”  The girl gave her a slightly strange look, but she led her through the back anyway.

Adah had only met Justin’s best friend twice.  They were both quick meetings and she wasn’t sure why Justin was using his name for their dinner reservations, but she figured that using his own name would’ve caused a stir.

The hostess brought her into a private room in the back of the restaurant that Adah would have never guessed existed.  She instantly spotted Justin, but she was slightly surprised to see him sitting with Trace and a beautiful woman.  Her nerves instantly jumped, but she took a deep breath and moved toward the table.

Trace stood, greeting her with a kiss on the cheek.  “I’m so sorry,” he whispered into her ear before plastering on a grin.  “Just work with me, please.”

Adah gave him a confused glance.  “OK?”  Before she could ask any more questions, Justin had stood, coming to give her a tense hug.

“Hey Adah,”  He looking like he was sweating bullets and Adah really wanted to know what was going on.  “I’m glad you could make it.”  He glanced down at her swelling belly and seemed to become even more nervous.

“Justin, aren’t you going to introduce me?”  The girl at the table spoke and Adah felt Justin tense up.  Apparently she wasn’t going to wait for Justin because she stood and came over to Adah, giving her a big, awkward hug.  “Hey!  I’m Gina, Justin’s girlfriend.  I’m so excited to finally meet you.  Justin has told me so much about you!”

Adah gave both Justin and Trace a strange look.  “He, uh…he has?”

“Yes!  I’m so excited for you and Trace!”  Gina hooked her arm through Adah’s and led her over to the table where they sat down.  Adah was next to Trace who kept shooting Justin death stares.  Justin was trying to act cool, but whenever Gina wasn’t looking at him, his face dropped into a scowl.

“Me and Trace?”  Adah glanced at the man next to her, but he was too busy trying to get Justin’s attention.

“Yeah!  Justin told me about how y’all are getting married after the baby comes!”  She reached over to try and touch Adah’s stomach and Adah protectively leaned back and put her hands over her belly. 

“Oh?  He did, did he?”  Adah was starting to realize what was going on here.  Justin had told his girlfriend—one that he’d never mentioned to Adah before tonight—that she was pregnant with Trace’s baby and that the two of them were together.  She now understood why Trace had apologized and why everyone except Gina looked ready to throw up.  She could completely blow this for him right now.  In fact, she thought, she should.  She should blow his cover and tell Gina that this baby wasn’t Trace’s, but Justin’s.

Of course, Adah didn’t want to piss anyone off.

“I’m so excited for the two of you!”  Gina sat in her obliviousness and smiled at everyone, failing to notice that no one else was excited.

“Excuse me, I have to use the bathroom.”  Adah stood from her seat, brushing off Trace’s helpful hand.  She tried not to run out of the room as she searched for the bathroom.

She turned on the cold water and let it run, wetting a towel so she could cool herself off.  The tears were forming again and this time she wasn’t sure that she could stop them.

How could he do this?  How could he hid a girlfriend from her, especially when she was carrying his child.  And how could he ambush her with all of this, expecting her to go along with it like it was no big deal?  Adah placed her hand on her stomach, feeling the baby flutter around inside.

“Yeah, I know what you’re feeling.”  She spoke to the baby, trying to calm herself down.

“Adah, are you ok?”  Gina’s voice came through the bathroom door and Adah rolled her eyes. 

“I’m fine, thanks.”  She didn’t want to deal with this.  She didn’t want to have to face this girl knowing that she had been the other woman and this baby was a result of that.

Unfortunately, the door opened anyway and Gina poked her head through.  She smiled at Adah and came further into the bathroom.  “Morning sickness?”

Adah bit her tongue against the remark that was about to spill out.  Morning sickness?  I was seven o’clock at night.

“Must be.”  Was her only reply.  She avoided looking at the other girl, afraid of what might come out of her mouth.

“I was so shocked when Justin told me that Trace was having a baby.  I didn’t even know you guys were together!”

“Funny, I could say the same about you and Justin.” 

“Yeah, we try and keep our relationship pretty undercover.  We don’t want to be bothered by the press.”  Gina sat on one of the chairs in the room, fixing her hair and re-applying her lip gloss.

“How long have you and Justin been together?”  Adah was curious to know if she had really been the other woman.

“Almost six months.  I’ve been in England shooting a movie so we haven’t actually spent that much time together, but I’m going on tour with him so we’ll really get to be together.”

Adah did the math in her head and couldn’t decide.  She was almost six months pregnant.  It sounded like Gina and Justin had just started to get together when Adah got pregnant.  It was too hard to tell, but either way, she wasn’t happy about it.  She wasn’t happy that she’d been put in this situation to begin with, but now she had to deal with the fact that Justin had a girlfriend and he was lying to her.

“I’m happy for you guys, really.  I think I’m going to take off, though.  I’m really not feeling well.”  Adah didn’t wait for Gina to reply.  She left the bathroom and headed back to the table so she could grab her purse.  She really didn’t want to say anything to Justin, but she knew she should at least tell him she was leaving.

“Adah…”  It was Trace that stood up to greet her when she got back to the table.  “Are you OK?”

“I’m leaving.  I’m sorry I came tonight.”  She directed a stare at Justin but he wouldn’t meet her eyes.  Turning to Trace she gave him a small smile.  “Is there an address I can send things to when Justin’s gone?  I should have the results of the paternity test and I want to make sure he gets them.”

Both men gave her a look, but Trace wrote an address down on a napkin and handed it to her.  “Anything you send here will make it to me.  I’ll make sure that anything you need to get to Justin makes it there.” 

“Thanks, Trace.”  She gave him a small hug and attempted a smile.  She turned to Justin, wishing she could truly speak her mind.  Instead she said, “tell Gina I said goodbye.  It was really…nice…to meet her.”

With that, she turned and left the restaurant, keeping her head high until she knew they couldn’t see her anymore.  When she knew she was safely out of their sights, she let the tears fall.

This was no fairy tale and she was never more aware of that fact than right now.

Adah stared at the white envelope she had just received in the mail.  The paternity test results were now in and for some reason Adah was nervous.  There was no other man it could be, but for some reason she was scared that the name on the test wouldn’t be Justin Timberlake.  Or course, she was scared knowing that it was his name on the test results, too.

She opened the enveloped, scanning the page and finding the words that confirmed what she’s known for six and a half months.  The father of her baby was Justin Timberlake. 

Letting out a puff of air, she put the results back into the original envelope and then sealed them into an envelope with the address Trace had given her.  She stuck a few stamps on the letter and shoved it into her purse, knowing she had to send it.  She had heard nothing from Justin since the disastrous dinner three weeks ago.  Trace had called a few times to check up on her and apologize, but it wasn’t quite enough.  She knew that Justin had reasons to doubt her and she also knew that there was no relationship between the two of them, but she still couldn’t get over how much it had hurt to know he’d been lying. 

She was glad she could finally prove what she’d been telling him all along.  Now she could focus on preparing for the baby and get her mind off of Justin Timberlake.

Adah grabbed her keys and threw on her sunglasses, preparing to take the envelope to the post office and run a few more errands.  She locked the door and turned to walk down the hallway but was stopped by a large box and a pair of hands.

“Hello?”  She pressed herself against the hall, hoping to avoid colliding with the box and whoever owned those hands.

“Oh!”  A startled voice came from the other side of the cardboard, and the box fell to the floor with a loud thud.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.”  Adah found herself looking into the most beautiful pair of green eyes she’d ever seen.  The face that went with them wasn’t terrible to look at, either.  “I’m Adah, I live in 223.”

“Hey, sorry about that.  I’m Brennan.  I just moved into 224.”  He pointed to the door across from Adah’s.  “I guess I’m you’re new neighbor.”

“I guess so.”  She smiled at him, completely mesmerized by his stare and the gorgeous smile he was flashing her.  “Can I help you with that?  At least get the door for you?”  She pointed to the box and Brennan seemed to remember why he was standing in the hallway.

“Oh, yeah, that’d be great.”  He tossed Adah a set of keys and she gladly opened the door, stepping inside so he could pass with the box.  “Thanks so much, Adah.  It’s nice to finally meet someone my age around here.” 

“Yeah, I think my roommates and I were the only ones under 50 until you.”  She smiled and he flashed another grin. She wasn’t sure if the sudden heat was from the blushing or the pregnancy.

As if he could read her thoughts, Brennan’s gaze dropped to her stomach and he suddenly realized that she was pregnancy.  “Do you live with your…boyfriend?”  His glance moved over her left hand, noting the absence of a ring.

“Actually I don’t.  I live with my two best friends.”  She felt nervous and she couldn’t help but rub small circles over her protruding belly.  “I don’t have a boyfriend.  This…” she glanced at her stomach, “This was a surprise.”

Brennan seemed almost relieved to hear this news and Adah felt herself blush again.  Of course she knew that it would be a terrible idea to start crushing on the neighbor while she was in this situation with the baby and Justin, but dammit if her hormones weren’t raging all the time now.  And she couldn’t help the question she asked next, “Will your girlfriend be moving in, too?”

Brennan smiled, “No, I’m single too.”  She shuffled his feet, giving her belly another awkward glance.  “Thanks for your help with the box.  Maybe you can come over for dinner sometime as a thank you.”

“I’d really like that.”  She felt herself blushing again.  “Can I help you with any more boxes?”

“Nah, I think I’ve carried up all I’ve got for now.  I just need to go grab my mutt before he tares my upholstery apart.”

“Dog?”  Adah’s ears perked up at the mention of a dog.  She was a sucker for them.

“Yeah, I have a yellow lab.  He’s just turned two and he’s the biggest pain in my ass, but I love him.”

“Labs are great dogs.  He must be a blast to have around.”  She felt herself really starting to relax again and Adah wished that she could stand here and talk to Brennan longer, but she needed to get the letter in the mail and she had some other things she needed to do.  “I should get going, though.  I’ve got some things to take care of.”  She thought for a second, going with her gut feeling.  “Will you be around later?”

“Yeah, I should be.”

“Would you like to come over for dinner?  I was planning on grilling out tonight and I’m sure my roomies would love to meet you.  They’re great people.  You could bring your dog, too.”

Brennan seemed to think for a moment before flashing another one of those amazing smiles.  “Yeah, I’d like that.”  He motioned Adah to the door, “I’ll walk you downstairs.”

Adah felt the butterflies well up in her stomach as his hand gently touched the small of her back as they walked down the stairs.  This time she knew that these butterflies had nothing to do with the baby.  It was probably silly of her to be getting her hopes up, but she was extremely attracted to this man and she was hoping he might feel the same of her.  Of course, it made things really complicated that she was pregnant with another man’s baby, but that couldn’t really be helped.  Brennan seemed nice enough and he hadn’t seemed to weirded out by the pregnancy, so she hoped that they could at least become friends.

“What time should I show up?”  Brennan’s voice broke her thoughts as they reached the door leading to the outside.

“Oh, we usually eat around 7 o’clock, but you can show up at anytime.  We usually just hang out and have some wine or whatever before we put the food on the grill.”

“Sounds good.  I’ll be there.”

“Good.”  Adah waved as she turned toward her car, giddy with the thought that she’d get to see more of this man later on.  She stepped into her car and watched as he turned toward a jeep and greeted a very exuberant Lab, and while his back was to her she took some time to admire the view.  He was wearing some very nice jeans that accented his very nice ass.

Yep.  Must be the pregnancy hormones.

~*~

Trace tapped the envelope against his knee, trying to decide what he wanted to do. 

It was an envelope from Adah and he was sure that it was the paternity tests, but he wasn’t sure if he should open it or not.  Part of him was sure that she was telling the truth, but there was another part that needed to see the proof.  It wasn’t that that was bothering him, though, it was what he should do with that proof once he had it that was the problem.

Justin had been a royal pain in his ass lately.  Ever since the dinner where he made everyone look like an ass, including Adah, Trace hadn’t been very happy with his best friend.  Justin refused to talk about what was going on, and he was avoiding talking to anyone about the baby situation.  Trace thought that he was being childish and irresponsible with the whole thing and he’s said so to Justin on a few occasions.

Going with his gut, he tore open the manila envelope and dumped the contents out, removing the papers from the other envelope that was inside.  He took a minute to read through them, his eyes digesting the information he found there.

Here it was.  Justin Timberlake was going to be a father.

Trace sat back against the couch, contemplating his next move.  He really wanted to march downstairs and interrupt Justin’s dinner to throw this information in his face.  The man had been such a prick lately, he deserved to be taken down a few notches.  He also deserved to be outted for all the lying he’d been doing lately.  Because he had told Gina that Trace’s “girlfriend” was pregnant, Trace had started to field questions from Lynn and his own mother about why he hadn’t said anything before and where was this new girl?  

It was making things really, really complicated and Trace hated that he’d been put into this situation.

Knowing that he was probably making a huge mistake, Trace decided to do it anyway.  Justin needed to start living with the consequences of his actions.

It only took a few minutes for the elevator to take Trace downstairs.  Justin was in one of the hotel’s restaurants eating with Gina, Lynn and Paul.  Now was the best time to reveal all of the singer’s dirty secrets, and it was giving Trace a sick sense of satisfaction to be the one to do it.

The hostess gladly led Trace to the table in the back where he spotted Justin and everyone else enjoying their meals. 

This was probably going to cause a riot.

“Hey Trace, I thought you couldn’t join us tonight?”  Lynn stood and kissed him on the cheek, motioning to a chair so he would sit with them.

“I can’t, I just had something I needed to give to Justin.”  At the mention of his name, Justin looked up at Trace with a questioning glance.

“What’s up, man?”  He spotted the envelope in Trace’s had and his eyes widened.

“I just have the paternity results from Adah’s test.”  Trace threw the papers down onto the table, his anger taking over slightly.  “Congrats, man.  You’re having a baby.”

The shock and silence that settled over the table was palpable as everyone absorbed what Trace had just declared.  

But then everything erupted at once.

Questions flew around the table and it was difficult to figure out who was asking what.  Justin’s angry eyes locked on to Trace’s and the two men stared in silence, ignoring the questions and shouts from the rest of the table.

“How could you?”  Was Justin’s only question, his voice laced with anger and hurt.

“I didn’t.” Trace replied.  “You did.  And there’s the proof, right there.”

Justin had been in a lot of awkward, uncomfortable situations in his life, but this one certainly took the cake.

They didn’t even finish the rest of their meal because no one would stop talking and asking questions and Justin didn’t want to talk about it while they were in public.  He was pissed that Trace would drop that kind of news while he was at dinner with his parents and his girlfriend, and all Justin really wanted to do was punch Trace in the face.

His mother wouldn’t stop staring at him and Gina wouldn’t even look at him.  The papers had been passed around the table after Trace’s little declaration, and Justin didn’t even need to look at them to know what they said.

He was going to be a father.

That thought stuck in his throat and made it difficult to breathe. 

He had tried to forget about Adah while he was out on tour.  He hardly knew the girl and he knew even less about being a father.  Thinking about her and the situation made him anxious and he really didn’t need to be distracted while he was out on tour.  Of course, all Gina did was mention Trace and his new baby, which made it pretty difficult to forget about Adah and…his baby.

“Are you going to explain any of this to us, Justin?”  It wasn’t a surprise that his mother was the first to break the silence.  “How could you get a girl pregnant and not even mention it to us?”

“I didn’t really know if the baby was mine until tonight.”  Was his response, even though he knew it was a lame one.

“Right, but you had to have had an idea.  I mean, you slept with the girl, didn’t you?”

“Obviously.”

“Don’t give me attitude.  You’re not in a position to be upset at the moment.”  He finally took a chance to look at his mother and there were tear stains on her cheeks and her eyes were wet.  He felt like an ass, but he also felt like he should be getting just a little sympathy.  He had no idea what he was doing but all anyone could do was attack him.

“What’s going on, Justin?  I think we deserve an explanation, at least.”  Gina spoke for the first time, her usually bubbly voice was flat and thick with tears.  He knew he should have said something to her from the beginning, but she’d been away shooting the film and he wasn’t sure where to start.  He wasn’t sure where to start with anyone, but all three pairs of eyes were waiting for him to give answers.

“All right…”  This was going to be a long night.

~*~

“Adah! There’s a gorgeous hunk of man-meat standing at our door asking for you!”  Sam’s voice carried through the living room and in to the kitchen where Adah started to blush.  She dropped the hand towel she was holding and rushed out to grab Brennan before Sam had too much time with him.

“Hey Brennan, you’ll have to forgive my roommate here.  We don’t let her out much.”  Adah was happy to see Brennan was smiling, and she was even happier to spot the yellow Lab sitting anxiously at his side.  “And who’s this?”  She crouched as much as her belly would allow and started to scratch the dog’s chin, getting attacked with kisses.

“This is Ranger.  Sorry about the drool.”  Brennan tugged on his leash, hoping that bringing his dog wasn’t a terrible idea.  But Adah seemed smitten with the puppy and he was starting praise himself for bringing Ranger.  As strange as it sounded, Brennan was pretty nervous to be seeing Adah again.  He’d truly enjoyed getting to meet her before and he hoped that they’d have a chance to sit and talk some more.

“Don’t worry, Adah’s used to drool, Sam does it all the time.”  Brett came into the living room, shaking hands with Brennan.  “I’m Brett, the third Stooge.” 

“Hey, I’m Brennan, the new neighbor.”  He gestured to the door across the hall.  “This is Ranger.”

“Well come on in, man.  Don’t mind the girls, they’ll be hanging all over that dog for the rest of the night, especially Adah.”  Brennan walked further into the apartment, allowing Adah and Sam to walk off with his dog while he happily accepted the cold beer from Brett.  “How’s the move going?”

“Not too bad.  Just trying to go one box at a time.”

“Adah told us she’d run into you while you were moving.”  Brett eyed the other man carefully, his protective side starting to come out.  Adah was already in one predicament with the baby on the way, he didn’t want some sleazy neighbor coming into her life and messing things up even more.

“Yeah, she helped me with a box.  She’s a really nice girl, I’m glad she invited me over tonight.”  Brett watched Brennan watch Adah.  “She’s great with Ranger.”

“Yeah, she’s a dog trainer.  Give that dog and hour with Ads and you won’t even recognize him.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”  He took a long swallow of beer, unsure of whether he should ask the question that had been weighing on his mind.  “So…is Adah’s boyfriend coming?”  He obviously knew that Adah didn’t have a boyfriend; she’d already told him that.  But he wasn’t really sure how to approach the topic of her being pregnant.

“She doesn’t have one.”  Brett turned to stare at the other man, knowing what was on his mind.  “It’s Adah’s story to tell, but she is having this baby on her own.  Anything more than that, she’s going to have to give the details.”

“Oh.”

The two men were left in a relatively awkward silence until Ranger came barreling back into the room with the two girls close behind.  Adah seemed to glow, the smile lighting up her face. 

“Sorry, you must be hungry. I’m just having so much fun with your dog.  I’ll finish up with dinner.”  She brushed past them, disappearing into the kitchen as Brennan’s eyes followed.

He was really unsure about what was going through his head.  He was instantly attracted to Adah when they met in the hallway, but when he discovered he was pregnant it changed things a little.  He had just moved to L.A. from New York and he wasn’t really looking for anything serious.  Getting involved with a pregnant woman seemed serious.  Then again, he had no idea about what her story was and he wouldn’t know unless he asked.  They’d just met and he was only going on physical attraction, but they were going to be neighbors and he’d be an idiot not to get to know her better.

“You’re thinking too hard, just enjoy the night.”  Brett’s voice broke Brennan from his thoughts.  He looked up to see Brett handing him a fresh beer and he offered the other man a smile.

“Sorry, just a lot on my mind, I guess.”

“Yeah, I can tell.  But Adah is a really good cook and she’s making some of her best dishes.  You should probably get in there before Sam eats it all.”  Brennan laughed and Brett gave him a look, “I’m not kidding.  She’s tiny, but Sam can put it away like no other.”

With that, the two men made their way into the kitchen amidst the sounds of laughter and the smells of something really savory cooking.  So far, Brennan couldn’t complain about the move.

~*~

“I had a great time tonight, thanks for having me over.”  Adah walked Brennan across the hall, Ranger at their sides.

“I’m glad you came.  I had a great time, too.”  She smiled at him, running her hands through Ranger’s fur as they reached his door.  “Just stop by or give me a call when you want some help with training this one.  I’ll be happy to give you some pointers.”

“Thanks.”  Brennan grabbed his keys, reluctant to leave.  “I had a great time.”

Adah laughed, “You said that already.”

“I did.  Sorry.”  He rubbed the back of his head, a move that made Adah instantly think of Justin and her good mood faltered slightly.  “I guess I’m a little nervous.”

Willing her focus back to the man in front of her, Adah smiled.  “Eh, don’t worry about it.  I’ll see you soon?”

“Absolutely.”  He leaned over and gave Adah a light kiss on the cheek, making her blush.  “Goodnight Adah.”

“Night.”

She waved at him as he entered his apartment, Ranger happily trotting inside.  With a deep breath, Adah made her way across the hall and back into her own apartment.  She had such an amazing night just talking and laughing with Brett, Sam, and Brennan.  It was unfortunate that Justin kept popping into her mind just when she thought she’d forgotten him.

Sometime after dinner Adah had checked her phone and found a couple of texts from Trace, telling her that he’d given the paternity test results to Justin and now Justin’s mom wanted to talk with Adah and meet her sometime.  Justin’s lawyers also wanted to set up a meeting because arrangements needed to be made.  Nothing had come from Justin himself.  If Adah were being honest, she’d have to admit that she was disappointed about that fact.  No that Justin really owed her anything,  but she was hoping that with the news that he really was the father, he’d make a little bit more of an effort to get to know the mother of his child.  He could just be busy, she reminded herself, but it didn’t really help.

While Brennan had presented one of the best looking distractions Adah had ever seen, she still couldn’t help but think about the fact that her dream about having a family didn’t look like the reality she was in.  She found herself thinking about what it might be like if she and Justin got to know each other and ended up together, making it Mommy, Daddy, and Baby.  It was a stretch, she knew, but she couldn’t help herself.

Laughter broke Adah from her thoughts and she decided to ignore the texts and forget about Justin for the night.  She was in a good mood and she’d had a great time…she wasn’t about to let Justin ruin it.  He’s already turned her life upside down; she wasn’t going to let him take this night, too.

Of course, she knew that once she woke up in the morning she was going to have to face this reality head on.

But not tonight.

Since the arrival of the paternity results, Justin’s life had been turned upside down.  If he was honest with himself, his world had been starting to tip ever since he met Adah James, but he blamed the paternity results for the craziness of the past few weeks.

Gina would no longer talk to him and he was fairly sure that their relationship was over.  He couldn’t blame her, but it still stung.  He had wanted to tell her, but they hadn’t spent much time together since she’d been filming in Europe and he was afraid that sharing this bit of information would ruin everything.  He was right.  He knew that there wasn’t anyone to blame but himself, he did, but it was easier to put some of that blame on Adah.

His lawyers had been throwing shit fits ever since they’d read the document.  All sorts of contracts and agreements had been drawn up for he and Adah to sign, and he was being pressured to get in touch with her so plans could be made.  So far, Adah wasn’t returning his calls, but he knew that she’d spoken with Trace a few times since she’d sent the results.  It was starting to frustrate Justin, but he could understand Adah’s hesitance to bring herself into the madness of his life.

The worst part, though, was by-far, his mother.  Lynn had been nagging Justin constantly for Adah to join them on tour so she could meet her and get to know the mother of her grandchild.  She constantly expressed her disappointment in his decisions and would settle for his “I don’t know” when she asked him questions.  Justin also had the strong suspicion that while his mother wasn’t so old fashioned that she expected Justin and Adah to get married, she at least thought that they should be in a relationship.

“Being a single mother isn’t easy, Justin.  Adah’s going to need you to be there for her,” seemed to be her constant mantra. 

The one time that Justin countered back with “you managed it,” he got a very dirty look. 

“So this is something you’d wish upon you’re child?  And I had your Dad to help.”  After that she gave him the silent treatment for the rest of the day.

She, of course, was referring to Paul, who also took every opportunity to question Justin on his intentions with Adah and this baby.  It was starting to get to be too much to handle.  There was still over a month left of his tour and he couldn’t wait for it to be over.  This upset him just as much as the hounding did.  He loved performing and he loved his fans.  The two hours that he was on stage each night was euphoric and helped him forget about this whole mess, but it was starting to not be enough anymore.  He was stressed and felt that he had no where to turn.  Even Rachel, who didn’t want to believe Adah at first, was giving Justin the evil eye and telling him to step up and be a man.

He wanted to get away and just have some time to think it all through.  He barely knew this girl and didn’t know what he wanted to happen.  Of course he was going to help her with the baby, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t scared shitless.  He had no idea what to do, and he felt helpless while he was out on tour.  He could call and ask Adah to come join them, but that would just throw her into more madness than he wanted to subject her to.  It was crazy to think that they could get to know each other while he was busy with performing, meetings, promotions, and everything else that came with a tour.

As far as Justin could figure, he was screwed.  Which was ironic, considering that it was screwing that got him here in the first place.

~*~

“No, not like that.  Try it this way.”  Adah took the leash from Brennan’s hands and led Ranger around in a small circle, making the dog heel as they walked.

“I really don’t get the difference.”  Brennan commented, smiling as he watched the two make their way back toward him. 

“It’s how you hold the leash.  If you get them used to being next to you with the leash, you’ll eventually be able to take them off of it and they’ll stick with you.”  She handed him back the leash, rubbing Ranger behind the ears.

“I’m not sure I believe you, but I just saw you do it, so…”  He grinned at her.

Adah and Brennan had been spending a lot of time together since the party at Adah’s apartment.  They had a lot of fun hanging out together and they were starting to build a strong friendship.  Nothing had been said about anything further than friendship, but Adah’s growing belly seemed to stop any of those conversations.  Things weren’t awkward, but neither of them felt comfortable moving past friendship.  At least not yet.

“Are you hungry?”  He asked, moving them over to the blanket he’d set up. 

“Oh, definitely.  I know the doctor’s told me that I’m not really supposed to eat like I’m eating for two, but I swear this baby gets hungrier than I ever did.”  She rubbed her swelling bump, feeling the baby kick as she did.  She was now six and a half months along and she mostly felt like a beached whale.  Of course it had to be late summer, so it was sweltering outside all the time and Adah felt like she never stopped sweating.

It didn’t help that she had a furnace attached to her stomach.

“Here you go,”  Brennan’s voice broke her out of her reverie, a sandwich in his hand. 

“Thanks.”  She gladly took the sandwich, savoring the taste.  Cheese.  This whole pregnancy she’d been craving cheese.  So she was eating a ham and cheese, heavy on the cheese.  To most, it was probably gross, but Adah couldn’t get enough.

“So, any more thoughts on names or anything?”  The past few weeks talk about the baby had been focused around names.  Adah felt slightly guilty that she hadn’t included Justin in this thought process, but that soon faded when she’d been bombarded with calls from his lawyers and only two from Justin himself.

“I don’t know.  I can’t seem to narrow it down.  Just when I think I’ve picked one, I change my mind.”

“It might help if you knew if it was going to be a boy or a girl.”  He chided.

“Yeah, yeah.  So I’ve been told.”  Adah had decided that she wanted the sex of the baby to be a surprise, so she didn’t let the technician tell her.  Call her old fashioned, but she liked the idea of not knowing.  Everyone told her that it would be so much easier if she knew now, but she wanted to be surprised.  It was an exciting thing to guess about.

“So,” Brennan cleared his throat, indicating an awkward or uncomfortable question about to happen.  “What about the father?  Does he have anything to say about the name?”

Adah set down her sandwich, wiping at her mouth before taking a sip of iced tea.  “Uhm, well…”  she trailed off.  How to answer this question.  “To be honest, I don’t really know the father all that well.  It was a one night stand and he’s a pretty busy guy, so I don’t see him very often.”

“But he knows about the baby?”  Brennan couldn’t look at Adah, if only because he felt like he was being too nosey, but he couldn’t help it.  He really wanted to know.

“Yeah, he knows.  It’s a pretty complicated situation and I think both of us are just trying to get used to the idea that we’re even having a baby.”  Adah wasn’t sure why she was defending Justin and his absenteeism, but she was. 

“What keeps him so busy that he can’t be around to help?  I mean, I’ve seen you struggle with just about everything at this point and Sam and Brett are the only two that I know that help you.”  It was probably out of line,  but Brennan felt protective over Adah and he was really upset that whoever knocked her up couldn’t be man enough to take care of her.

“He’s…” Adah hesitated, not wanting to reveal the paternity of her baby.  “He’s got a job that has him traveling a lot.  I’m sure he’d be here if he could, but right now he’s not even in L.A.”  Adah was starting to get really uncomfortable with this conversation.  “I’m sorry, it’s kind of a sore subject right now, can we change the subject?”  Her eyes pleaded with his and he instantly felt like a jackass.

“Of course, I didn’t mean to pry.  I’m sorry.”

“It’s OK, I think I’m just hormonal.”  The meager joke seemed enough to break the tension between the two and the subject instantly changed to lighter topics.  Brennan enjoyed getting to know this girl and he really liked her company.  She was funny and sincere and she made him comfortable.  He was well aware that circumstances were anything but normal, but he was OK with that for right now.  He just wanted to take his time in getting to know her.

“So Brennan, I don’t even know what you do for a living.”  Adah stated, surprised that she really didn’t know what his job was.

“Oh, I’m a photographer.  Mostly I do ad campaigns that involve landscapes or things like that, but occasionally I’ll shoot a celebrity or two.  Most girls are pretty excited to learn that I’ve even worked with Justin Timberlake before.”  He chuckled, noting the widening of Adah’s eyes at the mention of the singer’s name.  Most people reacted that way. 

She started coughing, choking on the sip of tea she just took.  Brennan patted her on the back, hoping to help her breathe normally again.  “I’m sorry, you just caught me off guard with that one.”  She held a hand to her chest only to feel her heart beating erratically.  Of course he had to mention Justin’s name just as Adah had started to forget about the man.  And of course Justin had to be one of the few celebrities that Brennan had worked with.

“It’s Ok, I get a reaction like that a lot.  That man is immensely popular.”

“Yeah, well…I can probably think of a few reasons why but I don’t really want to.”  She left it at that, quickly changing the subject by asking him questions about the other pictures he’d taken and if she’d seen any of his work anywhere. 

Adah really liked Brennan and she was happy to have found someone that she got along with so well.  It seemed effortless when they were together and she liked that.  There was so much going on in her life at the moment that it was really nice to have someone that was so relaxed and easy-going.  He made her laugh and took her mind off of everything for a bit.  Obviously she knew that she was going to have to face reality sooner or later and discuss things with Justin and his lawyers, but she wasn’t ready for that circus yet.  It was overwhelming enough to deal with being pregnant; fully acknowledging that it was Justin Timberlake’s baby was a whole other level.  It wasn’t going to be a simple discussion of weekends or weeknights, and she was fully aware of that.  It was going to be contracts and agreements and wavers that essentially made her a slave to Justin’s wishes.  If he didn’t want her to be known to the public, she wasn’t going to be.

Adah didn’t want any of that, though.  She wasn’t looking to become a celebrity, especially not for this.  She could only imagine the scrutiny she’d be under if it got out that she was the mother to Justin’s offspring.  No thanks.

What worried Adah the most had nothing to do with Justin’s fame, though.  She didn’t know what kind of father he wanted to be.  For all she knew he was going to settle for handing her a chunk of cash and call it good.  And while it might be easier if she pretended he didn’t exist, she didn’t want her baby to grow up without knowing his or her father.  She hoped that she and Justin could come to some sort of an arrangement that allowing them to both parent and have time with the baby without all of the crazy legal mess of custody or anything of the sort.  It probably wasn’t going to be that easy, she knew, but she could still hope.

“Adah?  Are you with me?  You spaced.”  Brennan’s hand waved past her eyes and Adah jumped, realizing that she had spaced out on him.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to ignore you.”  She blushed.

“It’s fine.  I just asked if you were ready to get out of here.”

“Oh, yeah.  I think I need a nap.”  She rubbed her belly, letting Brennan give her a hand out of the lawn chair she’d been sitting in.  “This pregnancy thing really makes me tired.”

“I don’t doubt it.  You probably created a lung today or something.”  Adah couldn’t help the laughter that bubbled from her mouth at that comment.

“You’re might be right!”  She giggled, “I’m definitely going to take a nap now.  I deserve one.”  She helped him pack the food and blanket into the bags and they started to walk back to his car.

“Yeah, I just wonder what Ranger did to think he’s so deserving of a nap.”  He’d stopped walking to stare at the Labrador that was still passed out on the grass.  “He wouldn’t even bring back the ball we threw.  Lazy ass.”

“Not lazy, just smart.  He knew if he brought it back you’d throw it for him again.”  She quipped, calling Ranger over to them.  It took a minute, but the dog responded and trotted over to their sides.

“Right.  Lazy.” 

“Maybe it’s like sympathy sleepiness.  You know, like husbands will gain sympathy weight.  Maybe Ranger is just tired because he’s sympathizing with my condition.”

Brennan gave Adah a long look before letting out a low chuckle.  “Maybe.  But I think he’s just lazy.”

She shrugged, enjoying the laughter sparkling in his eyes.  Whatever happened with this whole mess, Adah was certain that she wanted Brennan in her life as much as possible.

Adah sat in her living room, Brennan perched on the couch next to her and Ranger curled up, snoring, at her feet.  She and Brennan were bickering over which model they thought was prettier on America’s Next Top Model.  It was a marathon and Adah had roped Brennan into watching with her.  He was being a good sport about it, but she figure it was mostly because he didn’t want to make her upset; her hormones were off the charts these days.

“Seriously? The brunette?  She’s funny looking.  Her face is…square!”  Adah pointed at the screen, giving Brennan an incredulous look. 

“She’s prettier than the red head.  I would’ve figured you for more of a blond girl, anyway.”  Adah laughed, looking up when a knock sounded on her door.  “I’ll bet Sam forgot her keys again.”  Brennan quipped.

“Nah, she’d be making more noise.”  Adah waddled over to the door, taking a sharp breath when she spotted Trace standing on the other side.  “Hi.”

“Hey Adah.  Sorry to barge in, I spoke to Sam earlier and she told me you’d be home this afternoon.”  He walked through the door, not waiting to be invited in.  Trace stopped short when he spotted the other man on the couch.  “Hey.”

“Hey.  I’m Brennan.”  He stood, offering his hand which Trace took quickly, sending a questioning look in Adah’s direction.

“Brennan’s my neighbor and my friend.  He was keeping me and my sore feet some company.”  She wasn’t quite sure why she felt like she had to explain herself, but she did.

“Cool.  It’s nice to meet you, man.”  Trace turned, giving Adah another look.  This time he was asking something different.

“Hey Bren, do you mind if I have a minute alone with Trace?  I’m sorry to cut this afternoon short…”  She trailed, not exactly sure how to ask or explain this situation. 

“Sure.  I should probably take Ranger for a walk anyway.  He looks like he needs to expend some energy.”  All eyes turned to the dog that was snoring loudly from the floor, eyes shut tight to everything.  It took a minute for Brennan to get Ranger moving, but after a quick goodbye to Adah and another stiff handshake with Trace, he was gone.

“So…”  Trace started, a questioning tone framing his word.

“So what?  Am I not allowed to have friends because I’m pregnant?  I must have missed that in all of those Mommy-to-be books I’ve been reading.”  Her tone was harsh, but she felt flustered.  What was she supposed to think of Trace showing up out of the blue?

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to make any assumptions.”  He looked truly remorseful, so Adah let it go, hoping to calm her mounting nerves.  “I’m actually here as a favor for someone else.”

“Justin?”  She hated the hopeful voice that came out of her mouth, but she’d be lying if she said she didn’t want to speak with the man.  She’d done a lot of thinking over the past few weeks and she really wanted to make a friendship work with Justin.  She wanted them to be able to raise this baby together without any awkwardness or tension.

“Actually, his mom.”  Adah almost choked on her breath.  She coughed, tapping her chest lightly.

“His mom?”  She stepped back, taking a seat on the couch.  Why would his mom want to see her?

Trace answered as if he’d read her thoughts.  “Well, it’s her grandbaby you’re having.  She wanted to get to know you.”  Trace let out a sigh, taking a seat next to Adah.  “Look, Adah, even though Justin still has his head up his ass doesn’t mean the rest of us don’t care about what’s going on.  We were just waiting, hoping that he’d take the first step, but since he hasn’t…well, here I am.  Lynn wanted to know if you might meet her for lunch or something.  She’s in L.A. for the rest of the week and she really wants to meet you and get a chance to get to know you.”  He paused, adding, “She feels really bad for the situation you’re in.”

Adah sat in silence trying to absorb everything she’d just heard.  She was really happy that Lynn was willing to get to know her and that the woman didn’t hate her, but she was extremely nervous at the same time.  What if they didn’t get along?  What if Lynn decided that she was just some fame-whore and she didn’t want Adah having anything to do with her son?  Of course that wasn’t the case, but who knew how this woman would react.  It didn’t take too much thought, though, because if Adah wanted to get anywhere with Justin she would have to have some sort of relationship with his family, too.

“When does she want to meet?”  She looked up at Trace, her blue eyes wide.

“Actually, she was hoping you might want to get lunch right now.  I’d go with you, if you wanted.  She thought maybe you could get together again this week, too, if you were OK with it.”

Adah took a deep breath.  “Uh, yeah.  Yeah, that’s fine.  Where are we going?  Should I change?”  She and Trace looked down at the skirt and loose fitting blouse she was wearing. 

“No, you look fine.  Are you ready?”

“I guess so.”  She grabbed her purse, following Trace out the door in a slight daze.

It was a short drive to the small bistro where Lynn was waiting.  Trace called her while they were in the car, and Adah wondered how this meeting was going to go.  She was open and willing to try…but she was scared as shit.

“You’ll be OK, Adah.  Lynn is a really sweet woman, and she’s on your side in this.”  Trace laid a gentle hand over Adah’s as he pulled into the parking lot next to Lynn’s car.  He felt that it should be Justin bringing Adah to this first meeting, but the situation being what it was, he was here instead.

Trace hadn’t really talked to Justin in a few weeks, but he knew that things were weighing heavily on his best friend’s mind.  Justin could hide a lot of things from a lot of people, but Trace knew him really well and he was stressing over this baby situation.  That didn’t let him off the hook for how he was handling everything, but at least Trace knew that he wasn’t ignoring everything.  Knowing Justin, he was playing everything close to the chest until he could figure it all out and make some concrete decisions.

“Here goes nothing.”  Adah whispered.  Trace gave her an encouraging smile and held the door to the bistro open.

“Everything will be fine.”

The two made their way to the back of the restaurant.  Adah immediately spotted the curly haired blond that she knew to be Justin’s mother.  She wouldn’t admit it to anyone, but she’d been looking Justin up on-line because she was curious about the man that she was having a baby with.  From her searches she’d turned up a lot about Lynn and she knew that Justin and his mother were really close.  She was afraid that Lynn was going to take Justin’s side in all of this, but Trace had assured her that she wouldn’t.

As they approached the table, Lynn stood, giving Adah an encouraging smile and a hug.  “It’s great to meet you.”  Lynn glanced down at Adah’s belly, her hand stretched to touch her.  “Can I?”

“Sure.”  Adah felt awkward having a complete stranger touch her stomach, but this was the grandmother to this baby and Adah could tell that she was excited.  It also happened that the baby was doing summersaults in her stomach and Adah moved Lynn’s hand over so she could feel the baby moving.

“Oh!  How exciting!”  Tears started to well in the older woman’s eyes and Adah’s self-conscious feelings grew.  “I’m sorry, darlin’, I just never thought I’d see this.”

Lynn stepped away from Adah and they all sat down, pausing in conversation to give the waitress their orders and get settled.  A stiff silence moved around the table, awkwardness rising.

It was Lynn that broke the silence, her bubbly smiles fading to a serious gaze directed at Adah.  Adah’s hands instinctively went to her stomach as she prepared herself for the worst.  “You’ll have to forgive me, Adah, because I’m going to be a little forward at the moment.  What is it that you want from my son?”

Adah took a deep breath.  She could answer this question.  “I want to raise my baby the best way possible, Mrs. Harless.  I want to be able to give it the best chance I can, and I’d really like to have it’s father with me to help raise it.  I know that things are complicated, but I’m not looking for anything from Justin other than support for this baby.  I don’t need money, I don’t want fame.  All I want is to be able to give our baby everything he or she could ever need.”

“No money?  No fame?”  Lynn’s question seemed innocent enough.

“No.  Well, not unless I need help with something for the baby.  I don’t make a ton of money on my own, so I might need Justin to chip in sometimes.” 

Adah squirmed as Lynn’s eyes moved over her, studying.  It felt like hours, but it was probably only moments before Lynn let out the breath she was holding and nodded her head.  “OK then.”

“OK?”  Adah wasn’t quite sure what that was supposed to mean.

“OK.  I believe you and I trust that you mean what you say.  So, OK.  That’s that.”

“It’s really that easy?”  Adah wasn’t quite sure she believed that it could be so simple.  She didn’t think that it was truly that easy for things to be all right between the two of them, although she hoped it was.

Lynn’s smile lit her face and Adah’s fears eased slightly.  “There’s still a lot to figure out, Adah, but yes…it’s that easy.”

Their conversation was interrupted by the arrival of their food.  Adah had almost forgotten that Trace was with them, but he gave her a silly grin and she was finally starting to feel comfortable.  Lynn was right, there was still a whole hell of a lot to figure out, but it was nice to think that the two of them could at least be civil and start to work toward a relationship before the baby was born.

“So, would you like to go shopping later?”  Lynn’s question startled Adah and she set her fork down, trying to finish the bite in her mouth.

“Shopping?”

“Oh Darlin’,  I’ve been waiting to become a Gramma for a long time now and I’m ready to spoil this child silly.  Do you need anything specific?  Clothes, bedding, blankets?”

Adah sat back against her chair, trying to take all of this in.  “I…I can’t pay you back right now...”

Lynn waved her hand, dismissing the sentence.  “You don’t have to pay me anything.  I want to do this, Adah.  I want to help you and get things for my grandchild.  Please, let me get some things.”

“Ok,” Adah nodded, still swimming with everything that had happened.  “Ok.”

While she was completely overwhelmed with all that was going on at the moment, Adah was finally starting to feel like she could handle this.  She was scared and worried, but now that there was another person in her corner, she was truly starting to feel like she could make this work.

All that could be heard was the rolling of the wheels across pavement and the clicking of the keys on his lap top.

Justin sat tucked in his bed, his door securely shut against the inquisition that always awaited him whenever he wasn’t alone.  Tonight he didn’t want to be giving answers; he didn’t want to have to feel their accusing gazes as they followed his every move.

He knew that he had handled this situation with Adah all wrong, but there wasn’t much he could do about all that now.  He had been shocked and scared about everything that was being thrown at him.  He knew that he needed to step up and take responsibility for his actions, and he was going to, he had just needed to get everything sorted out in his head first.

No one could expect him to suddenly drop everything he knew to take care of a girl he’d only met a handful of times and their soon-to-be baby, although that’s exactly what everyone expected.  It wasn’t that he’d wanted to ignore Adah and their situation, he just didn’t know the girl at all.  He knew that he’d wanted to have sex with her, that he thought she was beautiful, and now she was pregnant with his baby.  And then he had to handle going on tour, moving across country for three months.  Did they expect him to pack Adah up and take her with him so they could bond?  Honestly, everyone in his inner circle knew what touring was like.  It wasn’t fun all the time, and it wasn’t relaxing at the best of times.  Did they want a pregnant woman he barely knew to have to endure the constant travel, the terrible hours, and the intense attention from fans and media?

No, he wasn’t going to do that to Adah.  At first it was his fear that kept him from doing much, but then it was his knowledge that bringing her here wasn’t the right thing to do.  If he could, he would be trying to spend time with Adah before the baby arrived so they could get to know one another and try to figure out how this whole parenting things was going to work.  But right now he couldn’t.  Right now all he could do was wait until he actually had the time to spend on her.

And he could read as much about pregnancy and fatherhood as possible.

Justin found another site, this one explaining the gestation process and what to expect each week.  How far along was Adah now?  He didn’t have to think hard because the count down was constantly on his mind.  Seven months.  Adah was now seven months along, or 32 weeks.  He’d learned that if the baby was born prematurely now, it had a pretty good chance of survival.  He’d also learned that Adah was probably growing rapidly because the baby was gaining weight almost every day.  He grimaced at the memory of some of the pictures he’d seen.

Horror movies had nothing on pregnancy photos.

Of course he felt guilty when he read about all the things the father should be doing to help the mother at this point; back rubs, feet massages, special craving runs…but he had to push those thoughts out of his head.  This was the life he led and this was the way the situation went, he couldn’t change that.

Justin pushed the lap top away and let out a deep breath.  This was all so overwhelming.  He was scared and he was nauseous with the thought of being a father.  Even if he and Adah were madly in love and this was something they’d planned…he’d still be scared shitless.

His mom had informed him of her decision to go see Adah, and he was mostly relieved by that thought.  If anyone could make the situation seem possible, it was Lynn Harless.  He knew that he should probably call Adah and attempt to create some form of relationship with her, but he was waiting to be able to see her in person.

Justin knew that he was rationalizing the whole thing, but it made him feel better.

He had taken the initiative to contact Adah’s doctor and set up an arrangement so that when the time came, Adah and Justin could have total privacy while she delivered but her own doctor would be there.  There was a hospital in L.A. that had birthing suits and lots of security.  That was something he couldn’t compromise on, either.  No one could know about this baby outside of his inner circle.  The last thing he wanted was to subject Adah and his child to the craziness of the media.  As long as he could, Justin was going to keep them a secret.

He had also gotten a hold of the contractors and decorators that had renovated his house for him, and they were completing a nursery and a guest suite for Adah.  Justin had no idea if they would be able to work things out as far as any sort of relationship went between them, but she would need a place to stay and a place to keep the baby.  It wasn’t much, he knew that, but it was all that he could do while he was out on the road.  He knew it was time for him to step up and take care of his responsibilities, so he was.  Perhaps it wasn’t like everyone else hoped it would be, but Justin was doing the best he could.

A glance at the clock told him it was just past 2am.  Justin removed his glasses and let out a sign, rubbing the tension from his neck.

If he tried really hard, he could detach himself from everything and pretend that it was all a dream.  Mostly he did this to save his sanity.  He was so scared about become a parent with a woman he barely knew.  Thinking on it too much made him itchy and paranoid.

What if he wasn’t good enough?

What if he sucked at being a father and the baby hated him?

What if he and Adah could never make a friendship work between them?

What if the media caught wind of this?

What if…what if…what if…?

It was all so much to take in.  He had always thought that the family and the kids would come well after he was through getting everything out of his system.  He was closing in on thirty, but he was still no where near ready to quit the music and the movies to focus on family.  If he had his way, he wouldn’t be having kids for another six or seven years.  If he’d learned anything from his mother and father, it was to wait for marriage and family when he was truly ready to devote all of his attention and time on them.  He didn’t want to look back and feel as if he missed out on something because he got married or had kids too soon.

Or course, that wasn’t how things had happened.  He couldn’t blame Adah, and he couldn’t change it all.  He just had to accept the reality of it and move forward as best he could.  It probably wasn’t enough for everyone else, but it was the best he was capable of at the time being.  He’d just have to wait until the tour was over before he could devote all of his attention to Adah and the baby.

Three more weeks.

Three more weeks and he would be back in L.A. facing the scariest moments of his life.

The baby was something he could avoid thinking about, just because it wasn’t here yet.  If he were honest with himself, he was more scared about what might happen between him and Adah.  He hoped that a friendship would be possible, just because it would make things easier.  He had no idea if they would get along, and that truly worried him.  There was no way he could avoid her, or distance himself from her, if things went sour.  They would forever be connected because of their baby.

He knew it sounded silly, but he wasn’t as worried about the baby.  Sure, he had no idea what he was doing as far as being a father, but he knew that somehow it would work out.  Somehow this baby would love him, just for being its father.  He also knew that he had his mother on his side and she would be happy to help him learn about being a father.  So the baby he thought he could handle.  He was secretly wishing for it to be a boy, because he knew that a boy would be so much easier.  He could teach him about basketball and other sports.  He and Paul could take him golfing when he was big enough.  He’d teach him about making good decisions with women (and always using condoms!). 

A little girl, on the other hand…that would be truly difficult.  He didn’t know how to throw tea parties, or braid hair, or pick out dresses.  He had no idea if he would connect with her through sports or music.  What if she didn’t like those things?  He sure as hell didn’t want to think about her growing up and starting to like boys. 

“Justin?”  His mini panic attack was interrupted by a knock on the door and a soft voice.  Rachel had been cautious around him lately and he knew it was because she was upset with him.  “We’re almost at the hotel.  Do you want to check in tonight or just stay on the bus?”

He pondered for a moment.  “I’m gonna crash here, Rach.  Come get me in the morning.  You go check in though, get some sleep.”

He heard her walk away from his door, the speed of the bus shifting as it exited the highway.  There were a lot of nights that he spent on the bus, just because he was too tired to check into the hotels.  The bed was comfortable enough, and it felt a little more private here.  He didn’t have to deal with over-friendly receptionists, or the prying eyes of the hotel staff.  He could just lock his door and curl up with his dogs.

Justin knew that he had a lot of things to fix with his family and with Adah.  Once the tour was over things were probably going to get a hell of a lot harder for him, but he would handle it. 

The incessant ringing of her cell phone shook Adah from the nap she’d been taking on her couch.  It took her a moment to gain her bearings, but soon enough she spotted the sleek, silver device that was rattling across her coffee table.

“Hello?”  Her voice was thick with sleep and she hoped it wasn’t a client.

“Hey…It’s Justin.”  Those three words were enough to stop Adah’s heart with a solid thud, only to have it re-start again with a flutter.

“Hi.”  She wasn’t sure what was supposed to be said here.  She hadn’t actually spoken to Justin since the fateful night out to dinner with Trace and Gina.  She was angry and confused, but she was also hopeful and it was a strange combination of emotions.

“I’m sorry that I haven’t called in a while.” He cleared his throat, the nerves evident in his shaky tone.  “I’ve just been busy with the tour and everything.”

A moment of red-hot anger flashed across Adah’s cheeks.  “Yeah, well, I’ve been pretty busy too.  You know, giving life to you child and all.”  She wished she could take the words back as soon as she’d spit them out, but it was too late.

Adah didn’t want things to be strained or awkward between the two of them.  Obviously they were going to have to work at getting to know each other and things couldn’t be all sunshine and roses from the get-go, but she also knew that there didn’t have to be animosity.

“I deserved that.”  He responded; a touch more confidence seeping into his voice as he continued.  “I’m sorry that I haven’t been around, Adah.  I have no excuses and I can’t take it back, but I’m hoping that we might be able to….I don’t know…start over?”

“Start over?  What you think that this is some game?  I--”

He cut her off.  “That didn’t come out how I wanted it to.”  He sighed, obviously this wasn’t going how he had planned.  “Can I come over?  Or can we meet up or something?  I really think we have a lot to talk about.”

Adah was stuck dumb for a moment.  Now he wanted to talk?  She was three weeks away from popping out their kid and he picked now to talk? 

The little voice in her head reminded her, better late than never.

“Uh, yeah.  Sure.”  She licked her lips, hoping to bring some moisture back to the dry skin.  “You can come here if you’d like.  Sam and Brett will be home later, though.”

“That’s fine.  That’s cool.”  She could hear the relief in his voice and it calmed her nerves some.  If he could relax, so could she.  “I’ll be there in ten.”

Adah said her goodbyes and folded the phone shut.  She set in on the coffee table, staring at the device and wondering if she’d just dreamed that whole conversation.  Was Justin Timberlake really coming to her apartment right now?  Were they really going to sit down and discuss the impending birth of their baby and what that meant for the two of them? 

Her head spun with all of the questions.

She carefully lifted herself from the couch, using the arm rest to support her unsteady frame.  The weight of the baby had dropped considerably, and most of her belly sat taught between her hip bones.  She hadn’t been able to see her feet for the past month and a half.  Her legs were only shaved because Sam had taken pity on her and did the job for her when she asked.  Lately she hadn’t really cared what she looked like because she felt like a beached whale.  A kick to the ribs broke Adah from her thoughts and she rubbed her side instinctively.

“Yeah, I know.  I need to relax.”  She patted her belly, breathing a little deeper when the fluttering settled and the baby stopped dancing across her abdomen. 

Adah made her way into the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge.  Thinking on it, she grabbed a second one and headed back out to the living room.  She might as well be comfortable when he got here.  Before sitting back down on the couch, she unlocked the door so he could let himself in.

A moment later a knock sounded, followed by his voice.  “Adah?  It’s me.”

“The door’s open.”  She called, propping a pillow behind her back so she could sit more comfortably.

He entered the apartment, looking out of place against the pale white of the walls.  He had a black jacket on over a dark gray t-shirt, his jeans a deep denim blue as well.  The contrast was slightly startling and Adah felt the nerves return full-force.  She blamed the butterflies on the baby.

“Hey.”  His greeting was soft.  His feet shuffled against the carpet and he wasn’t sure what to do next.

“Come on in, have a seat.”  He started into the room, grateful to have something to do.  “I grabbed you a water,” Adah pointed to the un-opened bottle sitting next to hers on the table.

“Thanks.”  He sat himself in the recliner across the room, facing her.  His stance was rigid, tense with his nerves.

The two sat in a strange silence for what felt like an eternity.

“Listen, I--”

“Justin, we--”

The both stopped and started at the same time, chuckling at their awkwardness.  “You first,”  Adah prompted, taking a long, soothing sip of her water.

“I’m sorry about how I’ve been acting lately.”  He started again, his eyes cast down to the carpet under his feet.  He toed a lint ball, avoiding her penetrating gaze and the ever-present belly that stared at him.  “I know that I really haven’t done the right thing by you, and I can’t apologize enough for not being here.  There’s a lot that I need to do to make it up to you, but I’m willing to try.”  He chanced a look at her, relaxing slightly when he saw the tiny smile on her face.  It was a sad smile, but it was a smile nonetheless.

“You don’t have to ‘make it up to me,’ Justin.  I just want to know if you’re going to be a part of this baby’s life or not.”

“Of course I am!”  He blurted, blushing crimson as soon as it happen.  “Of course I am,” this time he spoke softly.  “I want to help you take care of this…our baby.  You didn’t put yourself in this position alone, I was there too.  This baby is just as much my responsibility as it is yours.”

“How long did you have to practice that one in the mirror?”  Justin’s eyes snapped back up to Adah’s, but he only found laughter there.  “I’m sorry.  I shouldn’t be making fun of you.”  She took another long sip of her water and Justin reached for his, suddenly realizing how parched he really was.

“No, I deserve it.”  He swallowed half the bottle in a gulp.

“It doesn’t matter how long it took you to get here, Justin.  It just matters to me that you’re here.”

If her room mates could hear her, they would be telling her that she was letting him off the hook way too easily.  But Adah had been waiting and hoping for this moment for eight months now.  It didn’t really matter to her how it happened, she was just glad that it was finally here.

“We have a lot to talk about.”  His voice broke her from her reverie and she nodded.

“We do.”  She watched his legs bounce noiselessly, almost too fast to be possible.  She smiled at him.  “It’s going to be OK, Justin.”

He didn’t know if it was the tone of her voice or if it was just because he’d been waiting for someone to say those words to him since the beginning, but Justin finally started to feel like he could take a real, true breath.

He paused for a beat, the words hard to force out of his mouth.  “I’m scared shitless, Adah.”  Lack of confidence was something he rarely admitted, especially to virtual strangers.

“So am I.”  It was stated as a simple fact and that made him feel a little better.  “It’s going to be tough, especially since we hardly know each other.  But I want this to work, Justin.”  He watched as she affectionately rubbed her belly.  “I can’t wait to meet my baby…our baby.  I just…”  She trailed off.

A second later, she reached her hand out to him, beckoning him closer.  “What?”  He was confused.

“Come here, the baby’s kicking.”  She leaned across the table and grabbed for him, catching his hand as he stood and crossed the room toward her.  She took his fingers and pressed them into her belly.  It was harder than he expected, while being strangely watery at the same time.  She moved his fingers and inch or so and suddenly he could feel a strong pressure poking into his hand.

“Wow.”  He squatted, pressing both hands to her stomach, marveling at the things he could feel happening underneath.  “Where is he?”

“He?”  She questioned his choice of gender and he shrugged at her, giving a small grin.

“A guy can hope.”  Adah’s grin grew to match his.

“She is here.”  She moved his hands to the left side of her belly.  “This is her head, here.”  Justin felt a distinct lump as he gently pressed his hands to her stomach.  “Her butt is over here,”  his hands were guided to Adah’s other side.

“I thought babies were supposed to be upside down?  You know, head first and all that?”

Adah was slightly impressed that he knew this.  “They are, but many of them won’t turn until it’s time to give birth.  My doctor assured me that the baby still being sideways was completely normal and that she would be in the right position when it was time.  Either that or they turn the baby there in the hospital.”

Justin stared at the slight rippling movements he could see tracing across Adah’s abdomen.  A thought struck him.  “She?”  He questioned.  “Do you know that?”

Adah shook her head.  “No.  You’re guess is as good as mine.” 

“Well, I have a 50/50 chance then.”  This time the smiles slid easily onto both of their faces.

She wouldn’t admit it aloud to anyone, but this was comfortable.  This felt right.  She was so excited to be sharing this moment with him right now that the rest didn’t really matter.  Of course she had Sam, Brett, Brennan and now Lynn to share these moments with up until now, but none of them were the father.  This was how all of those moments were supposed to go.  She watched the awe cross his face and she couldn’t help the happiness that seeped from her pores.  This was what she had been waiting for.

It was by no means a fix to their complicated situation.  The two of them had a very long way to go before any sort of relationship could form between them.  But it was a start.  One that Adah was more than willing to take.  He was here, and for now that was enough.

The warmth of Justin’s hands left her stomach and he reclaimed his spot in the recliner.  “I’m so sorry, Adah.”  Regret laced his words and their happy moment started to cloud with his emotions.

She shrugged, not sure how to bring him comfort.  “It’ll be OK, Justin.”

Their moment was interrupted by the sound of keys at the door, and a second later Sam stepped through, a whirlwind of blond hair and bags.  She stopped short when she spotted the guest in their apartment.

“Holy shit, there’s a pop star in my living room.”  She gave him a wide eyed look before turned her gaze to Adah and mouthing a what’s going on?

“Justin stopped by to talk.”

“I can see that.”  Sam’s gaze appraised the man in her recliner one more time before she nodded her head, resolving her thought.  “It’s nice to finally meet you, Justin.  I’m glad you’re here.”  With that she walked down the hallway and into her room, knowing the two still needed some time alone.

“Well, that went better than I expected.”  It was Adah who spoke.

“You were thinking they wouldn’t be happy to see me?”  Justin’s nerves started to flare up again and he consciously forced his body to relax.

“Well, Sam is a really forward and open kind of girl.  I just figured she’d give you a piece of her mind as soon as she met you.  You did knock her best friend up.”  The both shared a small, tense chuckle.

“I have to meet my mom in a little while,” Justin started, the plan forming in his head as he spoke.  “Would you like to come along?”  He knew that Lynn and Adah had been getting to know each other and he figured it would be a lot easier to have his mom there as a buffer.  It was probably a little cowardly of him, but this was all so new and overwhelming.  He wanted a little help, and Lynn was the best source for that.

“Yeah, actually, I’d like that.”

“Cool.” He stood, offering her his hand to help her off the couch.  “Do you want to drive, or do you want me to drive?”

Adah laughed and he gave her a quizzical look.  She pointed to her stomach.  “I can’t fit behind the steering wheel anymore.”  She laughed again.

“Oh.”  It came out as a rush of air and Justin laughed too.  “I guess I’ll drive then.”  He waited as she grabbed her purse, marveling over the size of her stomach and what it stood for.  His baby.

Suddenly the nerves were back, full force.

“Are you ready?”  She asked.  It was a simple question, but it had Justin swallowing hard, choking on his response.  He just nodded instead.

Was he ready?

That was the ultimate question, wasn’t it?

Adah grabbed her stomach, hoping that she could ease the pain if she held securely enough.  After a moment, the cramp passed and her muscles relaxed.  She’d been having pains on and off for the better part of the morning,  but when she called the doctor they’d assured her that they were just Braxton-Hicks and everything was fine.

“Ace, you ready?”  Brett’s voice floated into Adah’s bathroom and she pushed the door open to let him enter.

“Just about.  I just want to throw my hair up.  It’s too hot for anything else.”

“Mm, yeah.  I hate it when it’s hot and my hair’s down.”  He grinned at her as she scowled at his tightly cropped hair.  “Come on, Ace.  We’re all waiting on you.”

“I’m coming.  Let me grab my phone and I’ll meet you in the living room.” 

Brennan was having a cookout in the park this afternoon and Adah, Sam, and Brett were all going.  A couple more people would be there, too, but it was mostly just for the four of them.  They’d developed quite the friendship since Brennan had moved in across the hall, and Adah felt like he was just as much a part of the family as Sam and Brett.

Nothing had come of the friendship between Adah and Brennan, but neither of them was ready for that at the moment.  They had been spending a lot of time together, and Adah was just glad to see that their friendship had grown.  She was really fond of both Brennan and Ranger, and she looked forward to having him as part of her life when the baby came.  She just hoped that things would stay the same between then when that happened.  He didn’t seem like the kind of guy to run, but one never knew.

Adah grabbed her phone off of the bed and waddled to the living room to see Brett, Sam, and Brennan waiting not-so-patiently.  She gave them a grimace.  “Don’t be mad, you try and walk with this…thing attached to your stomach.”  She gently prodded her stomach, feeling the baby move around as she did so.  “It’s not easy.”

Adah was a week away from delivering and she really couldn’t wait.  Well, that wasn’t quite true.  She was scared shitless to give birth and she had no idea what to expect, but she was damn ready to have this baby out of her body.  She was done feeling like she’d been abducted by aliens.

“Ready?”  Sam helped Adah out the door.  The boys went ahead with the coolers, and the girls took their time.  “You sure you’re OK, Ads?”  Sam questioned when she saw Adah grab her stomach and breathe through another Braxton-Hicks.

“Yeah…”  She waved the other girl off, “I’ll be fine.  Just give me a second.”

Sam gave Adah another concerned look but went on ahead.  She was convinced that Adah was in labor and they should all head to the hospital, but Adah believed the doctors and was too stubborn to do anything but head to the park.  Sam figured they’d probably be trying to deliver a baby in the middle of a Frisbee game, but that was just her opinion.

~*~

Adah relaxed in her lawn chair, happy to be off her feet and in the shade.  It was a mild day for L.A. but she had her own personal furnace attached to her stomach so she was constantly running hot.  She sipped at her lemonade and laughed as she watched Brennan and Brett try to catch Ranger.  Apparently Ranger was a good retriever, he just didn’t get the part about needing to give the Frisbee back.

Her thoughts were broken when her phone buzzed next to her.  Justin’s number flashed across the screen and she found herself smiling as she answered the phone.

“Hey.”  The two of them had managed to do some talking and even hang out a few times since he’d been back from tour.  She was happy to say that she felt comfortable with him and he seemed pretty determined to make things up to her.

“Hey, how are you?”  Adah had had some false contractions a week or so ago while she and Justin had been hanging out.  He’d been concerned about her well-being ever since, even when she explained that they weren’t anything to be worried about.

“I’m fine, Justin.  I’m at the park with some friends.  We’re having a cookout, you should come down.”  Justin had been to the apartment mostly when Brett and Sam were working, and Adah really wanted the three of them to develop some sort of friendship.

He let out a breath.  “I don’t think that’s a good idea, Adah.”  He sounded sorry, and she remembered that he was a famous musician and the last place he probably wanted to hang out was the park where everyone could oogle at him.  She agreed with him about keeping this baby a secret, but sometimes she forgot who he was.

“Right, sorry.”  She wasn’t mad, just bummed.  She liked being around him, which wasn’t surprising, given her current condition.

“I was actually hoping you might be free today.  I wanted to bring you to the house so I could show you something.”  The addition had been a secret, but now that it was finished Justin was excited to show Adah the nursery and her new room.  It rattled him to think about a baby being in that room soon, but he’d deal with that when it happened.

“Uhm, I’m not sure when we’ll be getting done here.  Do you have anywhere to be?  I could have Sam drive me over now.”

“Oh, no, it’s no big hurry.  Stay and enjoy the cookout.  Maybe Sam can drop you over later.  I’ll cook dinner or something.”  He paused, “If you need me to come get you, I could do that too.  What park are you at?”

It was as close to a compromise as he could get and she was happy to know that he was trying.  “I’m sure Sam will be happy to drive me over in a little while.  She’s been dying to see your house anyway.”  Adah giggle.  Sam would never admit it aloud but she was a little star-struck when it came to Justin.

“Sounds good.  Just give me a call when you’re on your way.  Dinner OK with you?”

“Yeah, that’s fine.  I’ll see you later.”  Adah said her goodbyes, hanging up the phone and setting it down.  She struggled to her foot, waiving to Sam as she did so.

“What’s up, Ads?  You OK?”

“Yeah, I just need to pee.  Wanna come with?”  The girls made their way to the bathrooms, taking their time because anything more than a waddle was impossible for Adah.  Surprisingly, the bathrooms were empty and both girls got right in with no waiting.

“So, remember that guy I met at the coffee shop the other day?  The one with the seriously incredible green eyes?”  Sam could never resist a good story, even if they were peeing.  “He totally slipped me his number the other day, and when I called it, it was a fake!  Either he doesn’t know his own phone number or he’s his own cock-blocker.”

“Uh…Sam?”

“I mean, he could have just told me he wasn’t interested…”

“Sam?!” 

“Maybe he’s gay!  That’s it!  Maybe he realized that he was giving me the wrong message and just had no idea how to tell me--”

“SAM!”

“What?”

“I think my water just broke.”  Adah’s voice was shaky.

“You’re shitting me?”  Sam finished quickly, moving from her stall and over to Adah’s.

“No…no, I…I thought I had to pee, but, I really think my water just broke.”  She opened the stall door, her face pale and her eyes wide.  “I’m going to have this baby.”

“Right now?!”  Sam frantically searched the bathroom, finding an empty paper towel holder and a leaky faucet.  “Oh shit, oh shit…”

“Not this very second, no.  But I think it might be best if we get to the hospital.”  Adah was eerily calm as she directed Sam in what to do.  Sam, on the other hand, felt ready to pass out.  “Go grab Brett and Brennan, tell them to meet us there.  And then get the car.  I won’t make it in time if we walk.”

“Jesus, how can you be so calm?  You’re having a freakin’ baby!”

“I guess it’s my motherl--”  She was abruptly cut off by a contraction ripping through her abdomen, much more concentrated than the others had been.  “Ok…” She panted, “Time to go.”

Sam took off running in the direction of the guys while Adah slowly started toward the car.  She half-watched as the boys scrambled to get things together, throwing blankets and food into anything that was close.  Sam ran back toward Adah, out of breath as she reached her.  “OK?”

Adah only nodded, trying to focus on breathing slowly.  It seemed to take forever to reach the car, but as soon as she was seated she grabbed her phone and dialed Justin’s number.

“Hey Adah, everything all right?” 

She took a deep breath, “Well, either I just peed myself, or my water broke.”  There was a long silence on the other end as she waited for Justin to respond.

“You…your what?  Are you serious?”

“Why does everyone think I’m making this shit up?  Yes, I’m serious.  Get you’re ass to the hospital, I’m having your baby.”

“Oh shit, Oh shit.  OK.  I’m on my way.  Did you call the doctor?  Do they know you’re coming?  Should I get you something?  Do you need clothing?  Should I call an ambulance?”

“Whoa, slow down.  You’re the first person I called.”  She stopped again, panting through another contraction.  She figured that they were about fifteen to twenty minutes apart right now.  She didn’t know much, but she knew she still had some time.

“Ok.  Ok.  I’ll call the hospital to let them know we’re coming.”  He stopped, taking deep breaths when Adah did.  “This is really happening?”  His voice was small now, scared.

“Yeah, it’s really happening.  I’ll see you at the hospital.”

Adah hung up the phone, her focus completely on her stomach and the contractions she was having. 

Sam drove them to the hospital as fast as she dared, one eye always on Adah.  She was excited but nervous for her best friend.  This was going to change her life forever and Sam wasn’t sure Adah was completely ready for that.  She was happy to see that Justin had finally grown a pair (figuratively speaking, of course, her pregnant best friend confirmed the fact that he literally had a pair, but she digressed) and started to be a part of Adah’s life.  Adah had been glowing these past few weeks and Sam knew that it had a lot to do with Justin’s presence.  For the first time since this whole pregnancy thing began, Sam actually believed that things might be OK.

Then again, the sounds that were coming from Adah at the moment made her re-think that.

“Ads, are you OK?”

“Just keep driving!”  Her white knuckles gripped the seat with all of her power.  The pain in her abdomen was almost unbearable, and ever time a contraction hit she was sure she was going to rip in half.

“Almost there, Ads, just hang on.”  Nothing more was said as Sam sped the rest of the way to the hospital.  It only took another ten minutes, but for both women it felt like a lot longer.

The staff was waiting for them when they pulled up, a wheelchair ready.  Adah looked around for Justin briefly, but couldn’t spare much of her focus for long.  She was rushed inside, directly up to the private suite that had been reserved for her.  She was startled to find Justin already waiting in the suite, Lynn, Trace and Rachel by his side.  He jumped up, moving quickly to take her hand as the nurse stopped the wheel chair.

“Ok, Adah, we’ll need you to put this gown on.”  She turned to the spectators that now included Sam.  “There’s a waiting room connected to the birthing room, if you don’t mind?”  She ushered everyone out.

“Wait, I want Sam, too.”  Adah called, motioning toward her best friend.  She looked up at Justin, “Can she stay too?”

“Too, you…you want me in here with you?”  He could feel the blood start to drain from his face as the thought fully registered in his brain, but when he saw the look on her scared face, he knew he was going to stay.

Justin and Sam were pushed to the side while the doctors hooked Adah up to IVs and monitors.  She was checked over, her blood pressure taken, and her cervix examined.  The nurse stated that it would be a while longer because she was only a few centimeters dilated, but they were going to give her some medications that would help the process along.

It all sounded Greek to Justin.  He just kept staring at the swell of Adah’s belly, knowing that pretty soon his baby was going to be coming out of her.

He wanted to faint.

Adah grunted with effort, trying to breathe through the contractions instead of pushing like the doctor had said.  She was totally uncomfortable and it hurt like hell, but she was trying to keep it together.  Both Sam and Justin looked like they were ready to bolt and she didn’t want them to leave her.  She knew that she wouldn’t be able to do this alone and she really wanted both of them to be here with her.

“Hey Ads,”  Sam brushed the hair back from Adah’s forehead, giving her a light kiss.  “Brett and Brennan are here.  Can they come in a say Hi?”

“Sure,” she nodded, trying to keep her eyes open.  She was exhausted already.

The two boys tiptoed in the room, nerves evident on their faces.  Brett gave a small wave to Justin who sat in a chair near Adah’s bed, but he didn’t stop until he was close enough to give her a kiss on the cheek.  Brennan did a double take as he noticed the man sitting in the corner, but Adah called out to him before he had the chance to confirm his assumption.

“Hey, thanks for coming.”  She waved a tired hand at him and he smiled at her.

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”  He sat gingerly on the bed next to her, eyes darting between Adah and the fiercely protective look Justin was giving her.  “Uhm, Adah,”  He leaned in to whisper, “Justin Timberlake is sitting in your hospital room.”

While he’d meant it to be between the two of them, Sam and Brett laughed along with Adah when they heard his statement.  “Yeah, he’s kind of important to this whole thing.”  She patted his hand, turning slightly to include Justin in the conversation.  “Brennan, I’d like you to meet Justin, the father of my baby.”

A sudden awkwardness filled the suite as the two men sized each other up.  Brennan couldn’t really believe that he was looking at the Justin Timberlake and that this man was actually the father to Adah’s baby.  Justin was wondering why he was suddenly so jealous and what this man meant to Adah.

Adah was thinking that she was having another contraction and she didn’t care what else was going on.  “Oh Jesus!”  She screamed, grabbing at the rails on the bed.  Justin was at her side in a second, coaching her through the contraction like a pro.  Brett and Brennan stepped back, happy to leave the room when the nurse ordered them out.

In the waiting room, a tense silence held the occupants nearly immobile.  Trace was flipping through the channels on the TV but not really seeing them.  Everyone else sat, listening to what was going on in the next room.  Every time Adah would let out a scream, they would all cringe.  Lynn knew all too well what was going on in that room and she kept praying for Adah and the baby.  She could wait to hold her new grandchild.

It felt like an eternity to everyone involved, but soon enough Adah was given the OK to push.  Once that started, it wasn’t too much longer before the doctor was asking Justin to cut the umbilical cord and Adah was being handed her brand new baby girl.

“It’s a girl.”  She gushed, tears in her eyes as the tiny infant was placed on her heaving chest.  “Oh, it’s a girl.”  She repeated, looking up at Justin’s shell-shocked face.  “We have a little girl.”

Adah lifted the bundle up, placing her soundly in Justin’s arms.  He peered down at the crying infant, and suddenly he knew what love at first sight really meant.  “She’s absolutely beautiful.”  He cooed, grinning over at Adah.  He was reluctant to hand the baby back to the nurse, but he knew she needed to be cleaned up, weighed, and measured.

“Emma.”

Adah’s voice broke Justin from his thoughts.  “What?”

“Her name is Emma.”  Adah looked up at him.  “It was my Mom’s name.  I hope you don’t mind, I know I didn’t ask you first.”

Justin shook his head.  “No, it’s perfect.”

“Emma Lynn James.”  Adah grinned as Justin’s eyes widened at the addition of Emma’s middle name.  “I thought that since I was naming her after my mom, it was only fair that I included your Mom, too.”

“Thanks.”  He grinned again, his eyes moving back over to the baby as the nurses did their thing.  Soon enough, he watched as they brought the baby back over to Adah, proudly declaring her healthy.

“Congratulations.  6 pounds, 5 ounces, 19 inches long.”  The nurse settled Emma back on Adah’s chest and Justin was at her side in an instant. 

“Maybe you should go tell everyone, Dad.”  She elbowed him in the ribs, her grin matching his.

“Yeah.”  He made no indication of moving as he gazed down at their daughter.  His daughter. 

Their moment was broken as the nurses took Emma so the doctors could finish up with Adah, and Justin took this as his cue to break the news to everyone out in the waiting room.

He was a Dad.

He figured it was about three in the morning.  Adah was asleep in her bed, exhausted from the past day and a half.  Emma had been born after ten hours of labor and she was in desperate need of a good, long sleep.  The rest of the gang had left shortly after the baby had come, wanting to give the parents some alone time.  Plus, it was really late.

Justin sat next to the bassinette where his daughter was laying, her eyes taking in the world around her.

Those words ran through his head at an alarming rate, but he couldn’t find a reason to be upset or scared.  He was nervous, of course, but that stemmed more from not knowing what to do with this tiny, new baby instead of being scared that she was here.  It was a strange feeling, one that he couldn’t really put into words, but it felt like the focus of his universe had suddenly shifted and was now centered around this new life.  His baby.  His little girl.

She already had him wrapped around her finger and she was only a few hours old.

A soft cry came from Emma, so Justin gently picked her up from the bassinette and held her close to his chest.  He was slightly embarrassed to admit it, but the nurses had to show him how to pick her up and how to hold her.  He had younger brothers, but somehow Emma felt a hundred times more fragile than any other baby he’d ever held.  That might be because this baby was his.  Despite the strange situation that brought her into this world, he knew now that he wouldn’t change a thing. 

He started to hum a tune; anything that came to mind.  Emma settled into him, her wide blue eyes staring intently up.  He’d been told that she couldn’t see much at this point beyond contrasted colors and large shapes.  She was probably only focusing on the direction that his voice came from, but that was okay with him.

His eyes scanned her face.  She had tiny ears; something she’d inherited from Adah.  Her nose was definitely Adah’s too, but he was glad for that.  He wouldn’t wish his nose on any one, especially his little girl.  Her eyes, though, those were his eyes and it brought an instant, watery smile to his face to see them starting up at him.  She had his chin, too.  He gently picked up her tiny little hand, feeling a flutter in his stomach as her little fingers grasped his one.  She let out another soft coo and he felt his heart melting all over again.

“I’m screwed.”  He whispered to her with a smile.  “You have me so completely hooked and we’ve only just met.”  He laughed then, “I can’t believe I’m a daddy.  I hope I don’t screw this up.”

Justin held her until she fell asleep, not paying attention to time.  When he was sure she was soundly asleep, he gently placed her back in the bassinette.  He waited, hoping she wouldn’t stir once he put her down.  She didn’t.  He let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding and made his way over to the pull out bed that had been made up for him.  His was extremely glad that he’d booked this suit for Adah to give birth in.  It provided the privacy that he had Adah needed, but it was also filled with all the amenities that any new parents could want or need.  Part of the suit included a pull out couch for the father, which he gratefully sunk into. 

He felt numb and at the same time he felt more alive than he ever had before.  He also felt completely exhausted, so it wasn’t a surprise that his eyes were fluttering closed and he couldn’t keep them open.  With a small smile firmly planted on his lips, he drifted off to sleep.

~*~

He had only been asleep for a few hours when Emma’s sharp cries jolted him from a sound sleep.  He jumped from the bed, stumbling over to her bassinette to stare groggily down at the screaming baby.

“What’s wrong?”  He asked, as if she could answer.  Instead, she screeched louder.

“She’s hungry.”  Adah’s soft voice floated over to him and he turned to look at her.  She’d propped herself up on the pillows and her arms were reaching out in the direction of her daughter.  “Can you bring her to me?  It’s time for her to eat.”

Justin carefully picked Emma up, cringing as her cries escalated slightly.  “She’s got some lungs on her.”

“Gets that from you, I suppose.”  Adah quipped, her arms still eagerly reaching out for the little girl.  Justin placed Emma in Adah’s arms with a thankful sigh.  “Shhh.  It’s OK, baby.  Momma’s here.”

Although he felt that he should turn away, Justin watched in awe as Adah slid the shoulder of her gown down and lifted Emma to her swollen breast.  The baby rooted for a moment before finally latching onto Adah with a soft suckling sound.  “Doesn’t that hurt?”  He asked, still in awe of the whole process.

“It doesn’t tickle.”  Adah responded, giving him a smile.  “It’s…interesting.  I can’t say I really like it, but I like being close to her like this.”  She paused to stare down at the now content newborn.  “She’s beautiful.”

“She has your ears and your nose.”  Justin sat down on the bed next to Adah, reaching out to gently touch Emma’s head.  “She has my eyes and my chin, though.”

Adah looked up at him, surprise written on her face.  “I haven’t even had a chance to take all that in yet.”

He shrugged, “I had some bonding time while you were sleeping.”  His finger stroked Emma’s nearly bald head.  “She had dark hair.  I don’t know where she gets that.”

“Most babies are born with dark hair.  It’ll fall out and new hair will grow in.  I’m guessing it’ll be blond.  You are a natural blond right?  Or was that just the bleach phase?”

“Oho, you’re lucky you’re holding our baby.”  Justin laughed, happy to see Adah joking with him.  “I had blond hair when I was a kid.  It’s gotten darker as I’ve gotten older.”

“Same here.”  Adah moved Emma away from her breast with a soft ‘pop,’ moving the now drowsy baby over to her other breast.  Emma latched on again, eating just as eagerly as before.  “She was pretty hungry.  Must get that from you, too.”

“Wow, is this bash on Justin night?”  He was smiling when he said it, happy that things seemed to be so great between them.  He was still worried about their relationship, but he knew that they had time to work through things and figure out what they wanted to do.

Adah gave a small shrug, a matching smile on her face.  “I just thought I’d take advantage since I’ve got Emma.  You can’t retaliate now.”

The mention of the baby’s name brought both of their stares down to the small bundle.  She had detached herself from Adah and was now sleeping soundly, milk on her cheek.  Adah gently used her gown to wipe at the spot, and she lifted Emma to her shoulder so she could burp her.  After, she handed Emma back to Justin.

“She’s so tiny.  I’m afraid that I’m going to break her.”  He cuddled her close to his chest.  “I still can’t believe she’s mine.  Ours,” he amended.

“She certainly is.”  Adah spoke softly, getting sleepy again.

They were quite for a moment, both watching Emma intently.  It was Justin that broke the silence, deciding to spill his surprise for both Adah and Emma.  “So I still have a surprise for the two of you, when we can leave here.”

“Oh?”  Adah vaguely remembered Justin telling her that he wanted to show her something.  Even though it was only yesterday afternoon, it felt like a lifetime ago.  “What’s that?”

“Well…I had some people come in and renovate the upstairs of my house.  I have a nursery between my room and your room, so we can both get to Emma if we need to, but we still both have some of our own space.”

Adah sat speechless, not sure how to respond.  She hadn’t given any thought to her living situation once Emma was born, but she really hadn’t thought about living with Justin at all, either.  She’d just assumed that she’d put a crib in her room at the apartment and look into getting her own space when it was feasible.  Of course Justin would want them close, but still, moving in together?  That scared her, but she didn’t want to hurt his feelings.

“Oh…that’s…really nice of you Justin.”  He immediately caught the tone in her voice.  He knew he should’ve talked to her about it before hand, but he also wanted to do something to surprise her.

“You don’t like the idea.”  He stated softly.  He didn’t want to wake Emma.

“It’s not that.”  She started, adjusting herself to sit up more comfortable, “I just…isn’t that a little fast?”

Justin walked Emma over to her bassinette, setting her in gently and watching as she made herself comfortable and sank back into a deep sleep.  He crossed back over to Adah’s bed, not sitting down this time.  He wasn’t sure how well his surprise would go over, but he thought she’d be a little more appreciative about it.  “I just figured it would be the easiest.  Both of us can be there to take care of Emma and you’ll still have your own space.”

“But I have an apartment with Sam and Brett.  I can’t just leave them hanging without a roommate.”  It was a weak argument, but she wanted Justin to see that he couldn’t make decisions like this without thinking everything through.  “I have an obligation to them.”

Justin shrugged, “So I’ll pay your portion of the rent.”

“You can’t throw money at this, Justin.  I understand what you’re trying to do, but you should’ve asked me first.”

He threw his hands up, running them over his shorn head and resting them on his neck.  This wasn’t going like he’d hoped.  “I wanted it to be a surprise.  I’m sorry.”  He paced a little, trying to calm his nerves and settle himself so he didn’t get upset.  “I guess we’ll just keep it as a place for you to stay if you ever need to.”

“I guess.”  Adah didn’t want to tell him that she was uncomfortable with the idea of staying with him at all.  She had made a rash decision to sleep with him all those months ago; she didn’t trust herself not to do anything stupid like that again.  Of course Emma was a blessing, but she was a blessing born of a bad decision.  Adah and Justin weren’t friends and they weren’t a couple.  Living together would be awkward, uncomfortable, and she was afraid that it would put undo strain on the fragile bond they were trying to build.

“I was hoping we could figure out this whole parenting thing together.”  He didn’t look at Adah as he said this, ashamed that he was so afraid of not doing something right with the baby.  He didn’t want to admit to her that he was scared shitless and had no idea how to take care of his daughter.

“We are going to do this together.  We already are.”

“Yeah, but I was hoping that you’d be at the house with me.  What if I take her for a night and something happens?  Or what about feeding her?  You’re going to breast feed, I can’t help with that.”

She sat silently, taking in his words and hearing his worries.  She understood, and she thought he had some valid points, but it still didn’t sway her feeling that living together was a bad idea. 

“I can use a breast pump, and you can use a bottle.  And I’m sure your mom will be around to help you out.  Plus, it’s not like you can’t call me…”  She trailed off, actually taking in the thought that she’d be giving Emma up for a night.  She hadn’t considered that part of it.  That by not living with Justin it meant that she would be without her daughter while Justin was taking care of her.  And she couldn’t expect Justin to allow Adah to take Emma every night without having something to say about it.  He was her father and he wanted to have time with her, too.

“We don’t have to decide right now,” he conceded.  He didn’t want to fight about it and he was too exhausted to think anymore.  “We should probably get some sleep, anyway, while the little one is out.”

“Yeah.”  Adah sank into her bed, pulling the blankets up to her chin, lost in thought.  Justin said nothing else as he shuffled over to his bed, plopping down with a heavy sigh.

He knew that Adah had a valid reason for not wanting to live with him.  He agreed in a lot of ways, but Emma made things different.  They would be living together for her sake, not theirs.  They would need to be near each other so that Emma could have the best care possible and both of her parents.  He wanted to raise her together, not separately.  It worried him, too, the thought of living with someone he didn’t really know.  But it worried him more thinking about having Emma without Adah there to help, or not having Emma while Adah took her turn.  He didn’t want turns.  That wasn’t fair to their baby and it wasn’t fair for either of them.

This time his sleep was much less peaceful, his thoughts running rapidly through his addled mind.

~*~

Three days later things still hadn’t been settled between Adah and Justin, but it was time for them to leave the hospital.  Sam, Brett and Brennan had showed up to help Adah bring everything home, and Lynn was there as usual.  She had been smitten with her granddaughter from the moment she laid eyes on her, as Justin had expected all along.  He was glad his mother was there, though, because it was going to be tough watching Adah drive away with their baby.  He’d gotten spoiled over the past few days having both of them mostly to himself.

“Where’s that hat I just had?”  Justin watched Adah search around the room.  She still looked exhausted and he was sure that he didn’t look much better. 

“It’s on the bed.  You put it there when you changed Emma a little while ago.”  Lynn answered the frantic mother.  She stood from her seat next to Justin and made her way over to Adah, gently lifting Emma from her arms and giving Adah a half hug.  “Go take a seat, darlin’, you look like you’re about ready to fall over.”  Lynn ushered Adah over to the seat next to Justin, satisfied when the girl sat down with a sigh.  “There, Grammy will take care of the little one, won’t she?”  She cooed, her focus entirely on the newborn.

“She’s a Godsend.”  Adah commented, gladly sinking into the cushions of the couch.

“Yeah, she is.”  Justin looked over at her, realizing that Adah would never get to share this moment with her own mother.  “I’m sorry your mom can’t be here.”  He said softly.

She shrugged, willing the tears to not fall.  “It’s OK.”

“No, it’s not.”  Justin’s tone was sad as he answered her.  “I’m sorry about the other day, too.  I guess I just wasn’t thinking about how hard it would be for you to move from your apartment just because I didn’t want to be alone with Emma.”  It was honest, but it was still hard to say.

“You don’t have to apologize.  It was a really nice gesture and I know what you were trying to do.  I just don’t think it’s the best idea right now.”

It was Justin’s turn to shrug.  “I don’t want to take turns, Adah.  I don’t want to pass Emma off between the two of us.”  He kept his voice low.  He didn’t want anyone else in the room to hear their conversation.

“Then we don’t.  We figure something else out.”  She was getting defensive, but she was sure that it was the lack of sleep and the strange imbalance of hormones from giving birth.  “I don’t know the answer, but I don’t think living together is it, either.”

“Who said we have to live together?  You’ll still have your apartment and I’ll still have my house.  You just have a room there so you can have your own space.  I don’t know what else to do, Adah.  I don’t know how else we’re supposed to take care of Emma together if we’re not at least spending some nights at the same place.”

The conversation ended when Lynn brought Emma back over, handing her to Adah with a soft smile.  “I think she’s hungry.”

Adah smiled down at the baby, hearing her soft wimpers as she tried to root at Adah’s chest.  “I think it’s Justin’s turn to feed her.”  Adah had been using the breast pump she’d bought over the last few days.  She wanted to get the feel of it and she wanted Justin to have a chance to use a bottle while they were still in the hospital.  The lactation nurse was extremely helpful at showing both of them how everything worked.

Justin gladly accepted his baby girl, bringing her close so he could kiss the top of her head.  “Where’s the bottle?”  He glanced around, taking the bottle that his mother had just retrieved from the counter.  “Here you go, Emma.”

It was quiet as everyone watched Justin and Emma together.  It was obvious that he was completely in love with that little girl, and everyone was happy to see that he’d taken to fatherhood so well.  He was nervous but he was trying and that’s what mattered at the moment. 

While he was feeding Emma he thought about giving the baby over to Adah and having them leave to go back to her apartment.  He didn’t like the idea and he kept racking his brain to come up with another one.  He understood her aversion to living together, but he really couldn’t see how else things could work out.  He supposed he could sleep on her couch some nights, but that would still mean that he was invading her space and that they’d be spending a lot of time together.  He thought about giving her the guest house, but Rachel would have something to say about that and he really didn’t want to piss off his cousin.

There was one more thought, but it would probably upset Adah just as much as all of the other suggestions he’d made. 

Justin had done a little searching around the other night while Adah and Emma slept.  There was an apartment for rent in the same building as Adah, and he’d seriously contemplated buying it so he could be close.  It would be a risk as far as keeping this private, but he didn’t care too much about that.  All he really cared about was being close to his baby.

Emma finished the bottle, letting go of the nipple with a soft pop.  Justin gently picked her up and placed her against his shoulder, patting her back like the nurse had shown him before.  He waited until he’d heard her burp and then he settled her back down into his lap.  “We’ve got some things to figure out, don’t we Baby?”  He grinned as she gazed up at him.

“It’s time to go, Justin.”  Adah’s voice broke him from his thoughts and he glanced up at her.  “We need to check out now.”

He nodded, lifting Emma and bringing her over to the car seat that was waiting.  Adah helped him buckle the now sleeping baby into the seat.  “I’m coming over to your apartment.”  He stated, hoping it would piss her off too much.

She stared at him, shrugging as she turned away.  “Okay.  If that’s what you want to do.”  He couldn’t quite figure out her tone, but he wasn’t about to fight with her, so he let it slide and followed everyone out into the hallway carrying the car seat as he went.

He was a little sad to be leaving the hospital because he knew that their happy little bubble was about to burst.

Adah stormed into the kitchen and huffed.  If you asked Sam, she looked like she was seconds away from stomping her feet and whining.

“He’s been here for the past three weeks!”  She whispered with a harsh tone.  Well, now all she needed to do was stomp her feet and this tantrum would be complete.  “Why won’t he go away?!”

Sam shrugged, peeking into the living room to see Justin holding Emma, singing softly along to a lullaby that was playing from the stereo.  “I think he wants to be around his daughter.”  She took a sip of her water and watched Adah pace the kitchen.

“Yeah, but he like, never leaves.  He’s here when I go to bed, he’s here at night, and he’s here in the morning.  I don’t think he’s been back to his house since we left the hospital.”  She crossed her arms over her chest and pursed her lips into a pout.

“Well…” Sam contemplated being the devil’s advocate for a moment, and realized that Adah probably needed to hear some things.  “You did tell him that you weren’t going to stay at the room he set up for you at his house.  He’s been here to help with everything Emma.  He’s up at night with her so you can sleep, he changes diapers constantly, and he’s bought us groceries the past two weeks.  If you ask me, he’s been a huge help.”

Adah gave her the death stare and Sam found it pretty comical.  “You’re taking his side.”  It wasn’t a question, it was an accusation.

“There aren’t any sides here, Adah.  There’s Emma.  She needs her mother and her father.  That’s what Justin is trying to do despite the fact that you’re doing everything to can to stop that.”  She gave that a second to sink in before continuing on.  “I seem to remember you saying that you wanted Justin to be a part of Emma’s life.  Has that suddenly changed because she’s here now?  Now you want to do the single parent thing?”

“No,”  Her tone was defiant and Sam felt like she was dealing with a little kid and not her best friend.  “I just…he never leaves!” 

“That’s the weakest excuse I’ve ever heard.  Work on your material, Ads.”  Sam left the kitchen, moving into the living room to watch the movie Justin had just popped in.  She liked having Justin around, even though she still couldn’t get over the fact that a world famous super star was dancing around her living room to the Wiggles.  He was a huge help with the baby and he was a genuinely nice guy. 

Adah sat in the kitchen and steamed, thinking over what Sam had just said.  She knew she was being a brat, but she wasn’t sure how to react to all of this.  If she were totally honest with herself, she liked having Justin around, she just didn’t know how to express that.  She wanted to share all these moments with him, but she was afraid at the same time.  Sleeping with Justin was a drunken decision, but it wasn’t completely controlled by hormones and booze.  She was attracted to him and she enjoyed his company.  He made her comfortable and that scared her.  What if he decided to leave?  She knew it meant something that he was here constantly and helping as much as possible with Emma, but Adah still couldn’t get rid of those niggling fears.  She didn’t want him to leave her or Emma.

A laugh came from the other room and Adah’s thoughts were broken.  She spotted Brennan sitting next to Sam who was now holding Emma.  They were all dancing to a Wiggled DVD and she couldn’t stop the smirk that moved her lips.

Brennan had been great with this whole situation.  He was still uncomfortable around Justin, but both men had been nothing but respectful to each other.  Brennan adored Emma and he still seemed to want to be around Adah.  It took some apologizing on Adah’s part for not telling Brennan about Justin, but it was all water under the bridge now and things between them were better than ever.  She was crushing, hard, but the situation seemed so complicated that she didn’t know what to do with it all.

“Hey Ace, stop thinking so hard, you might hurt yourself.”  Brett stood in the doorway, watching his roommate carefully.

Adah stuck her tongue out at him.  “Funny.”

“What’s on your mind?”  He grabbed a kitchen chair and turned it around to sit on it, resting his arms across the back.

“Stuff.” 

“Well that clears it up.  Good talk.”  He grinned as she stuck her tongue out again.  “You’ve regressed, Ace.  Emma acts more mature than that.”

“Emma doesn’t know what mature is.  She’s just happed to by fed and dry.”  Adah didn’t know why she was being so difficult tonight.  Perhaps it was the lack of sleep and the strange situation she was in.

“What’s the matter, Adah?  You’re…”

“Stressed?”  She supplied.

“I was going to say uptight, but stressed works too.”

“Thanks.”  She was pouting again and she realized that Brett was right.  She took a deep breath and attempted to turn a little bit of her sour mood around.  “I just have a lot on my mind.”

“Justin?”

Adah nodded.  “Yeah.  I mean, I should probably be happy, but he’s always around and…I just don’t know how to handle it.  I feel like I don’t have any space.”

“It’s a small apartment.  There wasn’t much space to begin with.”  Brett supplied, knowing that Adah meant something else but hoping she would start to realize the sacrifices everyone else was making, too.

“I didn’t mean space like that.  I mean that I can’t find a minute to myself.  I specifically didn’t take him up on his offer to be at his house because I didn’t want to be that close.”

Brett was sure that Adah had no idea how she sounded at the moment.  She was usually rational and level headed about things.  He was chalking it up to exhaustion and strange hormones.  “Adah, he’s the father of your baby.  He’s here because Emma is here and he wants to help out.  I give the guy a lot of credit.  He’s put his entire life on hold so he can be here for you and Emma.  And I think your space issues come from the apartment being so small, not from anything else.”

Adah was a little dumb struck.  “Brett…”  She wasn’t sure how to respond to that.

“Ace, I love you and Sam loves you.  We’ll do anything we can to help you and Emma, but you have to understand that Justin is her father and he’s doing everything he can to be here for the both of you.  That’s not my place and it’s not Sam’s place.  You might want to try being a little thankful that he’s actually here, and either get used to him being here, or spend some time at his house.  There’s probably a hell of a lot more space there anyway.”

He left the room and Adah watched with her jaw on the floor.  She knew he was right and she knew she deserved to hear all of that, but she was still feeling irrational and childish, so it just hurt.  She was thankful for Justin’s help, and she knew that it was a small apartment.  She had just assumed that things would work smoothly.  She hadn’t really stopped to ask Sam or Brett what they thought of Emma being here, but she figured that they would tell her the truth.  She was right, because Brett just did.  She just didn’t expect it to hurt so much.

~*~

“You want to what??”  Trace’s voice rose about three octaves as he followed Justin through the kitchen and out to the back yard.  He couldn’t quite believe what he was hearing.

“I want to buy the open apartment in Adah’s building.  It’s really crowded at her place and I don’t think Sam and Brett are going to put up with me crashing on the couch for much longer.  If I get my own place I can be close to Emma but still have somewhere to go at night.”

Trace stared at his best friend, sure that Justin had been abducted by aliens and replaced with a thoughtful, responsible drone.  “You’ve got space, Justin.  A house in Orlando, an apartment in New York, a house in L.A.  Now you want another apartment?”

Justin let out a sigh.  “You gave me shit through Adah’s entire pregnancy about stepping up and being a father.  I’m doing that now and you’re going to give me more shit?”  He gave Trace a glare.

Trace held up his hands in defense.  “I’m not giving you shit, I’m just checking to make sure that it’s really what you want.”

“Yes, it is.  I need you to contact the apartment supervisor and send over the deposit.”  He threw a tennis ball for the dogs and watched as they raced across the yard.  “Make sure you use a different name.”

“Yeah, I got it.”  Trace watched Justin, smiling to himself that his friend had finally stepped up and made some good decisions.  “Does Adah know?”

Justin shook his head.  “No.  She was put off enough that I made a room for her at the house.  I’ll tell her soon enough, I just want to have the place first.”  He threw the tennis ball again, laughing as Brennan and Buckley crashed into each other in their haste to get the green ball.  He hadn’t missed the fact that Adah’s little boyfriend had the same name as his dog.  It made him chuckle, actually, and he had to stop himself from talking to Brennan—the guy—like he was a dog.

He wouldn’t come out and claim that he was jealous, he wasn’t quite at the stage yet.  He was mostly possessive over Emma and Adah came with Emma, they were a packaged deal.  He’d admit that he was a little uncomfortable with Adah and Brennan being together, but he could get over it as long as it didn’t interfere with his time with Emma.

His life had changed so drastically in the past three weeks his head was still spinning.  He was completely in love with his little girl and she made the sun shine, he was sure of it.  Things with Adah were okay, but he wanted them to be friends.  He wanted to be able to spend time with her and not have Emma act as a buffer between them.  He knew that she was a little uncomfortable with the time he’d been spending at her apartment, but he couldn’t help it.  He had promised that he was going to be there to help and he meant it.  Part of him was a little upset that she wasn’t a little more thankful for the help, but he knew she was under a lot of stress and they weren’t exactly in the ideal situation.  This is why he wanted to get the apartment; he wanted to be close enough to help whenever it was needed, but still be able to leave and give Adah some space.  He also figured that he could take Emma sometimes and give Sam, Brett and Adah some space.

He never saw himself in this place, being a father and truly enjoying it.  He loved to see Emma smile.  He loved to watch her sleep.  He loved to touch her soft hair and feel her little fingers grip his own.  It was an incredible thing, having a baby, and he was enjoying himself more than he’d expected.

It was tough, but it was also a little easier than he’d expected.  He’d gotten the hang of changing and feeding pretty quickly, and he wasn’t scared to be left alone with her right now.  It was a little easier because she didn’t do more than eat, sleep, and mess her diaper.  He had a little time to play with her, but when he needed a minute to pee or grab the phone or something, he could put her in her crib and not have to worry about her climbing out.

His mother had been a great help, too, showing him how to bathe Emma and how to feed her comfortable so his arms didn’t get tired.

Justin thought he was adjusting to fatherhood really well.  He wasn’t quite sure about the rest of the relationships in his life, but he and Emma were just fine.

“Hey, I just got off the phone with the land lord of the apartment complex.  You’re all set.”  Trace appeared in the back yard again, breaking Justin from his thoughts.

“That was fast.”  He was surprised, but pleased.  He wanted to get settled.  He was a little hesitant to leave his nice, spacious house practically empty, but he knew he was doing the right thing.  Plus, he was hoping he’d be able to convince Adah to start spending some more time here.  There was a lot more room for Emma to play, and there was more room for both Justin and Adah so they could have their own space.

“Yeah.  He was happy to hear that we’d pay the first two months rent in cash, so there wasn’t too much trouble.”  Trace clapped Justin on the back.  “Congrats, Randy Woodpond.  You’ve got yourself a new apartment.”

“Randy Woodpond?  Is that some sick fucking joke?  Really?  You couldn’t come up with a better name than that?”  Justin was upset, but he still had to laugh.  Leave it to Trace.

“Hey, you didn’t tell me what name to use, you just said make sure it was a fake one.”  He smirked, pleased with himself.

“You’re an asshole.”  It was said with a smile.  Justin grabbed Trace around the neck, putting him in a headlock.  “Don’t they need to see ID or something?”

Trace broke free, giving Justin a punch in the shoulder.  “Nah, not if we’re paying cash.  They don’t care if you say you’re the President of the United States, as long as they get their money.”

“If you say so.”  He gave Trace another shove.  “Thanks, though.”

“Hey, I’m just happy you finally stepped up and took responsibility.  It was about damn time.”  Trace grinned at Justin.

“Yeah.  Well, Emma’s so damn cute, I couldn’t help myself.” 

“She is pretty adorable.  She must get it from Adah.”  This earned Trace a punch to the kidney.

“At least we know she’s my kid.  If she were yours she’d look like an alien midget with bald spot.”

“I don’t have a bald spot, you fucker!  It’s just…lighter than the rest!”  Justin couldn’t help the belly laugh that spilled from his mouth.  Trace attempted to take him down, but Justin managed to trip Trace and they both went tumbling into the grass.  The dogs joined them in a flurry of wagging tails and flapping tongues and neither man could stop laughing.

“You’re a fucker.”  Trace panted, smiling despite his irritation.  “You’re lucky I like you.”

“Yeah, I’ll keep that in mind.”  Justin stood, giving Trace a hand.  “C’mon, let’s go get my baby girl.  I want to show her my new place.”

It’s wasn’t the best place he’d ever seen, but Justin couldn’t really complain about the new apartment he’d just purchased.  He had called a decorating company and had them come and baby proof the whole place so he could have Emma there and not worry about what he might have missed.  He was pleased with the end result and he knew he wouldn’t mind spending time here, especially if it would make his life with Adah easier.

He was a floor down from Sam, Adah and Brett, tucked in the back corner away from the elevator and next to the back stairs.  It was perfect, really, because no one would really bother him back here and he could just slip up the stairs whenever he wanted to go see Emma or just hang out with everyone else.

Right now he was headed to break the news to everyone, not sure what the reception might be.  He knew that Brett and Sam were being patient with him and Adah, but he was sure they would be relieved to have their living room back.  He figured Brennan would be a little put off, but he didn’t really care about that opinion.  In fact, it made him feel a little smug to know that he’d been infringing on Adah and Brennan’s ‘alone time.’  Yes, he was jealous, but he wasn’t going to admit it to anyone and he wasn’t going to do much about it.  He’d just be happy knowing he could be closed to both Emma and Adah.

Speaking of Adah, he was most concerned about her reaction to his little move.  She was pretty upset with all the time that he’d been spending at her place, so he wasn’t sure if she’d be relieved that he’d actually stopped sleeping on the couch, or if she’d feel like he was imposing by buying an apartment in the same building.  He didn’t want things between them to be tense.  Before Emma was born, things had been going really well.  They were getting along and getting to know each other and they’d been on the same page with a lot of the baby stuff.  Now, though, she was acting like a totally different person and he wasn’t quite sure how to handle it.  Mostly he was trying to avoid her, but it was difficult because of Emma.

He hoped this apartment would be a solution, he just couldn’t know for certain until he actually shared the news.

As he approached Adah’s door, he could hear Emma crying on the other side.  He knocked gently before opening the door and letting himself in.  He could hear the shower running, so he poked his head into Adah’s room and spotted Emma in her crib, flailing her arms and fussing loudly.

“Hey baby.”  He gently picked her up from the crib, cuddling her close to his chest.  He moved over to the bathroom door and called in to Adah.  “Hey Adah, it’s Justin.  Just wanted to let you know I was here.”

“Okay.”  Her muffled voice sounded over the running water.

“How is my little girl this morning?”  Justin cooed at Emma, tracing her face with a gentle finger.  He couldn’t get over how tiny she was and how incredible it felt to have her in his arms.  She stared up at him, blue eyes wide and curious.  “Daddy has a surprise to show you and your Mommy today.”  His voice dropped to a whisper, “He’s just scared that Mommy won’t really like it.”

Justin turned the stereo on and swayed around the room, singing softly to Emma while he waited for Adah to finish with her shower.  He could honestly do this all day.  Everything he’d accomplished in his life this far didn’t hold a candle to how amazing it felt to watch and hold his little girl.

He’s gotten sentimental in his old age.

“Hey.”  Adah’s voice broke through his thoughts and Justin turned to see her emerging from the steam of the bathroom.

“Hey.”  His eyes scanned her t-shirt and jeans, noticing that she’d lost some weight since Emma had been born.  “You look good.”  He wasn’t sure what the protocol was for telling someone they’d lost weight, but he still wanted her to know he’d noticed.

“Thanks.”  She gave him a small smile before pulling the towel off of her head, shaking out her wet hair and pulling a brush through it.  She pinned it up on top of her head, joining Justin when she was done.  “Hey Baby Girl.”  She grinned at Emma.

Justin pulled Emma little closer to his chest, afraid that if he gave her over to Adah he wouldn’t have any protection once he broke the news.

“So, I have a surprise.”  He watched Adah carefully and noticed that her eyes rolled a little at his statement.

“Tell me you didn’t buy me a house or something.”  She grabbed socks out of her dresser and sat on the bed to put them on.

“No, not a house.”

She glanced up at him, “You bought me something?”

Justin shook his head, “No, not you.  I bought me and Emma something that will help you out.  I guess it’s for the three of us.”

“Okay, I’ll bite.  What is it?”  Adah slipped on her sneakers, ready to go wherever Justin meant to take them.  “Do I need the car seat?”

“Nah, I’ll carry Emma.”  He led them out the door, but Adah was confused   She followed him down the hallway to the stairwell, still wondering where they were headed when they ended up in front of another apartment door.  “Here it is.”  He stopped, opening the door with his free hand and ushering Adah into the room.

It looked similar to her apartment in size and shape, although it was definitely decorated to suit a man and not a woman.  When she looked closely, though, she noticed the pack-and-play, the baby swing, and the gates set up around the living room and kitchen areas.  This was an apartment made to house a baby.

“You bought me an apartment?”  She turned to him, confusion knitted tightly between her brows.  She didn’t want to have to turn down another gesture that Justin was offering, but this was even more overboard then the rooms at his house.

“No, it’s my apartment.  I bought it so I could be closer to you and Emma.”  He pulled the baby closed to his chest, breathing in her sweet, powdery scent as he waited for Adah’s reaction.  So far, she still seemed confused.

“You bought an apartment when you have a perfectly good house a few minutes away?”  She watched as Justin moved further into the apartment, sitting on a brown leather couch with Emma still tucked securely in his arms.

“It’s twenty-three minutes away, actually.”  He let out a sigh and stood, placing Emma gently in the pack-and-play so he could face Adah fully.  “You won’t come to my house, Adah.  You think that it would be too awkward or uncomfortable for the both of us.  I get that, and I respect that.  But I don’t want to be away from my daughter and I promised to help you out.  It’s obvious that Sam and Brett and humoring the two of us right now, but they’re going to get tired of me sleeping on the couch, and they’re going to want to have some time that’s not completely dictated by Emma, too.”

He watched as she stood in the doorway and stared, seemingly frozen to the spot.  When she didn’t respond, he kept going.

“I know I should have run it by you first, but I thought it was the best way.  Now I have a place to stay, and there’s a place for Emma to go, too.  I can’t imagine being away from her for a night, and I’m sure you feel the same way.  Now, I’m not far away and I can come help you whenever you need it, or I can take Emma for a while and you’re not far from her, either.”  He glanced at his baby girl, sleeping soundly in her pink blankets.  When he looked back up at Adah there were tears brimming in her eyes.  “Oh, Adah.  I’m sorry.”  He apologized, immediately assuming that he’d done something to upset her.

She waived him off when he tried to give her a hug.  “No, no.  It’s not you.”  She finally moved herself enough to sit down in the arm chair that was just inside the living room.  “I’m being a huge pain in the ass and I’m too stubborn to admit it.”

Justin stopped himself form pointing out that she had, in fact, just admitted to being a pain in the ass.  He figured that she already knew that.

“Brett tried to tell me the other night that it was too crowded in our apartment, and I took it as him taking my side about you being there.”  She wiped at her face, tears still spilling over her cheeks.  “I didn’t realize that it was about me and Emma, too.”

“I don’t think he meant it like that, Adah.”  Justin couldn’t imagine Brett ever saying ‘boo’ to Adah, never mind telling her that she and her baby weren’t welcome in their apartment.

“I know, but still, he was trying to get me to understand that your offer of a room was just as much for everyone else as it was for me.”  Her face scrunched slightly and the tears came faster this time.  “Shit, Justin, I’m so scared.”

He was at a loss for words, completely unaware of how to console this woman.  Instead, he just let her talk.

Her bright, wet eyes turned up to look at him, an unknown emotion etched into her face.  “I slept with you without even knowing who you were.  I let you into my life and managed to get pregnant from it.  I was stupid enough to get myself into that situation…”  She trailed off, not sure of how she wanted to make the rest of this confession.  “What if I stay with you and something else happens?  What if I can’t resist, again, and we’re in another impossible situation?”  What she didn’t say, was what if I develop feelings for you and you can’t ever see me as anything other than that one night stand?

She didn’t say it, but it hung between them like a live wire.  Neither of them was prepared to touch it and get burned.

“We were drunk, Adah.  We were drunk and stupid…and I don’t think our situation is impossible.”  His voice was small, apprehensive.  His own unspoken fears sat thickly in the back of his throat, waiting to choke him when he wasn’t equipped to handle them, like now.

She stayed silent, trying to calm herself down and stop the flood of tears that seemed endless.  Emma still slept soundly in her pack-and-play; a small bundle of hope and happiness that connected these two desperate souls.  If it wasn’t for Emma, Justin and Adah would have nothing between them but their one-time indiscretion.  Now, they had a lifetime to look after; a lifetime they’d created out of lust, liquor, and loneliness.

“I don’t have to keep the place, I just thought it might help.”  Justin stuffed his hands in it pockets, resigned.  He was running out of ideas on how to make this situation better and it was starting to get to him.

“No, it’s fine.”  Adah conceded, knowing that she had to stop turning him down or they would never be able to form any type of a relationship between them.  “Keep the apartment.  I’m sure we’ll be needing it, if just for Sam and Brett’s sake.”

It was a white flag of sorts, but Justin wasn’t about to overlook it.  “Okay, I’ll keep it.”

~*~

Adah trudged back to her apartment, leaving Emma with Justin while she napped.  There was an empty spot in her arms where he daughter should be, but there was also a small sense of relief because she could go back to the apartment and not have to worry about her baby.

Adah had a lot of thoughts weighing pretty heavily on her mind.  She was glad that Justin was being so invested in being a father, but she was overwhelmed with everything that was going on.  It was hard enough being a mother, but to be the mother of Justin Timberlake’s baby was a whole other challenge.  She was lucky that the press hadn’t caught wind of this.

She also had a lot on her mind when it came to Justin in general.  They’d spent a lot of time together since Emma had been born, and even though most of his attention was focused on the baby, he was being caring and thoughtful toward Adah as well.  It was confusing.  She was obviously attracted to him, and it worried her that she might start to develop feelings for him that wouldn’t be reciprocated.  It scared her, really.  That was part of the reason she had so much trouble with Justin being around, but it was a necessary evil.  She also wasn’t going to pass up the opportunity to get some help with Emma.

As Adah reached her apartment door she spotted Brennan dragging Ranger down the hallway in her direction.  A warm smile lit his face as he got closer.

“Her there, Mama.”  He stopped short, pulling tightly on Ranger’s leash.  Adah gave him a grin.

“You haven’t been doing leash work, have you?”  She stooped, scratching the eager Labrador behind the ears and letting him bathe her face with sloppy kisses.

Brennan shrugged and let out a chuckle, “My dog trainer just had a baby.  She’s been unavailable.”

Adah laughed.  “Well, I’m free right now.  We could take Ranger to the park and do some more work.”

“I just got back from the park, actually.”  He reached up to scratch his head and Adah couldn’t help but think that it was a move Justin did all the time when he was nervous.  “If you’re really free, though, I’d like to take you out to dinner.”

Adah felt the heat creep up her neck and into her cheeks.  She’d just been asked out on a date.  The first date since her little tryst with Justin.

“I’d love to.”  Obvious relief washed over Brennan’s face at her answer.

“Great.  That’s great.”  He turned to his apartment door, pulling his dog with him.  “Let me get Ranger inside and we can head out.  It’s okay, right?  You’ve got someone to watch Emma?”

Adah nodded, not sure how much to tell him.  “Yeah, Justin’s got her.”

An expression that Adah couldn’t quite place crossed Brennan’s face, but she let it pass without commenting.  It was an awkward situation to begin with, she couldn’t fault the guy for being uncomfortable at the mention of the other man.

“Cool.  Just give me a second then.”

Adah followed Brennan into his apartment and took a seat on the couch as he fed and watered the dog.  She watched with a small smile, thinking that she could get used to this.  At the same time that thought crossed her mind, she was reminded of her baby and her good mood slipped a little.  It would be really difficult to make any sort of a relationship work while she was balancing being a Mom and figuring out how things worked between her and Justin.  Brennan knew the situation and he was sympathetic, but she couldn’t imagine that he’d tolerate things for very long, no matter how patient he was.

She let out a frustrated sigh, not liking the direction he thoughts kept heading lately.

“Ready to go?”  Brennan came back into the living room, breaking her thoughts and bringing a smile to her face.

“Yeah, let’s go.”  Adah was determined to forget Justin for the night and just enjoy being with someone she cared so much about.

Maybe Brennan was the thing she needed to get her out of this funk and get her mind off of Justin Timberlake.  Maybe.

The restaurant was casual, almost a sports bar, but Adah was completely enjoying herself.  She hadn’t been out since that night with Justin, and it was really nice to not have to worry about anything for a minute.  Of course she couldn’t help but worry about Emma, but she knew that her baby was safe with Justin. 

Thinking of Justin was a bad idea for Adah, but it was getting harder and harder to avoid.  Brennan was a great distraction, though, and she was trying really hard to focus on the man next to her.

“Are you having a good time?”  He asked, probably for the millionth time.

“Yes, I am.”  She grinned at him, “Just like I was ten minutes ago.”

He looked sheepish, “Sorry.  You’re just being so quite, it’s making me nervous.”

“I’m sorry, I just keep wondering how Emma is.  It’s not you, I promise.”  She grabbed his hand and gave him her best smile.  He returned it, giving her hand a squeeze.

“Can I get you another drink?”  He nodded at her drink, a ginger ale.  Adah shook her head.

“I’m all set, thanks.  I was thinking maybe we could check out the dessert menu?  I’ve been craving chocolate lately.”

“Sure thing.”  He signaled the waitress, asking for their dessert menu.  Adah listened to the girl rattle off a list of desserts and she finally chose some triple chocolaty confection.  Brennan laughed at the look in Adah’s eyes as she anticipated the treat.

“Sorry,”  She giggled with him.  “It’s been a long time since I’ve been out.”

“Since you and Justin hooked up?”  He wasn’t sure where the question came from, and he regretted it as soon as it slipped out, but he had been wondering about Adah and Justin for a long time now.  “I’m sorry,” he recanted, “I shouldn’t ask that.”

“No, it’s okay.”  Adah shifted uncomfortably, but she knew that if she wanted to have any sort of relationship with Brennan she would have to be upfront and honest.  “You have a right to be curious.”

“It’s your life, though, Adah.  I’m being a jealous idiot and I don’t expect you to share anything that you don’t want to.”  He looked truly ashamed of prying and Adah grabbed his hand, giving him her best smile.

“I was completely drunk that night.  I knew who he was, I thought he was extremely attractive and I about peed my pants when he came up to me and asked me to dance.”  She paused, laughing at the thought of how out of character she’d acted.  “I don’t know how it happened.  One minute we’re just dancing and laughing, and then the next thing I know, I’m waking up in some hotel room, naked and hung over.”

Brennan said nothing for a while and Adah was sure that she’d shared too much.  A moment later he broke the silence.  “Is it too forward of me to ask how you feel about him now?”

Adah shrugged, getting more uncomfortable.  “No, it’s not.  You have a right to know if we’re ever going to start something.”

It was the first time either of them had mentioned a relationship, but since he was asking such personal questions, Adah figured she should just put it all out on the table anyway.  The conversation was halted for a second when the waitress brought Adah’s dessert over, but she only picked at it, her appetite having left her.

“I don’t know how I feel, to be completely honest.”  She took a deep breath, looking Brennan in the eyes.  “I like you, a lot.  I’ve liked you ever since you first moved it.  But things feel complicated.  Justin is the father of my baby and that means we have a relationship whether we like it or not.  There are times I feel like we’re connecting and getting to know one another, and then he’ll get called away to a photo shoot, or he’ll have to leave to go do something that suddenly reminds me he’s world famous and that any sort of relationship is going to be near impossible.”

Brennan sat back, feeling curious and uncomfortable at the same time.

“I hate him at times, too.  He got me pregnant and then took forever to finally come around and act like a man.”  She glanced away from Brennan, feeling suddenly embarrassed as she said her next thought.  “But you were right with me the whole time.  You hardly knew me and you stepped in and became a really good friend.  More than that…you became more that just a really good friend.”

“Adah…”

She held up her hand.  “Let me finish.  I like you, Brennan.  I like you a lot.  You make me laugh, you make me comfortable, and I feel like you and I would be great together.  But I come with baggage.  Some of it’s an adorable eight pounds of baggage, but some of it isn’t so attractive.  I can’t get away from Justin being in my life.  He wants to be with Emma and I will never deny him that chance.”

“Adah…”  Brennan cut in a little more forcefully this time.

She stopped and looked up at him, “What?”

“Shut up and let me kiss you.”

Her mouth dropped open slightly at the large grin that had spread on Brennan’s face.  He didn’t wait for her to pull herself together, though, before he leaned across the table and gently took her face in his hands.  The kiss lasted only for a moment or two, but it was electric and it left Adah speechless for quite a while afterward.

Brennan picked up her fork and took a large bite of the chocolate cake.  “You should eat this, it’s delicious.”

She could only stare.

~*~

Justin paced the room, bouncing Emma gently in his arms.  “Hey baby girl, you should really go to sleep now.”

Bright blue eyes stared up at him before her tiny mouth let out a wail that seemed disproportionate to the size of her.

“Right.  Don’t listen to me, I’m just the daddy.”  Justin glanced at the clock on the wall and cursed softly.  “Shh, little girl.  I’ll get you a bottle.”  He managed to get a bottle of breast milk from the fridge and heat it up without having to put Emma down.  She continued to scream madly, and through the din of her crying Justin mused that she had a good set of pipes.  Perhaps she might someday take after her old man.

“Okay, Emma.”  He placed the nipple of the bottle in her mouth and she quieted instantly.  He let out an appreciative sigh and settled into the cushions of the couch.

It was going on two in the morning and he had meetings to get to in few hours.  He hadn’t slept much because Emma was having a rough night.  The executives he was meeting with in the morning didn’t know that he’d recently become a father and he was worried that they might not be too pleased if he showed up half asleep and cranky.  The meeting was about getting some more money to back an independent movie project he was working on. 

It stressed him out thinking about everything, and sitting up at two in the morning wasn’t helping.

Emma contentedly sucked on her bottle and Justin couldn’t help the smile that crossed his face.  She was adorable and he was irrevocably in love with her.  She had changed so much in his life and he was happy for it.  But there was so much that had just become tangled and confused.

He had no idea how he felt about Adah, which was something he contemplated often because they spent so much time together.  He had started keeping things from some of his friends because he was so afraid of Emma’s existence getting out to the public.  He didn’t sleep anymore, even when he wasn’t with his daughter.  Music and business had taken a serious back burner because he wanted to devote as much time as he could to being with Emma.

Justin Timberlake wasn’t the same man he’d been ten months ago.

That night with Adah often scrolled through his mind.  He couldn’t believe that he’d let himself be so careless with a woman he’d just met, but he couldn’t deny that the outcome had brought his happiness.  Perhaps there was a reason that he’d skipped the condom that night.  Perhaps there was a reason that he and Adah had hooked up and created Emma.

And perhaps he was delirious with lack of sleep and started to have strange, convoluted thoughts.

“I’ve got to get a life.”  Emma let out a loud belch at his comment and Justin couldn’t help but laugh.

Justin’s phone flashed on the table and he reached over to grab it, opening a text message from Adah.

::Are you still up?::

He adjusted a now sleeping Emma so he could respond.

::Just fed the kid a bottle and managed to get her to sleep.  But yes, I’m up::

::I’m coming down to get her::

A minute later there was a soft knock on the door and then Adah’s head popped around the corner.

“Hey, sorry I’m so late.”  She whispered as she crossed the room, smiling at the sleeping baby in Justin’s arms.

He couldn’t help but notice the glow that surrounded her.  She seemed light and happy and it was something new.  Instantly the pit of jealousy that resided in his stomach flared, but he tried his damndest to ignore it.

“She’s had a rough night, but hopefully she’ll sleep now.”

“You look beat.”  She finally took her eyes off to Emma to look up at Justin.  “I’m sorry that I didn’t come get her sooner.”

He shrugged, handing the baby over to her waiting arms.  “It’s okay.  I do need to get some sleep, though, I have some meetings to get to tomorrow.”

“Okay, I’ll take her back up to my place so you can go pass out.  I’m sorry, again.”

“It’s fine, Adah.”  He couldn’t help but feel like she was rubbing something in and it was starting to get to him.  He blamed it on the exhaustion.

“Have a good night.  Good luck with you meetings tomorrow.”

“Night.”  He locked the door after she left, resting his head against the solid wood.  With a deep breath he dragged himself into his bedroom and flopped on the bed, not bothering to change out of his clothes or even brush his teeth.

Suddenly, though, he didn’t think he could sleep.

Justin had ended up being late for his meeting, which pissed the executives off, and he had developed a horrendous migraine to go along with the stress.  It wasn’t turning out to be a very good morning, but at least the meeting was over and he could take the rest of the day off.

He contemplated going to the apartment, but he knew that he wouldn’t be able to help with Emma much because his head hurt so much.  Instead he opted to go to his house so he could take a long nap and enjoy some quite.  He had so much on his mind, even if he was by himself, his thoughts were big enough to keep him from getting lonely. 

The meeting this morning had shown Justin that he wasn’t very adept at leading a double life.  It was one thing to keep his personal life private, it was another entirely to hide his baby from everyone except a very close few.  He couldn’t explain to people why he was exhausted all the time, he couldn’t share his joy with many, and he had to divide his time so often that he felt like he was always playing catch up. He’d never imagined that his life would take a turn like this, and he wasn’t sure how to handle it.  He’d always figured that he would be married and having a baby would be a truly joyous and amazing event.  Of course Emma was an amazing addition to his life, but because her conception happened the way it did, he felt like it was a huge secret instead of the celebration he’d always expected.

He was getting really tired of keeping this secret. 

He just wanted to be able to explain to people why he was exhausted all the time.  He wanted to share with other why he constantly had a stupid grin plastered on his face even with his exhaustion.  He wanted to be able to tell his buddies why he just wasn’t up for partying or clubbing anymore, or why he didn’t feel like taking girls home with him anymore.

He had a drastic thought in his head and he knew that no one in his inner circle would want him to go through with it, but he was getting desperate and he needed things to change.

Justin was relieved when he finally pulled into his driveway and parked in the garage.  He could hear his dogs making a whole lot of racket on the other side of the door and he smiled, happy to be home.

“Hey guys,”  he knelt down to greet both wagging animals, his face getting lapped in the process.  “Good to see you too.”

“I thought I heard you pull in.”  Rachel’s voice broke him from his conversation with Buckley and Brennan.

“Hey Rach.”  He stood, giving her a smile.

“I’m surprised to see you here.  I figured you’d be at the apartment.”  Rachel’s voice was filled with something that Justin didn’t have the energy to dissect at the moment.  She was still fairly sore over the whole Adah thing and she kept telling Justin not to trust the girl.  It was getting slightly annoying.

“I was up until three in the morning with Emma last night.  Adah has her today, so I figured I’d come home and catch up on some sleep.”  He made his way further into the house, heading toward the kitchen so he could grab some food.

“Cool.”  Justin turned at the sound of Rachel’s response, a questioning look on his face.

“Cool?”  He dropped his hat on the counter and ran a hand over his head.  “Spare me the lecture, Rach.  I know it’s coming and I’m too tired to deal with it right now.”  He glanced up and caught her eye, “I know what you’re going to say, anyway.  You can save it.”

Rachel crossed her hands over her chest, her cheeks flaming brightly.  “Apparently you don’t know it well enough.  You’re still not listening to me.”

“Because you want me to ignore my own baby!”  His anger was palpable.  “We have paternity tests confirming that Emma is my little girl.  Adah wasn’t lying.  She’s never asked for money, and-”

“She’s never asked because you just keep giving her shit anyway!”  Rachel cut him off, her arms flailing.

“Fuck you.”  The words were spit with so much venom that Rachel took a step backward, suddenly silent.  Justin’s eyes were filled with a barely controlled rage; his fists were clenched so tightly that the skin was white with strain.  “I’ve made my decision.  Any money I’ve been spending to take care of my daughter is my business.  You can stay the fuck out of my life and leave me alone.”

It took a second for Rachel to find her voice.  “Fine.”  It was a whisper.  “I’m going back to Tennessee, then.”

“Fine.”

Justin was alone in the kitchen a moment later, Rachel’s angry footsteps echoing down the hallway.  He ran a hand over his head again.  His appetite was gone and his head was pounding.  Rachel’s opinion wasn’t a secret, but he couldn’t figure out why she was so sure that Adah was using Justin.  She was there when the paternity tests were looked at; she knew that Emma was biologically his.  Even with all of that, though, Rachel was still pissed at Justin for spending time with Adah or spending money.  It was upsetting and it just made things that much more complicated.

He shuffled his was upstairs to his room.  Drawing the curtains on the window’s and balcony doors, he flopped heavily onto his bed and let out a sigh that came from somewhere around his toes.

He was about to lie down and burry his head underneath the covers, but his phone rang.  It was his mother.

“Hey Momma.”

“Why is your cousin calling me, hysterical, claiming that you’re the world’s largest asshole and she’s coming home to Tennessee?”

Justin let out another sigh, this one sounding eerily similar to a profanity.  “We going into a fight.”

“I figured that one out, Honey.  I’m not stupid, you know.”

“Sorry.”  Justin was getting truly tired of women.  Lately his life seemed to be overrun with them.

“What happened?”

“She’s still pissed off at me for having anything to do with Adah and Emma.  She started to harp at me when I came home today and I told her that I didn’t feel like dealing with her lectures.  Some nasty stuff was said, I told her to butt out of my life, and she said she was going back home.”

The silence on the other end lasted for only a moment.  “She’s still giving you a hard time?”

“Yes.  I don’t know what her hang up is, but I’m tired of her telling me that I’m doing the wrong thing.  I’m just trying to take care of Emma.”

“She sounded really hurt, Justin.  I’ve never heard Rachel that upset before.”

“Yeah, well I’m hurt too, Mom.”  He tried to control his anger, but he was still riled up from his fight with Rachel and he was sick of dealing with everyone else’s opinion about how he should live his life.  “Everyone’s got advice on how I should live my life.  First people were pissed that I wasn’t taking responsibility for my actions, and now I’m getting shit on because I’m actually taking care of Emma and helping Adah out, too.  I don’t know what else I can be doing, but I’m really tired of everyone telling me that I’m fucking up.”

“Don’t yell at me, young man.  I’m not the one you’re angry at.”  Her voice was hard as steel.

“Sorry Momma.  I’m just really exhausted with trying to make everyone happy.”  He fell back into the pillows and squeezed his eyes shut.  This was not how he pictured spending his afternoon.

“Rachel is just worried about you.  Having a baby is a big deal for your career.  She’s probably just concerned that you might compromise what you’ve worked so hard at.  Remember, Justin, she’s been with you through all of it, every second.  She’s just making sure that you’re not being taken advantage of.”

“Yeah, but she knows that Emma is my daughter.  She saw the test results.  Why is she still being a bitch about Adah?”

“Don’t refer to your cousin like that.”  Justin held back his comment, knowing that he really didn’t want to piss of his mother.  “I can’t tell you why she’s acting that way, Justin, I just know that you could have handled it a lot better.”

“Right, I know.  I’m sorry.” 

“You should call and apologize.”  Lynn’s voice was still hard, but not quite as angry as before.

“I’m still pissed of, Ma.  I don’t think calling her right now would be a good idea on my end.  Besides, I don’t appreciate the fact that she’s still giving me so much shit about Adah and Emma.  I’m doing the best I can.  She’s my baby and I’m going to take care of her.  It’s the right thing to do.”

Lynn let out a sigh of her own.  She was sure that her son and grown up, so why was she still playing mediator between him and her niece?  “Justin, I just know that you are going to regret pissing Rachel off like that.  She’s your cousin and your personal assistant.  Shutting her out is a very bad idea.”

“I’ll just have Trace step back in.”  It was an obvious fix to him.

“Right, Trace, the guy who has been spending all of his time getting your clothing line off of the ground. He’s not going to be able to step back in, Justin.  And I’ve got too much going on to help you, too.  Rachel is your best choice.  You need to fix things with her, and soon.”

“I’ll call her later, okay?  I didn’t get any sleep last night and I’m still pissed off.  Calling her now would just make things worse.”

“Okay, I’ll call her back and tell her not to leave.  You can talk to her tomorrow.”

Justin made a quick decision.  “No, let her go home.  She needs a break.  I’ll be able to handle things for a week or two.  I’ll fly down to Tennessee in a week or so and talk to her then.”

“Are you sure?”  Lynn was concerned, but she also knew that when Justin got an idea in his head it was pretty damn difficult to change his mind.

“Yeah.”  He yawned, “I need to get some sleep, Ma.  I love you.”

“Love you too.” 

They hung up the phone and Justin tossed it to the other side of the bed.  This day just kept getting worse and worse, and now he had even more on his mind.  He felt bad that he’d upset Rachel, but he was just as pissed off.  Why didn’t she have to call and apologize to him?

Add to all of that, he was still feeling like he wasn’t happy with the way things were going at the current time.  He didn’t want to keep secrets anymore, and he wanted to be able to share his baby girl with anyone he wanted to, not just his inner circle.  Of course he knew he ran the risk of subjecting her to the media frenzy that followed his life, but he also knew that he couldn’t do this for much longer.

Justin let out a frustrated grunt, suddenly aware that sleep was going to elude him again.

-

“I want to take Emma to Tennessee with me.”  Justin blurted the words out quickly, hoping that the speed might soften the impact of his request.  Adah gave him a wide-eyed look.

“Tennessee?”

“Yeah.”  He let out a sigh, allowing himself to sit on one of the bar stools in place of his pacing.  “It’s a long story, really, but essentially I have to go grovel to get my cousin back as my personal assistant and she’s in Tennessee.”

“And you want to take Emma with you?” Adah asked, the same look still on her face.  If Justin didn’t already know her, he’d wonder if she was slightly…off.  She seemed to be having trouble understanding his words.

“Yeah.  My grandparents haven’t met her yet, and both my Mom and Dad really want to see her again.  I just…I need a little vacation and I really want Emma to see Tennessee.”

Adah picked up where Justin’s pacing had left off.  She didn’t think that taking Emma to Tennessee was a bad idea, she just couldn’t imagine being without her baby for any extended period of time.  “Justin…I…”  She paused, not sure how to phrase what she wanted to say.  “I don’t know if I can be without Emma.”

“You’d come with me, of course.”  The tone of his voice indicated that this was what he was thinking all along and she was being an idiot for thinking otherwise.

“Oh.”

“I would never expect you to let me take Emma for two weeks without you.”  This conversation was turning out to be more awkward and uncomfortable than he’d originally predicted, which was saying a lot.  “I can give you some time to think about it, if you need.”  Justin didn’t really have time for Adah to think about it.  He’d already booked the tickets and their plane left the day after tomorrow.  He wasn’t stupid enough to tell her that, though.

“No…no I don’t need time.”  Adah took a deep breath, knowing that she was probably going to regret this but having no other choice.  “Yeah, we can go.”  The light  in Justin’s eyes as she answered was enough to set Adah grinning.  His joy was contagious and she knew that she’s just made this man’s day.

“Sweet!”  He scooped her up in a hug, swinging her around the room.  “I’m so excited!”  He set her down, the awkwardness seeming to escape him in his excitement.  Adah, however, couldn’t get over the fact that her skin was on fire from where he’d touched her.  “My baby girl gets to see my hometown!”

“When are you thinking of leaving?  How much time to I have to pack?”

Justin stopped his excited babble to glance over at Adah.  “Oh, right.  Pack.”  He knew it would be fatal to admit that his plans we made, so he fibbed a little.  “I’ll go talk to someone about booking tickets now.  I’d like to leave soon, though, so maybe you could start packing now?  I’m hoping to have a plane for Thursday.”

“Okay.  I’ll start getting things together.”  Adah watched Justin start to scroll through his phone, and she couldn’t help but share a little in his excitement.  Of course, her worry and hesitancy were overruling that joy, but she was trying her hardest to hide it.

“I need to go make a few phone calls.  I’ll come up later and give you the details.  Thanks so much, Adah, this is going to be great.”  He left a kiss on her cheek that Adah could still feel long after he’d skipped out of her apartment.

“Taking a little vacation with baby daddy?”  Sam’s voice broke through Adah’s thoughts and she quickly removed her hand from her cheek.

“Yeah, he wants to take Emma to Tennessee.”  She forced herself to walk into the kitchen where Sam had been giving Emma a snack.

“And you’re okay with all of this?”  Sam sat back down at her chair and shifted Emma’s bottle.  The infant could only hold her bubba for a moment before her grip slackened and the plastic fell.  It was interesting to watch, really. 

“Yeah, of course I am.”  Adah’s tone spoke to the exact opposite.  “It’s his home.”

“And you’re cool with being surrounded by doting family members?”

“Of course.”

 “And being alone with Justin for extended periods of time where you’ll play at Mommy and Daddy and get a chance to see what it might be like if that man were more than just Emma's co-creator?”

If possible, Sam would be leveled with the stare Adah was sending her.  “What are you getting at?”

“Nothing,”  The blond held up her hands in defense.  “Nothing at all.  I’m just making sure you know what you’re getting into.”

Adah’s sigh sounded more like a growl.  “Justin deserves to have his daughter at home with him.  He’s being understanding by inviting me along.  Neither of us would be right to take Emma away for an extended period of time without the other.  That’s all it is.”

“Are you convincing me, or you?”  Sam was thrown another dirty look.  “Hey!  You’re face is going to stick that way if you keep looking at me like that.  My Momma told me so.”

“Just so you know, things between me and Brennan have been fantastic lately and I’m truly content.  I won’t be without my daughter for two weeks,  but I have no worry that things between Justin and I will stay exactly the same and everything will be fine.”  She stalked out of the room, leaving Sam looking at Emma knowingly.

“Of course things between her and Justin will stay the same.  Awkward and charged with completely electric sexual tension.  Nothing new there.”  Emma grinned and let out a giggle at the silly face Sam was making.  “Yeah, you know what I’m talking about, don’t cha, baby doll?”

Another giggle erupted from the little girl.

~*~

The plane ride had been uneventful, which both Justin and Adah were thankful for.  Emma slept the entire way, allowing both of the adults time to relax.  There wasn’t much in the way of conversation, but that was okay because both of them were lost in their own thoughts.

Adah couldn’t help but remember her conversation with Sam a few days ago.  She wondered what her roommate was getting at.  She also wondered how things with Brennan would be while she was gone.  They’d been spending so much time together lately, she didn’t know what the distance would do.

Justin had been trying to figure out how he was going to woo his cousin back into working for him.  He knew that he’d done something to royally piss her off (for the life of him he didn’t know what) and he also knew that it was going to take more than just groveling to get her back.  Women were so damn unpredictable.  At least right now Emma was uncomplicated in her needs and he could make her happy with a silly face or a bottle.  He prayed that she would stay that way forever. 

He prayed really hard.  Often.

“What’s going to happen when we land?”  Adah’s voice broke his thoughts.

“My mom and Paul are going to meet us there.  We’ll just go to the house for the afternoon so we can make sure she gets settled.”  Both pairs of eyes shifted to the sleeping bundle in the seat between them.  She yawned and cooed in her sleep, balling her tiny fists together as she stretched.

“You’re not worried about…crowds?”  Adah had been wondering all morning how they were going to get Emma past any photographers.

“We’ll be pulling into a private terminal.  We wait until everyone else has gotten off, and then the plane will move to the private terminal and Mom will meet us there.”

“Oh.”  So much of this was totally over Adah’s head, but Justin was comfortable with it so she tried to relax.  They’d been the first to board the plane this morning, heading to a section in the back that had been quartered off so it was just the three of them.  The staff had obviously been paid generously to keep their mouths shut, too. 

Oh, the things you could get with enough money.

A noise from Emma stole their attention.  “Hey baby girl.”  Justin shifted the blankets around his daughter and touched her cheek gently.  Her bright blue eyes opened and stared up at him, a grin coming to her face.  “Look whose up.”

Adah leaned over to smile down at her daughter.  It was a tender moment between the three of them and Adah found herself feeling content with the thought that she liked this.  She would be okay if it happened more often.

The captian’s voice came over the speaker to announce that they’d landed and passengers were now able to exit the plane.  Twenty minutes later, Justin and Adah were being greeted by his mother as they exited the terminal gate.

“My baby!”  Lynn gushed, rushing over to the three arrivals.

“Hey Momma,”  Justin grinned, ready to hug his mother when she rushed past him and to the stroller that Adah was pushing.  “Or not.”

“Forgive her, son, she just missed her granddaughter.”  Paul’s voice was filled with laughter at the slighted look on Justin’s face.  “She missed you, too.”

“Right.  I procreate and now I’m chopped liver.  I see how it is.”

“Well, Emma is way cuter than you are.”  Paul’s quip stopped Justin in his tracks.

“Ouch, Dad, that hurt.”  He feigned a shot to the heart, but took Paul’s embrace anyway, patting the other man on the back.  “It’s good to see you.”

“You too.”  Paul set Justin at arm’s length, giving his step son a once-over.  “You look like hell.”

“Gee, thanks.”  Justin stooped to pick up his bags again, falling into step with Paul as they trailed after the girls.  “I haven’t been sleeping well lately.  Emma has a set of lungs on her and she likes to use them.”

“Sounds like someone else I know.” 

Justin grinned.  “Yeah, she’s a regular chip off the old block.”  There was a moment’s pause, “I’m glad to be home, though.  I need a little home cookin’ and some time off.  It’ll be good to show Emma and Adah around, too.”

“How is Adah doing?”

“She’s dating her neighbor.”  It came out so suddenly that it startled both men and Justin felt the heat creeping up his neck.  “Not that it matters.”

“Obviously it does matter.”  The older man could sense his son’s discomfort, but he knew it wasn’t time to push it; that Justin would open up on his own time.  He always did.  “Just focus on enjoying you week.  I hear that Sadie has been slaving away at a triple batch of peach cobbler.”

“Sweet.  I can’t wait.”  There wasn’t any more time for conversation because they’d reached the car.  After Emma was secured into a car seat and the luggage had been put in the back, everyone jumped in the car.  Justin and Adah sat in the back next to Emma.  .  They were sitting closely together, both flushed with the joy of their daughter.  Adah shifted closer to Justin so she could lean over him and fix Emma’s blanket.  Justin’s eyes closed as he breathed in her scent.  He didn’t know he was doing it.

Lynn gave Paul a knowing look as they watched the young parents dote over their daughter and share laughs.

It was going to be an interesting two weeks, no doubt about it.

Adah rolled over, rubbing her face in the pillow of the guest bed she was given.  Something felt off, and it took her a moment to realize that she couldn’t hear Emma.  Adah sat up, looking at the baby monitor and noticing that it had been turned off.

While she was sure that Justin had grabbed Emma already, it still made her feel uneasy to not know where her baby was.  It was only her first full day in Tennessee and she was already out of sorts and uncomfortable.  Justin’s family members had been stopping by in droves because they wanted to see both Justin and his baby.  Adah was regarded with a cool indifference and it was unsettling.  Most everyone was polite enough, but she could still feel their penetrating gaze as they tried to figure out how she and Justin worked.

Shrugging on a t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants, Adah made her way past Emma’s room, checking just in case, and then down stairs into the kitchen.  She heard voice and then a soft giggle.  Rounding the corner, she spotted Lynn bouncing Emma lightly while Justin stood at the stove, cooking pancakes.

“Morning, Darlin!”  Lynn spotted her first, standing up and greeting her with a large smile.  Emma cooed and reached for her mother.

“Hey, it smells good in here.”  Adah glanced over at Justin, his grin mirroring his mother’s.  “Hey baby girl.”  She took Emma from Lynn’s grasp.  Walking over to Justin, Adah peeked over his shoulder, holding Emma up so he could lean over and give her a kiss.

“Morning, Adah.  Did you sleep okay?”  Justin turned back to the stove, a grin plastered on his face.

“Yeah, I did.  Thanks for getting Emma this morning.  I don’t know if I’ve slept in like that since she was born.”

Justin chuckled.  “Probably not, that tiny thing has a big voice.”

“That would be her father’s fault,” Lynn chimed in from the kitchen table.  She was enjoying having her son home, and she was enjoying the happiness that seeped from his pores.  Justin glowed whenever Emma or Adah were around him and Lynn was relieved to see the two adults getting along so well.

“Hey!”  Justin mocked hurt.  “That was mean, Momma.  You gave me these lungs.”

“And then you encouraged him to use them.”  Adah joined in, throwing Lynn a smile as Justin protested again.  “What were you thinking?”

Lynn shrugged, laughter bubbling from her throat as Justin gave them both dirty looks.  “I’m still trying to figure that one out, darlin’.”

Justin huffed, turning back to the stove.  “At least I’ve got Emma on my side.”

“Until she learns to talk.”  Both Adah and Lynn spoke at the same time, and then laughter spilled from their mouths.  Adah had to hand Emma over to Justin because she was laughing too hard and she was afraid Emma might fall.

“Women.”  Justin scoffed.  He glanced down at his daughter who gazed at him with his bright blue eyes.  “Please don’t grow up to hate your daddy.  Or be mean, like Mommy is.”  Emma blew spit bubbles at him. 

“Is that food done yet?  I’m starving.”  Adah had finally stopped laughing, her sides aching.  “Here, I’ll take Emma back.  Where did you put the formula?”

“It’s in the diaper bag, over by the table.” Justin motioned with his head, leaning in the direction he indicated.  “Let Mom do that, Ads.  You should eat.”

Adah stopped, contemplating what she should do before turning and handing Emma over to Lynn’s waiting arms.  She then grabbed a bottle and quickly put it together.  “Thanks, Lynn.  I really appreciate it.”

“You’re welcome, Darlin’.  The pleasure is all mine, really.  It’s not everyday I get to feed my grand baby.”  She grinned up at both Justin and Adah before putting her full attention back on Emma.

Adah took a seat at one of the bar stools at the counter, watching as Justin finished up with the bacon he was cooking.  A minute later he placed a plate of pancakes with bacon, and a jug of maple syrup in front of Adah.  “Milk or OJ?”

“Uhm, milk, please.”  She took a bite of the food, groaning in appreciation.  “I’m going to let you cook for me more often, Justin.  These are fantastic.  I usually avoid pancakes; when Sam makes them, they usually have egg shells in them.”

Justin chuckled, “Anytime, Ads.” It was meant to be an off hand comment, but he was surprised to realize that he actually meant it.  Being down here with his family and having Emma with him just made those strange feelings he’d been having lately get even harder to ignore.  His life was too complicated to even think about getting into a relationship, but it seemed like it would be so easy.  They both shared this incredible seven-pound bond, there was obviously attraction between them, and they got along well.  Justin cared about Adah beyond just being Emma’s mom.  He truly wanted her to be happy and he could see himself making her happy.

He was heading into dangerous waters, he knew, but sometimes he couldn’t help himself.

Maybe he was okay with pretending that they were a real family while they were down here.  Maybe it was okay to lower his guard for a little and stop worrying about right and wrong.  Maybe he just wanted to go with his gut for once.

Of course, the last time he went with his gut he ended up creating his daughter.  She was the light of his life, though, and he was proud to be her father.

He shook his head.  He was thinking too much.

“What do y’all have planned for today?”  Lynn’s voice broke Justin from his thoughts and he looked up at his mother.  She had a knowing smile on her face and she winked at him.  She was obviously aware of his thought process.  That woman was too intuitive for her own good.

“I thought I might take Emma and Adah over to the lake.  I wanted to show them some of my favorite places while we were here.  It’s only right that my little girl knows where her daddy grew up.”

“That sounds like fun.  Your Gram wants us over for dinner tonight, so be home for five.”

“Sure thing, Momma.”  Justin finished his food, placing his plate in the sink and gulping the rest of his juice.  “I’ll take Emma now.  I’m gonna go get her dressed.”

He gently took his baby from his mother, avoiding her penetrating gaze.  He didn’t want to face things yet; he wasn’t ready.  Maybe after he spent some time with Adah and he was better able to figure out his feelings.  Maybe.

Leaving the two women behind in the kitchen, Justin made his way up the stairs with Emma cradled gently in his arms.  Lynn and Adah watching him leave.

“We’re all so glad to have you guys down here.  I’m happy you came, Adah.”  Lynn’s soft voice made Adah turn and smile.  It was a slightly sad smile.  “You’re not happy to be here?”  Lynn knew that Adah was uncomfortable, she just didn’t know why.

Adah shrugged.  “I just feel that there are some people here that don’t think I have Justin’s best interests at heart.  They seem to miss the fact that I will always have Emma’s best interests in mind and that means I would never do anything to compromise Justin or his career.”  She bent her head, slightly ashamed of her feelings.  “Everyone’s been really welcoming so far, I guess I’m just feeling like I’m being judged behind all the smiling.”

Lynn chuckled.  “You’re right, you know.”  Adah looked at her sharply.  “But you can’t let their opinions bother you.  Paul and I know that you love Emma and that you are not out to get him in any way.  They’ll all figure that out, too, once they get to know you and see how you are with the two of them.”

Adah wasn’t sure what to say.  “I guess you’re right.”  Lynn stood and kissed Adah on the forehead, shooing her in the direction of the stairs.

“I know I’m right, darlin’.  Now, go get ready.  If I know my son he’s got an entire day planned for the three of you.”

Adah ascended the stairs, feeling slightly better about her unease.  Lynn was such a wonderful woman and Adah was entirely lucky for having her in her life.  It was difficult not having a mom and Lynn seemed to step in with ease.  There would never be a replacement, but it was nice to have someone who cared.

“Hey, you.  You’ve got twenty minutes and then we’re off.  Wear your bathing suit, too.  There’s sunscreen in the bathroom if you need it.”  Justin met Adah at the top of the stairs, Emma now dressed in a pale yellow sundress with a matching hat.  He pointed into Adah’s room and nudged her in that direction.  “Twenty minutes!”  He called after her before disappearing back downstairs.

~*~

It was hot out, but the air was clear and fresh and Adah appreciated being away from L.A.  It had been a long time since she’d taken a trip anywhere, and it was beautiful here.  It was also surreal to walk around with Justin without anyone batting an eyelash.  People called to him and waved, but it wasn’t like the frenzies that he created in L.A.  It was polite, welcoming gestures that he eagerly returned.  In town, he’d shown Emma off to anyone that would stop and listen for a moment, and everyone was completely polite and didn’t seem surprised that Justin Timberlake had a baby.  She couldn’t help but enjoy being able to be a family like this.  It was really nice to get to be with Justin outside of her apartment and not have to worry about being spotted.

Adah’s head was spinning.

She was seated on a blanket next to a beautiful, sparking lake.  Justin had Emma securely in his arms as he waded in the water; the little girl giggling and screeching as her feet and legs splashed in the cool lake.  It was a perfect moment.

Adah’s mind wandered back to her childhood; visions of princes, white castles, and happily-ever-after floating through her memories.  This wasn’t a fairy tale, by far, but it was the happiest Adah had been in a very long time.  She felt guilty for that happiness, though, because she’d left Brennan at home and she felt that she was being unfaithful.  Nothing had happened between her and Justin and she wasn’t planning on it, but it was difficult to ignore how incredible it was to spend time with him and watch him with their baby girl. 

It was leaving her awfully conflicted.

“Hey, Ads, come join us.  The water is beautiful.”  Justin waved her over, encouraging her into the water.

Adah stood, hesitating for a moment before slipping out of her sundress and letting it pool at her feet.

Justin had to force himself to shut his dropped jaw.  “Wow, Emma, you’re mom is a babe.”  He whispered, appreciating the small red bikini that adorned Adah’s body.  She looked incredible, most traces of Emma gone from her frame.  Her breasts were fuller and her hips a little wider set, but in Justin’s mind it only made her look even more attractive.

It was a very good thing he was standing in cold water.

“Shit, Timberlake, get a grip.”  He turned away from the sight of her walking to the water’s edge, taking a deep breath to calm his racing heart.  This wasn’t what he needed to be dealing with right now.

He heard Adah enter the water a moment later, the water rippling around him as she moved in his direction.  He chanced a glance at her, smiling as she reached him and held her arms out for Emma.

“She loves the water.”  He commented, handing his baby over to her mother.  “I’ve never see her laugh so much.”

“I love the water, too.”  Adah seemed to ignore him, dipping low into the water so she and Emma became mostly covered.  Emma giggled and slapped at the surface with her tiny hands.  “It’s beautiful out here, Justin.”

“I know.”  He blushed as he spoke, knowing his comment had nothing to do with the surroundings.  Mentally he berated himself.  “I used to come out here with Trace and our buddies all the time as kids.  It’s off the beaten path, not many people use it, and it’s some of the most refreshing water ever.  This is probably my favorite place in Shelby Forest.”

“I can certainly see why.”  Adah commented, smiling up at Justin.  She lifted Emma out of the water completely, feeling that her feet were getting cold.  “Let’s go sit.  I’m hungry.”

“Go ahead, I’ll be there in a little bit.”  Justin kicked himself for watching Adah exit the lake, the little bikini now sticking to her skin.  He could remember what that skin tasted like.

He let himself sink under the water’s surface, hoping the coolness would somehow turn the male part of his brain off.

What was happening to him?

“Are you all right, honey? You look a little…overwhelmed.”  Lynn had followed Adah into the kitchen of Sadie’s house, watching the young girl carefully.

“I guess I’m just not used to all of this…southern hospitality.”  She attempted a smile, but it came out as more of a grimace.  “It’s all making my head spin.”

“Well, my mother can be a lot to handle.  She’s a little old fashioned, too.”

“A little?”  Adah guffawed, “She’s hinted, not-so-subtly, that Justin and I should be married at least a dozen times, and dinner hasn’t even started yet!”  Adah leaned heavily against the counter, taking a deep breath to calm her nerves.

Lynn smiled, “She is persistent; you have to give her that.”

Adah only shrugged.  She was feeling completely uncomfortable with all of the attention she’d been receiving lately.  Before it was awkward because no one was discussing what they were really thinking.  Now, it was completely unbearable because all Sadie could discuss was Justin and Adah “making it official” and “doing the proper thing.”  She was starting to get annoyed.

“I’m sorry, darlin’.  I’ll try and tell her to tone it down.  I know it’s not easy for you, but this means a lot to Justin and I’m glad you’re here.”  Lynn gave Adah a gentle hug.  “It’ll be better once we’re eating; she’ll have something else to focus on.”

“I hope so.”

“Hope what?”  Justin’s voice broke through the girls’ conversation.  He stood in the doorway with Emma perched on his hip.  “Am I interrupting girl time?”

“Not at all.  I was just about to set the table.”  Lynn gave Adah another encouraging smile before slipping past Justin and into the dining room.

“Sorry about all of this, Adah.  I had no idea that Gram was going to be so…”

“Annoying?”  Adah’s hand flew up to cover her mouth.  “Sorry.”  She blushed behind her hands.

Justin grinned.  “No, I think you’ve got the right word.”  He shifted Emma, walking further into the kitchen.  “If it helps, you’re handling everything really well.  I’m sorry I’m putting you through this, but it means a lot to everyone that you and Emma are here.”

“Maybe just Emma.”  Adah commented, venting her frustration.  “I think people are tolerating me because of you.  I can feel their eyes on me, though, and they all hate me for this situation that we’re in.”

“They don’t hate you.”  Justin sighed, bouncing Emma when she started to fuss.  “My family is really protective, Ads.  They’ve had to deal with all sorts of things being said about me and all sorts of people taking advantage of me.  They just don’t know how to handle me having a baby, especially when you and I aren’t together.  I think it just goes against their idea of how my life should be.”

“Well I’m glad I could ruin it all for you.”  Adah knew she was pouting, but she was having a really rough night.

“I’m not doing a very good job of cheering you up, am I?”  Justin lifted Emma, putting her at Adah’s eye-level.  “Baby girl is glad you’re here, Mommy.  She understands us.” 

Adah couldn’t help but grin at the two of them.  Justin pouting and Emma drooling.  “You’re a nut.”

“Just hang in there a little while longer, okay?  I promise I’ll make it up to you later.”  Justin was worried about Adah, but he also knew that his family was really happy to have him home, especially with Emma, and he couldn’t bring himself to disappoint them by leaving early.

“Okay.  Just…if it gets too bad, I’m telling your Gram that we’ve secretly eloped so she’ll stop insinuating that I’m a slut.”

Justin let out a loud laugh.  “Fair enough.”  He wrapped his arm around Adah’s shoulder, leading her into the dining room.  “Just be prepared for her to then start bugging us about popping out three or four more kids.”

Adah gave him a long look.  “Great.”  He laughed again, glad to see she was at least smiling.

“C’mon, let’s eat.”

~*~

“No, I can’t eat anymore.  I’m way too stuffed.”  Adah pushed away the plate of cookies that Justin had offered her.  He shrugged, stealing two more for himself before putting the plate back in the basket and lying down.

Emma was securely in bed, Lynn and Paul home to watch over her.  He’d taken Adah out into the back yard, into a clearing that he used to visit when he was a kid.  It was the perfect place to star gaze and tonight was a beautiful, clear night.

“I wish I knew more about constellations.”  He mused, trying to pick out the few he actually knew. 

“It’s so incredible.  I don’t think I’ve ever seen this many stars before.”  Adah lied back on the blanket, happily gazing up into the sky. 

The rest of the night had been mostly uneventful.  Sadie had kept her marriage comments down to a minimum and everyone else managed to pick up the conversation.  It was still uncomfortable for her, but she was starting to understand that this was just how it was going to be.  Obviously Justin’s family meant well and they wanted him to be happy.  The comments weren’t meant to make Adah feel bad, they were supposed to encourage her to be with Justin.

Which was a whole other can of worms that she wasn’t even ready to touch.

“Do you ever think about that night?”  Justin’s voice broke the silence of the night.  Apparently his thoughts had been running parallel to hers.

“You mean the night we created Emma?”  She clarified even though she knew what he meant.

“Yeah, that one.”

“I used to think about it all the time.”  She admitted, not sure where the honesty was coming from.  Must have been the southern air.

He was silent for a minute, lost in thought.  “I couldn’t take my eyes off of you that night.”  He licked his lips; his mouth was suddenly dry.  “I had watched you for a while, thinking that you were gorgeous and an incredible dancer.  I was afraid to approach you, but…I just had to.  I had to get near you.”  He cleared his throat.  “I thought it was just the alcohol, but…”

Adah waited for him to continue.  She had no idea how to react or what he wanted her to say.  When he didn’t speak again, she said what was on her mind.  “You didn’t even recognize me when I came to your house.”

He shifted, turning toward her slightly, propping his head on his arm.  “I was really embarrassed about having sex with you that night.  I…it’s not my usual style, and I had to fly to New York the next day.”  He took a deep breath.  “I hated myself for that night.  I had intended to get your number or something and call you when I got back…but…that didn’t happen.  I just tried to forget about it after that.  I was too ashamed to think about what I’d done.”

Adah stayed silent.  The weight of Justin’s confession sat heavily on her chest.  What was she supposed to say?  How was she supposed to take this?  It was all too confusing and too much for her to handle.  “I don’t know what you want me to say.”

He shrugged, turning away from her.  “Nothing.  You don’t have to say anything.  I just…I wanted to apologize.  I’ve never really forgiven myself for that night.”

“We were both drunk, Justin.  It’s just as much on my head as it is yours.  You can’t change it, so why think about it?”

“Because then maybe we could have gone about all of this differently.” His voice was almost too soft for her to hear, but his words were coming through loud and clear.  “Maybe we wouldn’t be dancing around each other, or pretending that this is all normal.”

“Justin…”

“You don’t have to say anything.” He stopped her, sitting up suddenly.  “I’m sorry.  Blame it on…whatever.”  He stood abruptly, grabbing the basket with the food.  He stood over Adah, watching the moon light play off of her skin and he couldn’t get the images from the night they’d met out of his mind.  She sat up, searching his face for something to go on.  Before he could think, Justin dropped the basket and sank to his knees in front of her.  He gently took her face between his hands.  She met him half way, their lips touching briefly before emotions took over and desperation added pressure to the already searing kiss. 

Adah lifted herself to her knees so she could be chest to chest with Justin.  She wrapped her arms around his shoulders pulling him in closer.  Justin’s hands slid through Adah’s hair, tugging gently to tilt her head so he could get a better angle.  When his tongue slipped over Adah’s bottom lip, she shivered.  Neither could think of anything other than the immediate moment and how intensely good it felt.  Adah wasn’t thinking about Brennan or home or even Emma.  She could only focus on Justin’s mouth and how she couldn’t get enough.

Justin was just happy that he was stone sober for this kiss.  Their last one was too hazy.  This one would be seared into his memory forever.

The warm Tennessee air caressed their skin as clothing started to disappear.  Their actions were deliberate and slow, both wanting to savor the moment.  Justin slid his hands up underneath Adah’s shirt, tugging it off until it rested in the grass next to his.  His thumb grazed the swell of her breast, causing her to shiver.  He took this as a cue, and he gently removed her bra, kissing down from her shoulders until his mouth found its mark.  Her nipples were hard; a combination of the cool night air and his heated touch.  Adah arched her back at the contact, bringing their naked torsos together.  Heat radiated from both of them.

Justin eased Adah back, laying her down on the blanket and hovering over her.  His hands roamed underneath the skirt she was wearing, caressing the smooth skin of her thighs and hips.  Their mouths were still firmly attached, and neither of them could stand to break the contact.  Their was some fumbling as Adah searched for the button of Justin’s jeans, and she missed a few times.  He focus was on the sensations his mouth was creating.  Justin helped her, flipping the button open and ripping the zipper down before shimmying his jeans off of his hips.  Her skirt was next, slipping easily over her legs and into the pile of clothing next to them.

Their bodies pressed together with an erotic desperation.  Only the thin layer of Justin’s boxers and Adah’s panties separated them from being fully connected.  It didn’t take long for the last articles of clothing to be removed.

“My purse.”  Adah’s voice was breathless as she spoke the first words since this tryst had started.

“What?”  Justin’s mind was completely fogged with arousal and he had no idea what she was asking.

“Hand me my purse.”  She pointed over her head.  Justin leaned forward, dragging the purse toward both of them.  Adah grabbed it, rummaging through a pocket until she came up with a square, foil package that she handed to Justin.

“Good thinking.”  He grinned down at her before pulling her close to him again.  He could feel her entire body and he felt himself get even harder.  He set the condom down.  He fully intended to use it, but he had other plans first.

Justin hands roamed Adah’s silky skin.  He wanted to commit this to memory.  He wanted to make sure he covered every inch.  His head dipped between her breasts and he kissed along each mound.  Slowly, he snaked his tongue down over her rib cage and on toward her belly button.  He placed kisses along her hip bones and grinned when she squirmed underneath him.  The night air was muggy with the day’s heat and Adah’s skin was salty with sweat, but that’s not the taste he was waiting for.

Slowly, painfully slowly, Justin kissed his way down between Adah’s thighs.  She writher with want, hoping that he would stop torturing her.  He placed his lips on her inner thigh, sucking gently until she let out a frustrated moan.  With a grin, he finally moved to her center.  His tongue was soft; a feather’s touch and he traced the outside of her heat.  He could feel the goose bumps rise on the skin underneath his hands as he applied pressure, sucking on the soft, wet skin.  He was tentative as he dipped his tongue into the warmth of her, tasting her arousal and adding to his own. 

Adah was in near agony as Justin took his time tasting her.  She gripped at his hair, wishing there was more to hold onto that just the buzz cut.  When his tongue slid over her clitoris and his teeth bit gently, she felt the breath leave her body.  She hadn’t been touched like this since the first night they spent together, and even that night was foggy in her mind.  Her body was on fire.

“Justin…” she panted his name.  Tugging on his shoulders, Adah pulled him up her body.  While she was thoroughly enjoying what he was doing with his tongue, she couldn’t wait any longer.  “Please.”  She was begging, but she really didn’t care.  All she wanted was to feel him inside of her. 

Justin eagerly ripped open the condom package, rolling it over his tip and down the length of him.  He was harder than he’d ever been before.  Adah shifted under him and when he settled back down on top of her he was already at her entrance.  It took one swift motion and he was buried deep inside of her.  Both of them let out moans.

“Oh god,” Justin panted.  He was almost afraid to move because the feeling was so intense and he wasn’t ready for it to be over too quickly.  Adah solved his dilemma, though, when she started to roll her hips and drive the length of him as far into her as he could go.

Justin matched her pace effortlessly.  He grabbed her thighs, bringing her legs up over his hips so he could get a better angle.  The sound that came out of Adah’s mouth with each of his thrusts encouraged him to keep going.  Bending over her, Justin took her in a searing kiss, lifting her up as he did so.  Kneeling back, Justin lifted Adah up onto his lap, still firmly planted within her folds.  The new position allowed the rest of their bodies to come together, slick with sweat.  Justin’s mouth found Adah’s breasts again as his rhythm continued. 

Adah could only hold on, riding the waves of pleasure that wracked her body.  Her mind was void of any thoughts other than how incredible Justin felt inside of her.  He filled her completely, pushing deep within her and touching the best spots.  If she wasn’t careful, she would come faster than she wanted to.

“Lie down.”  She panted in his ear, sucking on his lobe.  Justin stilled his movements slightly, wrapping his arms around her back and setting her down before rolling over and bringing her with him.  Adah settled back onto him again, hissing as he drover deep within her.  She placed her hands on his chest, finding her own rhythm that brought her to his tip before dipping back down the length of him.  It was breath taking.

“Oh shit,”  Justin gasped.  He roughly grabbed her hips, increasing her pace.  He was thoroughly enjoying this, but he was getting close and he couldn’t hold back any longer.  He wanted to feel her tighten around him.  He wanted to know he’d brought her to the peak, and he wanted to watch her come back down again.

“Justin…” Adah’s voice was a squeak as she felt herself start to tighten.  She rocked her hips downward, hard onto his pelvis where she stayed, matching his frenzied pace.  Moments later she was calling out his name again, tightening around him as her toes curled and her body tingled.  Justin thrust deep one last time, clenching as he let go and spilled into her.

They sat like that for a few heated moments, both trying to calm their breathing as they came down from their high.  Adah slowly separated their bodies, missing the feel of him as soon as he’d slipped out.  Justin pulled her down next to him and she settled in the nook of his shoulder, curling into his body. 

The two of them laid next to each other as their breathing slowed and finally returned to normal.

“Wow.”  Justin finally broke the silence.  He turned his head and kissed Adah’s forehead.  “Wow.”

She giggled slightly.  “You said that already.”

“You’ve got me lost for words.”  He admitted.  There was a niggling voice in the back of his mind that told him this moment was serious, but he ignored it.  He didn’t want to ruin what they’d just shared.

Adah snuggled deeper into him, feeling cold for the first time since they’d come outside.  She tried not to shiver, but the sun had fully set by now and the air was growing cooler.

“Cold?”  He asked, realizing that they were laying outside, naked.  He chanced a quick glance in the direction of his mother’s house, happy to see that he’d brought them far enough into the clearing so they couldn’t be seen by anyone inside.

“A little.”  She admitted reluctantly, not wanting this to be over.  Adah wasn’t sure what she wanted anymore, but she felt satisfied and complete and she was afraid of what would happen once they went back to reality.

“Come on then.”  He handed her her clothing, grabbing his own and pulling it back on.  “A warm shower is what we need.”

“A shower?”  She was surprised to think that he wanted to shower with her, but she had no idea what to expect.

“Yeah,” he chuckled, “you’ve got grass in your hair.”  He watched as she attempted to pull the grass from her tousled hair.  “Here, I’ll get it.”  He reached over and grabbed the long blades, grinning at her as he did so.  He couldn’t stop himself from kissing her again, a long, lingering kiss.

“Thanks.”  She was blushing profusely.  Happy for the cover of darkness, she let Justin lead her back into the house.  They snuck upstairs, hoping to keep from drawing anyone’s attention or waking them up.  “Come into my room.”  She tugged on his arm.

He followed her into the guest room she was staying in, dropping the blanket and basket into the corner and continuing into the bathroom where he shut the door behind them. 

He made sure to turn the lock.

Sunlight slide across the white sheets before settling uncomfortable over the occupant’s face.  He grabbed a pillow, blocking out the intrusive sunshine, but it was too late.  He was awake.

Justin stretched his arms up over his head, letting his body tense before relaxing back into the bed.  Rolling over, he opened his mouth to greet Adah but he was met with empty space instead.

“Shit.”  Justin ran his hands over his face, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.  He was afraid that this would happen.  He’d hoped that Adah would’ve stayed in bed with him so they could talk about last night and he could explain what had happened.  Now, he knew she was going to hide from him and he wasn’t sure when he’d be able to get her alone again.

She was going to be questioning things and he wanted to explain his side. 

He kicked off the sheets and rolled out of the bed, searching for his boxers.  The room had been picked up and his clothes were sitting in a neat pile on a chair.  Stepping into his boxers, Justin picked up the rest of the clothing and exited the guest room only to be met by his mother. 

“Good morning.” He greeted her with a kiss on the cheek.  Lynn gave her son a once over and grinned.

“Well that explains a lot.”  She pinched his cheek as he headed toward his bedroom.  “I made muffins this morning if you’re hungry.”

“Thanks, Ma.”

“And Adah’s about to take a jog, if you’re interested.  I was going to take Emma over to Gram’s anyway.”  She grinned again and disappeared down the stairs.

Justin chuckled, heading into his room to grab some clean clothing.  He found some running shorts and a t-shirt, figuring that this might be his only chance to get Adah alone.  He was fairly certain that she couldn’t out run him, either, so he had a good chance of getting her to listen.

Sounds of Emma’s laughter could be heard as he descended the stairs and he couldn’t help the smile that came to his face.  His baby girl always made things seem better.

“Hey you,”  He called as he spotted Emma bouncing on Paul’s lap.  She grinned and reached her arms toward him.

“Dada!”  The adults in the room stopped what they were doing and stared at the little girl.

“She just said ‘Dada!’” Justin rushed over and grabbed Emma from Paul’s lap.  “Say it again, Emmy, say dada.”

Big blue eyes stared up into his and Emma grabbed at Justin’s face with her hands, pinching his nose.  “Dada.”

“Ma, get the camera!”  The excitement on Justin’s face was palpable as he coached Emma into speaking again.  Lynn scrambled to find the camera so she could document this moment.  She remembered what it was like to hear Justin’s first words, but even this moment seemed to top that.  She could feel the happiness pouring off of her son and it warmed her heart to see him so content.  It didn’t hurt that she had a pretty good idea about what happened last night.

Adah had been in the kitchen when Lynn and Paul had come down this morning.  She was feeding Emma, and the young woman looked so completely flustered that Lynn was afraid something had happened between Adah and Justin.  She tried to get the other woman to open up, but every time she asked her questions Adah just blushed and changed subjects.

Seeing Justin emerge from Adah’s room dressed in only his boxers suddenly cleared everything up in Lynn’s mind and Adah’s behavior made much more sense. 

Now, though, Lynn could only watch as Justin and Emma interacted, both of them beaming.

“Adah, listen to this!” Justin exclaimed as Adah’s walked back into the kitchen.  She was a little hesitant, but once Emma started speaking again she got lost in the excitement just as much as everyone else.  “I think that this has to be the most incredible moment of my life, right next to the day that Emma was born.”  Justin grinned over at his mother.

“It’s certainly amazing.”  Lynn responded, putting the camera down.  “I’ve got to get over to Gram’s, though.  She’s going to worry if I’m not there soon.”

Justin handed his baby over to Lynn, giving both women a kiss on the cheek.  “Be careful with her, she’s precious.” 

“Of course, honey.”  Lynn grabbed the diaper bag and Paul, ushering him out the door.  “We’ll be back this afternoon.  You kids have fun!”  She winked at Justin and Adah before the door closed behind her.

Justin was unaware of Adah’s awkward shuffling because he was still glowing.  “I’m going to go for a run…so…”  She turned toward the door, hoping to get away without having to face him, but he caught up to her.

“I’ll come with you.  I know a good route.”  Before Adah could protest, Justin was walking out behind her and heading down the driveway toward the road.  “It’s a beautiful day, isn’t it?”

“Uh…yeah, it is.”

To say that she was uncomfortable would have been the understatement of the year.  She had no idea what she was supposed to think about last night, she was certain that everyone knew and she was completely embarrassed, and now Emma was saying “dada” as her first words.  It had been one hell of a morning.

Of course, she was hoping to clear her head with a run and now she was being followed by the one person she was hoping to avoid.

“I’m glad I got a chance to see you, I wanted to talk.”  Justin started jogging, a nice easy pace.  Adah felt her heart sink.  Here was when he confessed that he’d made a mistake, again, and that they really should never do that and blah, blah, blah.

Adah had no idea how she felt about all of it, but even if she thought it was a mistake, too, she didn’t want to feel rejected. 

“It’s okay, Justin, we don’t have to talk.” She started to jog a little faster, hoping he couldn’t see the embarrassment on her face.  She couldn’t believe she’d gotten into this situation again.

“Adah, wait up.”  Justin caught up to her easily, grabbing her by the arm to slow her down.  “We do have to talk.  Slow down please.”

Adah stopped running, pulling away from Justin.  “I know what you’re going to say, so you can save it.  All right?”

“Really?  You know what I’m going to say?”  He was starting to get frustrated.  “What am I going to say, then?”

“You’re going to tell me that last night was a mistake, and I get it, okay?  I understand that it was a really bad idea and I don’t need to hear you tell me.”

“You think last night was a mistake?”

Adah stopped her pacing to look at Justin, “Wasn’t it?”

“No. It wasn’t.”  Justin led Adah off the road as a car passed.  He started to walk, urging her along with him.  “I was going to tell you that I was sorry if last night was too much for you, and that I wasn’t going to pressure you into anything if you weren’t ready.”

Adah didn’t say anything. 

“Look, Adah…”  Justin ran his hands over his head.  This wasn’t how he wanted this conversation to go.  “I have no idea what’s going on in my head lately, but I know that I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you.  Being here with you and Emma has just made all of these feelings come to the surface and I couldn’t help myself last night.  I wanted to be with you again so I could remember it all.  I wanted to taste you and touch you and be completely aware that I was doing it all.”

“Justin…”

“I want to be a family with you, Adah.  I want you and me and Emma to be together and grow together.  I understand that this might be too much for you and I know that you’re worried about a lot of things, but we could work something out.  I just…I can’t be around you and not want to be with you.  This week has just made that even more evident.”

“Justin…I…”  Adah had no idea what to say to that confession.  She didn’t know what she was thinking, and while she was relieved that he didn’t tell her she was a mistake, she certainly wasn’t expecting him to blurt all of that out.

“I know it’s a lot and I know that it’s coming out of nowhere…” He trailed off.

“I’m dating Brennan.”  The words were out of her mouth before she could really process them.  “I mean…Oh shit.”

Justin’s face darkened.  “Right, Brennan.”

“Justin…I have no idea what to even think right now.”  She started pacing again.  “Last night was…it was nothing short of incredible.  But I woke up this morning with your arms around me and I found myself really, truly content.  And then I remembered the situation we’re in and…it scares the shit out of me.  What if you suddenly decide that this isn’t what you want anymore?  What if you woke up this morning and realized you’d made another mistake?  What if--”

“What if it actually goes well and we’re both happy?”  He interjected, cutting off her rant.  “I know you’re dating Brennan,” the name was bitter on his tongue, “and I’m not going to force you into anything.  But you can’t deny that last night was electric and it felt good.”

“Justin…”  Adah had no idea how to handle this situation.  “I…I don’t know what to do.”

“Be happy, Adah.  Just let yourself be happy.” He was putting everything out in the open now and he could feel his pulse racing as he watched her.

“I don’t know.”  She had tears in her eyes and Justin felt his heart sink.  “I don’t know what to do.”

“I won’t push you,” he licked his dry lips.  “Just…I guess you know where to find me when you figure it out.”  He started the walk back towards his mother’s house, feeling completely foolish.

“Justin…”  Adah’s voice stopped him, and he turned slowly.  “I’m not trying to do this to hurt you.  There’s just so much to think about.  I…this is really difficult for me.”  Her voice dropped and she looked down at her hands, twisting her fingers together.  “I’m so scared.”

Justin didn’t know what to say to that.  He understood her fears, but he was really hoping that she might be able to get past all of that.  The time that they’d been spending together only proved to him how incredible of a woman Adah really was and he was slowing starting to develop strong feelings for her.  He was ready to be a father to Emma and to take care of Adah, too.  The look on her face said she didn’t trust him to do that.

Now it was his turn to be embarrassed.

“I’m sorry.  I shouldn’t have put all this on you.”  He turned again, headed back to the house.  Adah stayed behind him, saying nothing the whole way back to the house.

~*~

“If you came all this way to ask me to come back, you didn’t have to.  I was going to anyway.  Tennessee is way too boring.”  Rachel plopped down on the couch next to Justin who was staring at the wall across from them.  “Hello?  Earth to Justin.”  She waved a hand in front of his face, causing him to blink.

“Oh, Hey Rach.”  He glanced up and attempted to smile.

“What’s up, Jus?  What happened?”  She had seen this look on his face a few times and she had a feeling she knew what was going on.

“Adah…”

“I knew it!”  She sat up, ready to lecture him again about his choices in women but the look on his face stopped her.

“I don’t really know what your issue is with her, but it’s pissing me off.  If there’s anyone you should hate on, it’s me.  I’m the asshole that knocked her up, and now I’m the same asshole that’s messing with her again.  She’s done nothing wrong.”

“I’m sorry…”  She sat back, slightly embarrassed.  Rachel wasn’t entirely sure why she disliked Adah so much.  She hated that Justin was in this situation and she blamed Adah.  She had truly assumed that the girl was only out for his money, and when it came out that Justin really was Emma’s father, Rachel didn’t want to admit she’d been wrong, so she kept hating Adah.  It was completely logical in her mind.

“I slept with her.”

“I know.  We’ve got living proof.”

“Last night.  I slept with her last night.”

“Oh shit, Justin.  Did you use protection?”  He gave her another scathing look and Rachel was wishing she’d never come over to talk to him.

“Of course we did.  I just didn’t think it was going to be such an issue for her.”  He took a deep breath and let it out in one big sigh.  “I told her today that I wanted us to be a family.  She just about ran away from me.”

“Jus…” Rachel tried to stop him.

“I don’t understand what she’s so scared about.  I mean, it’s worked between us so far, what’s the big deal if we just alter the relationship a little?”

“Because you’re Justin Timberlake, and she’s just Adah.”

“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”  Justin’s anger was returning and he remembered why he’d been so upset with his cousin to begin with.

“What happens when word gets out that you’re a daddy?  What happens when you’re lifestyle gets in the way of soccer games and ballet rehearsal?  What happens when Adah’s left handling the tabloids and media because you’re off shooting a movie or doing a tour?  How is she supposed to be anything but scared, Justin?”

He gave her a long look.  “Suddenly you’re on her side now?”

“No, I’m on yours, but you’re asking what she’s so scared about.”  Rachel took a deep breath.  “I know I haven’t been Adah’s biggest fan, but even you have to admit that you’re a little too much to handle at times.  She’s said from the beginning that she hasn’t wanted anything from you.  Getting into a relationship would be asking her to handle way more than she’s bargained for.  Even though she did sleep with you in the first place.”

“You’re not making me feel any better.”  He mumbled, slumping even further into the cushions.

“Give her some time.  She needs to let things sink in.”

“And I’m supposed to just sit back and wait?”  He didn’t like that idea at all.

“Well, no, if you’re really serious…” she couldn’t believe she was going to say this, “you show her what she’d be missing.  You treat her like a princess.”

Rachel saw the gears start to turn in Justin’s mind.

“Justin,” she called, “look at me.”  She waited for his attention.  “Adah’s not the material type, so you can just throw your money at her.  You need to show her what a family would really look like.  Got it?”

“Yeah, I do.”  The determined look on his face was enough to let Rachel know he’d at least heard some of what she’d said.  Just how much, she wasn’t sure.

“Oh god…what have I done?”  She fell into the spot Justin left as he jumped from the couch and ran upstairs.

Adah felt empty.  Her arms were too light, she’d done nothing productive lately, and she was just a little lonely.  Since she’d been in Tennessee, she hadn’t had to take care of Emma at all and it was more than a little uncomfortable.  It made her happy to see Justin’s family take such an interest in the infant, but she missed having her baby in her arms.  She never thought she’d want this, but she was really ready to change a diaper.

“You look bored.”  Rachel took a seat next to Adah, giving her a smile.  Adah attempted to smile back, but she had no idea why Rachel would even give her the time of day.  As far as Adah knew, Justin’s cousin hated the thought of her.

“It’s a little strange not having to take care of Emma.  I don’t think I’ve fed or changed her all week.”

“You deserve the break, and this family loves babies.”

Adah did smile at that.  “I can see that.”  She shifted in the lawn chair she was sitting in.  Everyone was outside at Lynn’s for a cookout.  The house was packed with people and Adah had taken a seat on the outskirts of the crowd, hoping to catch her breath.

“Adah,”  Rachel’s voice caused the other woman to face her.  “I just wanted to apologize for the way I’ve treated you.”

Adah waved her hand, “Don’t worry about it.”

“No, I’m serious.  When you first told me you were pregnant I was convinced you were just out for his money.  I’ve dealt with so many gold diggers, I instantly thought the worst.  I should have apologized a long time ago.  I guess I had too much pride to admit that I was wrong.”  She took a breath.  “And it’s obvious that Justin is crazy about you and Emma, so…I’m sorry.  I’m happy you’re here.”

Adah wasn’t quite sure what to do with that apology, but she was happy for it.  “Thank you.”  She gave Rachel a small smile, happy that things weren’t as tense as they had been.

“How do you like Tennessee?” 

Adah looked around, taking in all the smiling faces.  “It’s great to know that Emma has all of this family.  My parents are both gone, so it makes me really happy to see that she still has lots of people to love her.”  She chuckled, “I’m not sure I’ll ever hold my daughter again, but I know she’s in good hands here.”

“Justin wouldn’t have brought her here unless she would be completely adored.  This is a good family.  That little girl will never want for anything.”

“I know.”

“And you’ll never want for anything, either.”  Rachel’s voice was soft, but Adah hear it loud and clear.  “You do know that Justin would do absolutely anything for the two of you, right?  I know he’s a pain in the ass, but he’s crazy about you.”

Adah played with a string on her shorts, afraid to look up. “That’s the second time you’ve said that.” 

“Because it’s true.  He was a mess the other night because of what happened.”  She took a deep breath, “He’s intense when he’s in love.  I’ve seen it before.  Just…just go with it, okay?  Let him take care of you.”

There wasn’t time for Adah to respond because at that moment, Justin came over with Emma in his arms.

“Someone misses her Mommy.”  He grinned, bouncing Emma in his arms before leaning down and handing her to Adah.

“Ohh, well Mommy has missed her little girl.”  She gave Justin a grateful smile.  “I think this is the first time I’ve held her in days.”

“Well, she was getting restless and I figured I’d hand her to you before she got really upset.  Plus, once she started getting passed around there would be no getting her back.”  He took the seat on the other side of Adah, leaning over to give her a kiss on the cheek.  “What are you two ladies chatting about?”  He eyed Rachel, making sure she was being nice to Adah.  He still didn’t quite trust her.

“Oh, just girl talk.  You’re not allowed to know.”  Rachel gave him a grin and a wink.  “I’m going to get some food.  Adah, do you want anything?”  When the other girl shook her head, Rachel disappeared into the crowd.

“She wasn’t mean or anything, was she?  I’ll kick her ass if she was.”  Justin watched his cousin go, afraid that she’d said something to upset Adah.

“Actually, she apologized for being a bitch.”  Adah grinned, “It was really nice.” She left out the part about Justin being in love with her.  She needed some time to process all of that before she could talk to Justin about it.  If she ever could.

“Wow, really?  Rachel?”  Justin couldn’t quite believe that his cousin could swallow her pride and apologize, but he was happy to hear it.

“I think it’s because Emma’s so adorable and she couldn’t help herself.”  Adah brought the baby closer to her, happy to have her daughter back in her arms again.  Now she felt complete.  It had been such a strange week here and she was happy that she had Emma to center her.  Everything else could fall apart around her, as long as she had her baby girl she knew she would be okay.

“Are you having a good time?”  Justin asked, settling back in his chair.  Adah seemed slightly overwhelmed and he was afraid that it was his fault.  He was trying really hard to make her comfortable, but sometimes she was difficult to read.

“Yeah, I am.  It’s really nice to see that Emma has so much family.  It makes me happy.”  She smiled, cooing at Emma and nuzzling her face in the baby’s neck.

“My family is so excited to have her here.  I’m pretty sure they never thought they’d see the day I brought a kid home.  So…”

“Not the settling down type?” She grinned over at him.

“Not until now.”  He was smiling, but his tone was serious and Adah suddenly got uncomfortable.  She still didn’t know what to think or what to feel and she was constantly reminded that she was being seriously pursued by Justin.

“I think I’m going to take Emma in for her nap.  She’s getting restless.”  She quickly stood and walked toward the house, hoping to avoid the conversation she knew Justin wanted to have.  There was too much going on in her mind to handle this.  Plus, she hadn’t had the nerve to call Brennan and tell him what was going on.  She knew she had to be honest and tell him that she’d slept with Justin, but she was truly afraid of losing him.  He was a lot of fun to be around and she knew that she’s probably ruined a really good thing.

Adah could hear Justin behind her as she climbed the stairs and entered the room they had Emma in.  The infant was almost asleep in her arms and she knew it wouldn’t be difficult to get her down, but she was hoping for some time alone. 

“Do you need any help?”  His voice was soft, but it was close enough to make Adah jump.

“No, thanks.  She’s just about ready.”  Adah quickly changed Emma’s diaper, taking off the outfit that the little girl was in leaving her in a onesie.  It was too hot to be wearing much more and Emma was a little furnace.

She carefully placed her daughter into the crib, making sure to move the stuffed animals and things to Emma had room to move.  Adah kissed the baby gently, caressing her cheek before stepping back to exit the room.  Justin watched from the door way, waiting for Adah to pass him before he softly shut the door and the two walked back down into the kitchen.

“I was thinking we could spend the day together tomorrow.”  Justin fiddled with the baby monitor, not looking at Adah.

“We?”

“Yeah, the three of us.  I know my family has been hoarding Emma and I thought that it would be nice for the three of us to have a day together.”  He turned, resting his backside against the edge of the counter.  His hands were buried deep in his pockets as he waited for an answer.  He was trying to be patient with Adah, but it was proving to be very difficult.

“What were you thinking?”  She was hesitant to say yes, but she also knew that Justin was trying and she couldn’t fault him for that.

He shrugged, “maybe the zoo? Or the aquarium?  I think Emma would really like to see the animals.”

A strange look crossed Adah’s face and she sat back in her chair.  “Is that a good idea?  I mean, no one knows about Emma yet and bringing her out like that is really risky.”  She chewed on her lip nervously.  “We haven’t even talked about this yet.”

Justin pushed off the counter, grabbing one of the kitchen chairs to sit next to Adah.  “So let’s talk about it.”  He watched her carefully, gauging her reaction.

She sighed, folding her arms across her chest.  “Justin…”

“Adah…”  He wasn’t going to let her squirm her way out of this.

“I don’t k know if I’m up for this right now.  I just…I have so much on my mind.”

Justin knew she was telling the truth, but he was anxious to talk with her and get things out in the open.  Lately he’d been thinking a lot about his feelings for Adah and where he’d like their relationship to go.  He’d also been thinking about Emma and what he was going to do about making sure she was safe despite his lifestyle and career.

“We will have to talk about it sometime.”  He was trying not to push.  Really, he was.

“Yeah, I know that.”  She stood abruptly from the chair, grabbing the baby monitor and heading toward the back door.  “But right now I think I’ll take my chances with your family.”

~*~ (Thirty minutes later)~*~

“Y’all are so cute together, and that baby!”  One of Justin’s Aunts had Adah by the arm and the young girl couldn’t find a way to escape.  “She’s just the cutest little darlin’ I’ve ever seen!  When are y’all getting married and making more babies?”

It was the fifth time Adah had been asked that question, and she was starting to regret her decision to avoid Justin.  He was grinning at her smugly from the other side of her Aunt, saying nothing.  Well, if he was going to leave her to fend for herself…

“Oh, we’re having far too much fun living in sin to consider getting married any time soon.”  Adah smiled sweetly at the woman, inwardly gloating as her mouth dropped in obvious disgust.  The look on Justin’s face was priceless, too.  Adah had never seen color drain from a person’s face quite that fast before.

“She’s kidding, Aunt Linda.  Really.”  Justin ushered the older woman over to the side and set her in a chair.  The woman looked ready to faint.  “Thanks for that.”  He whispered into Adah’s ear after leaving Linda’s side.  “She’s going to spread that gossip around town and I’m going to have every pastor within a ten mile radius calling me up to remind me that marriage is sacred.”

Adah only grinned at him.  She had no idea what she wanted from him or if she wanted a relationship, but she knew she enjoyed getting under his skin and watching him squirm.  He wasn’t a man that was easily flustered and Adah found that she had a way with irking him.

She at least enjoyed that part of their relationship.

~*~

“Justin,”  Lynn called over to her son who was currently feeding his daughter breakfast.  “Why is your Uncle Roger under the impression that you’re going to quit your career and join a nudist colony in Antigua?” 

Justin rolled his eyes, letting out a low chuckle.  “That would be Adah.”  Using a wet towel, Justin wiped Emma’s mouth and lifted the baby from her high chair.  “She also told Aunty Linda that we enjoy living in sin so much we’re not going to get married.”

Lynn’s eyes bulged a little.  “Oh my.  Well, you might want to change your phone number again.”  She thought the comment would have been quite funny, but the rest of her family was a little more…rigid than she was and they might not get the joke. 

“Yeah, I’ll tell Rachel to get right on that.”  Emma grabbed at his nose, babbling into his ear as he bounced her on his hip.  “Ma, do you think it would be a big deal to bring Emma and Adah into Memphis to go to the zoo?”

Lynn’s lips were pursed in thought.  “I don’t know, baby, it might cause a scene.  Are you ready for that?”

“I don’t know.  I just wanted the three of us to do something together and I thought Emma would like the animals.”

“Unfortunately, you don’t have a lot of choice when it comes to these things.  You’re Justin Timberlake and the news that you’ve got a baby would just cause a scene and I don’t think it’s fair to put Adah or Emma through that.”  Lynn gave Justin a sympathetic look.  “You might be able to call ahead and see if there’s an off time you can go, but I think going during regular hours would be a bad idea.”

Justin sighed and his shoulder’s slumped visibly.  “You’re right.”  He smiled at his baby, “I just wanted to do something nice for my girls.”

“How’s that going, by the way?  You’re quest to win Adah over.”  Lynn noticed the red tint to her son’s cheeks and she laughed. 

“You know about that?”

“Oh, baby, you come out of her room in just your drawers and she’s turning redder than a tomato at the mention of your name; it’s not hard to connect the dots that something is going on between you two.” 

Lynn followed Justin into the living room where he set Emma down on the carpet before taking a seat on the couch.  “I don’t know what she’s thinking, Momma.  She won’t talk to me.”

“Honey, give the girl some time to process.  It’s not easy being around this family, and I’m sure all she’s heard are questions about marriage and more babies.  I’ll bet dollars to donuts that sleeping with you wasn’t on her agenda, either.  She’s probably really overwhelmed with everything.”

Justin glanced at his mom, “how the hell do you always know all this crap?”

“It’s a woman thing, Jus.  You should know that by now.”  She ruffled his hair, getting joy in the way he batted her hands away.  He may be all grown up with a baby of his own, but he was still her little boy.

“I just don’t know what to do anymore.”  He picked at a string on his shorts.  “I’m crazy about both of them, Momma.  This whole week has just proven to me that I want to be a family more than anything.  I care so much about Adah and I just…I don’t know how to get to her understand that.”

“Patience, my baby boy.  You have to have patience with her and you have to let her figure things out on her how.  Being with you is a big decision and she has to know that it’s what she wants.  You can’t rush these things.”

Justin grumbled, watching his daughter crawl around happily.  “Does she have to grow up to be a woman, too?”

Lynn’s laughter filled the room.  “Yes, baby, she does.”

“Honey, we’re home!”  Adah called into the apartment as she fumbled through the door, her arms loaded with luggage and diaper bags.  Justin was close behind with Emma in her carrier and the rest of their things. 

Sam and Brett came around the corner, happy to see Adah and Emma back safely.  “My favorite girl!”  Sam called, rushing toward the group in the doorway.

“I missed you, too, Sammy,” Adah started, but stopped when Sam went past Adah and grabbed the carrier from Justin’s arms.  “Nevermind. I didn’t miss you at all.”  She deadpanned.

“Don’t mind her, she’s been contemplating have a baby of her own, so…it’s good you’re back.”  Brett grabbed some of the bags from Adah’s arms, setting them down before helping Justin carry everything further into the room.  He gave Adah a kiss on the cheek and shook Justin’s hand, giving him a smile.  “Flight went okay?”

“It was fine.  Emma was really fussy, but luckily there weren’t a lot of other people on the flight with us.”  Adah answered, taking off her coat and hanging it in the closet.

“Hey, Ads, I’ve got to get going.  I have a meeting tomorrow so I’ll be tied up most of the day.  I’ll call you when it’s over.”  Justin grabbed Adah in a tight hug, giving her a kiss on the cheek before waving to everyone else and slipping out the door.  Adah blushed at Brett’s knowing look.

“I’ll take it Tennessee went well, then?”  He headed toward the kitchen where Sam was giving Emma cheerios at the table.

“Uh…yeah, it was…good.”  Adah had no idea what to tell her roommates, and she wasn’t sure if she wanted to spill all of the details yet.  She was still trying to figure everything out in her head still.  She didn’t know if she could handle everyone else’s input when she didn’t even know what her own thoughts were.  “Everyone loved Emma.”

“That’s no surprise.  She’s got good genes, this one.”  Sam grinned up at Brett and Adah.  “I missed having her around.  You too, Adah.”  She gave her roommate a cheeky look.

“Thanks, good to know I’m loved.”  Adah grabbed a water bottle from the fridge and grabbed a seat at the table, watching Emma and Sam with a grin on her face.

“Well, if you’re not feeling the love here you could always go to Justin.  He seems to be all set to love you.”  Brett’s voice wiped the smile right from Adah’s face and her cheeks flamed brightly.  Sam stopped trying to give Emma a cheerio and gave Adah a long hard look.

“You slept with him.  Again!”  Sam squeaked.  If possible, Adah’s face became an even darker shade of crimson and she started choking on the sip of water she’d just taken.  It took a few moments and some well placed pats on the back before she was able to catch her breath.

“Is it that obvious?”  Her face was flushed with the embarrassment and lack of air, and Adah suddenly felt extremely claustrophobic.

Brett and Sam passed a look between each other.  “Only if you’re us.”  It was Brett that answered.  He leaned up against the counter, crossing his arms over his chest.  “So, what happened?”

Adah ducked her head.  She wasn’t prepared to come home and face the Spanish Inquisition.  “I…I don’t know, really.”  She took another careful sip of her water.  “He took me out back with a picnic and everything and he started asking me questions about the night we met…and…we had sex.”  She chanced a glance at her two best friends and wished she hadn’t.

“What about Brennan?”  Sam moved from her spot to fill Emma’s sippy cup with water, but her attention was fully on Adah.

“I haven’t talked to him in a few days.”  Adah confessed, “I have no idea what I’m going to say to him.”

“The truth would be a good place to start, Ace.”  Brett loved his roommate like a sister, but he knew that she was getting herself into even more hot water.  It wasn’t enough that she was the mother of Justin Timberlake’s baby, Adah didn’t need to get into a love triangle, either.  He didn’t want to see her get hurt, but she seemed oblivious to what was going on around her.

“I don’t know.”  She ran a hand through her hair, frustrated and confused.  “I have no idea what’s going on between me and Justin…and, I hate to hurt Brennan like that.”  She gave a pleading look to her roommates, but Sam’s focus was on Emma and Brett wasn’t caving.

“You’ve already hurt Brennan, Adah, he just doesn’t know about it.  But it’s completely unfair to hide things from him while you figure out what it is you want from Justin.”  Taking a deep breath, Brett attempted to calm himself down.  “I love you, Ace, I really do.  You’ve been one of my best friends since the moment we met.  But I refuse to see you do this to yourself and to two good men.  Justin has obviously stepped up and taken responsibility for his actions, and it’s glaringly obvious that he’s got feelings for you.  And Brennan has been nothing but understanding and a gentleman with you.  You have to figure out what the hell you’re doing before both of them end up resenting you.”

Both Sam and Adah looked at Brett, slack-jawed.  “Uh, Brett, you left your soapbox.”  Sam called after him as he left the kitchen, waving them off.  The girls exchanged glances, still reeling from his tirade.

“That was rough.”  Adah let out the breath she’d been holding.  “I didn’t know he felt so strongly.”

Sam gave her a look.  “He loves you, Adah.  You’re right up there with his family.  He’s right, as harsh as it sounds.  He’s just trying to look out for you and for Emma.”  Adah watched as Sam picked Emma up, bringing her to the sink to wash her hands and wipe her face.  “I’m going to watch Emma tonight.  I think you should go across the hall and have a talk with Brennan.”

A moment later, Adah was left alone in the kitchen, her thoughts heavy on her mind.

~*~

A long, hot shower and a strong cup of coffee later, Adah stood in front of Brennan’s door, her hand poised to knock.  She had no idea what she wanted to say to him, and she knew that telling him the truth was going to make a mess.  Her roommates were right, and she knew that, but it didn’t make this any easier.

Sometimes, Adah wished she’d never met Justin Timberlake.

Before she could talk herself out of it, Adah’s knuckles rapped on the wooden door.

Brennan’s face light up as he spotted Adah.  “Hey!  You’re back! Come on in.”  He opened the door wider, ushering into the apartment.  Ranger met her with tail wagging and tongue lolling out of his mouth.  “You look great.”  He shut the door behind them and they made their way into the living room.

“Thanks.  It’s good to be home.”  She smiled at him, but it felt forced on her face.

“Did you have a good time?”  He sat back, grinning, happy to see Adah.

“It was…interesting,” she smiled, remembering all of the family members she’d met and the few she’d pissed off.  “Justin’s family was really excited to see Emma, though, so that was good.”

“Cool,” Brenna knew that Justin would have to come up in the conversation; he just wished it hadn’t been so soon.  For some reason, Adah seemed to changed when Justin was mentioned.  “I’m glad you had a good time.”

“Yeah,”  Adah wrung her hands together, knowing she should just come out with everything.  “Brennan…there’s something I should tell you.”

His eyebrows drew together, a strange feeling settling in the pit of his stomach.  “Oh?”  He licked his lips; suddenly his mouth was too dry for him to swallow.

“I…”  She hesitated.  How was she going to drop this bomb?  “We…Justin and I…we…I slept with him.”  She rushed out, looking down at the floor.  “I didn’t mean for it to happen, and I have no idea what it means or how I feel.  I just…I didn’t want to lie to you.”  She finally chanced a look, but Brennan’s face was blank.

He watched her, his heart somewhere down around his toes.  He knew something like this was going to happen, he just wasn’t ready for it to be so soon.  He knew that Adah and Justin had a lot of unfinished business to work out between them, and they would always share Emma.  He just didn’t expect things to happen like this.  He should have known, of course, because what woman wouldn’t want Justin Timberlake?  Adah had slept with the man once, Brennan shouldn’t be surprised that she did it again.

He just didn’t know it would hurt quite like this.

“I’m so sorry.”  She whispered.  She tried to stop the tears from her eyes, swallowing hard.

Brennan shrugged off the heaviness that had settled on his shoulders.  “You don’t owe me anything.”  He turned his head, not quite sure where to go from there.

“But I do.”  She pleaded, hating that she’d had to do this.  “You’ve been nothing but spectacular with both me and Emma and…I…I really enjoy spending time with you, Brennan.  I didn’t mean for this to happen.”

“But it did.”  He countered.  “So what does that mean?”

“I don’t know.”  She took a deep breath, hoping to steel her resolve.  “I’m sorry, Brennan.  I didn’t mean for this to happen, I swear.  I just…”  Her voice faded out, unsure of what to say.

Brennan turned toward her, a forced smile on his face.  “Adah, you have been through a lot, and there’s still a lot of stuff that you and Justin have to figure out, obviously.  I get that.  I think you need to spend some time thinking about that before we can really go anywhere else.”  He lowered his eyes, picking at his shorts.  “I don’t want to be caught in the middle while you decide between the two of us.”

“I...you’re right.  I’m sorry.  That’s completely fair.”  She stood, wiping her sweaty hands down her pants.  “You’re a good man, Brennan.  I’m sorry you got caught in my mess.” 

He stood too, giving her a shaky grin.  “Hey, it’ll be okay.  We…ah…we can still be friends.”  It killed him to say it, but he couldn’t take the look on her face anymore.  He just wanted to say something to get her to smile.

“Good.  Friends.”  She repeated, not sure what she thought of the term or the situation.  It was her doing, though, so she’d just have to put up with it.

“Yeah.”  He walked her to the door, needing some time along to process everything.  “I’m glad you’re home safe, Adah.”

“Thanks.  I guess I’ll see you around,” she waved pathetically, stepping out into the hallway.  Brennan attempted another smile before closing the door, leaving Adah standing in the hallway, feeling completely confused.

The saying goes, ‘when it rains, it pours’.  Like, it’s not enough that the weather’s shitty, but it’s so shitty that there’s entirely no visibility, you can’t get anywhere, and the flood warnings are rampant.

Adah James felt that that saying was quite apt for what she was feeling at the moment.

The sun was shining brightly and the temperatures were high enough to fry and egg on the sidewalk.  As Sam liked to put it, ‘it’s hot enough in this bitch to breed sheep.’  The air conditioning was on the fritz and tempers were as hot as the temperature.  Emma, thankfully, was with her father, but Adah couldn’t seem to find relief even in that fact.

The past few weeks had been miserable.  She was completely torn with how everything had gone down with Brennan; she wasn’t any closer to figuring out how she felt about Justin; Emma had been sick and was almost inconsolable; and Sam and Brett were discussing a need for a change.

It was the last fact that had Adah constantly reeling.

Last week they’d called Adah into the living room and dropped a bomb that would make Hiroshima look like a hiccup.  At least in Adah’s world.  The apartment was too crowded, they said.  Things weren’t how they had been in the past, they told her, we’re growing apart.  Brett was looking for condos closer to his work.  Sam was getting serious with her boyfriend of a year and they were talking about moving in together.  It’s probably best you find someplace for you and Emma, they said with sad, forced smiles.  The two of you need your own space.

Adah felt as if she’d been slapped in the face repeatedly.  Her heart hurt.

It had been the three of them for such a long time.  They were all she had.  Sam was the one that pulled her back together when not having a mother was the worst thing in the world.  Sam was the one that reminded her how strong she was.  It was Sam that made her laugh in the face of the most difficult situations.

And then there was Brett.  He was the big brother that she’d never had.  He was the man that held her when she was breaking; that picked up her pieces and defended her honor.  He was the only man she trusted.  And now they were taking that away from her.

Part of her couldn’t help but blame Justin. 

If she’d never met him in the club; if she’d never slept with him that night; if she hadn’t gotten pregnant…non of this would be happening.

If she’d never laid eyes on him…

But, she reminded herself, she wouldn’t have Emma either.

It was tearing her up inside to feel so torn between hatred, anger, lust, and joy.  How could she ever want to undo Emma?  How could she ever be upset with Justin for giving her the most precious gift ever?  But how could she not hate him for coming into her life and turning it upside down like it was nothing.  One look, that’s all he needed to do to completely disrupt everything she’d built for herself.  One glance and her life had been irrevocable changed.

And what about him?  He still went about his business as usual.  Yeah, he was a great father and he’d done a lot for her and Emma, but he could still go about things as if they were normal.  He didn’t have to lose his family and best friends because of Emma.  In fact, his family adored that little girl and he was looked at like some kind of hero for stepping up and being a father.  Adah never once had to make a choice about being there for Emma and all she got was dirty looks and the loss of her best friends.

Life just wasn’t fucking fair.

The tear stains on her cheeks were stiff and she’d rubbed her eyes raw.  Sweat made everything cling to her skin and she felt like she was going crazy.  Out, she needed to get out, but she didn’t have any place to go.  She couldn’t turn to Justin, because as much as she wanted him to make her feel better she also wanted to punch him in the face.

She was too hurt and upset with Sam and Brett to ask them for help.  Plus, they were the cause of most of her anguish at the moment.

And her guilt was too much to go groveling back to Brennan.  It wasn’t fair to ask him to pick up the pieces when she wasn’t going to let him have some in the process.  She was too selfish to give anything of herself at the moment.  She didn’t want anyone else to have a chance to break her.  Not again.

Her phone buzzed on the coffee table, scaring her out of her reverie. 

It was Justin’s number.  She contemplated not answering, but she was afraid that it might be about Emma so she couldn’t ignore it.

“Hello?”  She forced her voice to sound normal, but gravel gave it away.

“Adah?  Are you okay?”  Justin’s concerned tone came over the line and Adah fought against a rush of conflicting feelings. 

“Yeah, just trying not to melt in all this heat.”  She cleared her throat, hoping to sound more cheerful.  “The air conditioner is broken.”

“Oh shit.  You should have come over here.”

She shrugged even though he couldn’t see her.  “I didn’t want to bother you.  I had some stuff to do anyway.”  It was a lie.  Unless you count a pity party something to do.

“Oh, are you still busy?”  He sounded disappointed.  She wasn’t sure how that made her feel. 

“It depends.  What’s up?”

She could hear Justin taking a deep breath on the other line.  “Well, I know I told you I’d take Emma for the rest of the day, but I just got a call from the studio of the movie I’m about to start filming and they really need me to come in.  Rachel said she’d watch Emma for me, but she’s also got to take care of a few things so there’s an hour or so that I don’t have anyone to take care of Em.”  He let out a breath, “I was hoping you might be able to come and hang out here until Rachel got back.”

Adah knew she couldn’t say no.  It was her baby, too.  “Of course.  When do you need me?”

“Oh, thank you.”  It came out in a rush of air.  “I’ve got to take off here in a minute, but Rachel can stick around until you get here.  Can you come soon?”

“Yeah,”  Adah licked her lips.  “I’m on my way.”

They hung up the phone shortly after, Adah’s body feeling numb from the onslaught of emotions she’d been through.  She went into her bathroom and splashed cold water on her face, trying to hide the puffiness of her eyes.  Hopefully she could pass it off as the heat’s work.

~*~

The brunette eyed her wearily. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but you look like shit.” 

Adah gave a wry smile and walked in through the door that Rachel was holding open.  The last time she’d been in this house was when she’d told Rachel that she was pregnant with Justin’s baby.  She was at least grateful that things between them had gotten better since then.

“Thanks, I think.”  She walked into the kitchen to find Emma sitting in her high chair, eating a handful of blueberries.

“Everything okay?  My idiot cousin didn’t do something, did he?”

Adah couldn’t help but chuckle at the fact that suddenly Justin was the bad guy.  The role reversal felt strange.  “No, he didn’t.”  Not really, anyway, she thought.

“Then why do you look like your puppy just got run over by a truck?”

Adah’s face contorted, “that’s a terrible image.”

“Sorry,” Rachel shrugged, “It’s true, though.  You look like shit, Adah.”

Adah busied herself with wetting a paper towel so she could clean off Emma’s face and hands.  She then lifted the little girl out of the chair and brought her close to her body.  Perhaps the baby could shield her from all of the pain.

“There’s just a lot going on right now.”  She confessed, taking a seat at the table.  “I’m not really sure what direction is up anymore.”

“Shit, Justin told you about going public, didn’t he?”

Adah’s head snapped up, her eyes wide and she clutched Emma a little tighter to her chest.  “What?”

“Oh…uh…maybe he didn’t.”  Rachel looked ashamed and she tried to back pedal, but there was no taking it back.

“He wants to what?”  This time Adah stood up, pacing the tile floor.

“Listen, Adah, he hasn’t decided anything yet.  It’s just been something that’s been on his mind.  I’ve told him it’s a terrible idea, but he’s stubborn as fuck.”

“Well get him un-stubborn!”  Emma started to fuss as her mother became even more panicky.  “Shit.  I can’t deal with this.  Not now.”

“I’m sorry, Adah.  I didn’t mean to make things worse…I just…from the way you looked I figured he’d told you…”

“No, no, he didn’t tell me.  I was upset because I had to break things off with a guy I really enjoyed the company of, and my roommates just told me they aren’t going to renew the lease on our apartment so I need to find some other place to stay.  I don’t have a fucking job right now.  I can’t deal with this shit too!”

Emma’s wail started slowly, building as her mother’s rant continued.  Rachel was quick to grab the crying baby from Adah, who was too upset to calm herself down. 

“Why in the world would he want to do something like go public?”  Adah pulled at her hair, her feet still pounding back and fourth.  “He’s just going to create a shit storm and then no one will leave us alone!  Emma doesn’t need that kind of upbringing.  It would just make life way more fucked up.”

Rachel let the other girl vent, watching as the tears rolled and the explicative’s flew.  She shushed Emma, bouncing the crying baby into a soft hiccup.  This was way more drama than she wanted to deal with at the moment.  She had a meeting to get to and some errands to run.  She wasn’t prepared to play therapist today.

“Adah…”  She called softly, interrupting the pacing.  “Adah, please calm down.  You’re scaring Emma.”

“Fuck.”  Adah sat down hard, giving her little girl an apologetic look, her eyes shifting up to Rachel’s.  “I’m sorry.  I just…I don’t know where my head is at anymore.”  A few deep breaths later had Adah calming down.

Rachel thought quickly.  “I’ve got to run some errands.  Why don’t you come with me and we can talk?”

“Talk?”  Adah looked at the other girl as if she’d grown three heads.  Since when did Rachel want to talk?

“It sounds to me like you don’t have anyone else to vent to.  So, why not?”

The girl had a point.

“I thought you needed me to watch Emma, though.”  The baby in question was now chewing on the cuff of Rachel’s shirt, drooling happily.

“I can reschedule the meeting.  I think you need me a little bit more, at the moment.”

Adah found herself agreeing before she could really think it through.  She was desperate for company right now, and Rachel was right.  She needed to vent.  She needed to have someone to talk to and right now she was out of options.

“Okay.  Let’s go.”

A few minutes later the two girls left the house.  Despite the bright sun beating down on them, Adah couldn’t help but feel that it was absolutely pouring.

“Where are we going?”

Rachel moved the car out of the driveway and headed toward downtown L.A. “I need to get some samples for the fall collection of Rast.  Then I have to bring some paper work by the Tennman office.  I also need to do a little grocery shopping.”  She glanced over at Adah who was hiding behind her sunglasses.  “Is that okay with you?”

The other girl shrugged.  “Yeah, that’s fine.”

“Adah,” Rachel sighed, taking another glance at the girl next to her.  “I’m sorry about upsetting you before.  I thought you’d spoken to Justin.  I didn’t mean to freak you out.”

“He wants to go public?”  Adah felt the fear clench at her chest again, turning her stomach.  “He said that?”

“He said that he was thinking about giving Emma his name.  When we talked we discussed the fact that it would mean going public in a way.  I shouldn’t have phrased it like that.”  Rachel felt like she was driving with her foot in her mouth.  It was rather awkward and more than uncomfortable.

Adah took a deep breath.  “He never mentioned it to me.”  She couldn’t help but turn and look at her baby, asleep in the car seat behind her.  “I don’t know…I don’t think I could handle that.”

“He’s not going to ask you to do anything that you can’t handle.  I know that much.”  Rachel turned down the street she was looking for, pulling into a parking spot in front of the warehouse that held the William Rast offices.  “It’s going to be a little while.  Do you want to come in?”

“Is that okay?”  She looked back at Emma again, who was now awake and watching out the window.

“Yeah, there shouldn’t be many people here.  I think Trace is here, too, and I know he loves seeing Emma.”

After a moment of thought, Adah climbed out of the car and grabbed Emma, opting to carry the baby in her arms instead of using the carrier.  She followed Rachel into the building, still worried that this was a bad idea.  The building was a lot like what she imagined a warehouse would look like, filled with boxes, shelving and the like.  Down the hallway there were offices and work rooms, and Adah couldn’t believe the piles of clothing she saw.

“Emma!”  A voice called from her right, and Adah stopped to see Trace getting up from a desk to rush over to them.  “It’s my favorite niece!”  He reached out for the baby, giving Adah a big smile.  “Hey girl, what brings you here?”

Adah handed Emma over, smiling for the first time in a while.  “I’m tagging along with Rachel.  She said she had to grab some samples.”

Trace gave her a look.  “Rachel, huh?”  His focus turned back to Emma, who was grabbing at the scruff on his face.

“Yeah, I had a mini meltdown and she brought me along.  I think she was afraid to leave me alone.”  Trace moved out of the office, ushering Adah along with him.

“Everything okay?”  He seemed genuinely concerned and Adah was happy she came inside.  It was good to see Trace.  He’d been on her side throughout the whole pregnancy and everything and she trusted him.

“Eh, I guess so.  Rachel just dropped a bomb that Justin was thinking about giving Emma his name and going public.  It made me freak out a little.”

His eyes widened.  “Well, shit, that’s a terrible idea.”  He headed down the hallway, further into the building.  “Have you talked to Justin about it?”

“No,” she shook her head.  “He called me to come watch Emma so Rachel could run errands and when I got there she mistook my stress about something else for Justin talking to me.”  She gave him a sheepish grin.  “I guess I got a little out of hand.”

Trace laughed, nudging Adah’s shoulder with his own.  “It happens to the best of us, and this is something you’re allowed to freak about.  I wouldn’t worry, though.  Just talk it through with Justin.  He’ll probably explain things and you’ll feel better.”

“I hope you’re right.”  The finally entered a room where there were three other people working at computers.  Adah followed Trace, spotting Rachel talking with someone in the corner.

A couple of the room’s occupants looked up, surprise showing on their faces as they noticed Trace holding Emma.  He eagerly showed her off, though, introducing her a his niece and no one seemed to question him.  They all cooed over the baby, complementing Adah when Trace mentioned that she was Emma’s mother.  Adah felt that she was holding her breath the entire time, waiting for someone to bring up Justin’s name and make a connection, but no one did.  They all went back to their work, leaving Trace and Adah alone after the initial introductions.

A few minutes later Rachel came over, her hands full of bags.  “Ready to go?”  She asked Adah after saying hello to Trace.

The three of them made their way back outside, and Adah felt herself tense again.  Normally she didn’t hesitate to go about her day, but being with Rachel and Trace made her concerned.  She kept waiting for someone to jump out with a camera, or to yell out the she was toting around Justin Timberlake’s baby.  Her fears were unfounded because no one paid them any mind, but she couldn’t seem to get her body to relax.

She climbed in the car after saying goodbye to Trace, sad to be leaving his company behind.  He made her feel a little more comfortable with things.

“Relax, Adah.  I can hear you clenching your teeth from here and it’s giving me the willies.”  Rachel’s voice broke Adah from her thoughts and she blushed.

“I’m sorry.  I’m just really stressed right now.”  She took a deep breath, hoping to force some calm into her rigid muscles.  “I’ve seen what it’s like for Justin and I don’t want that around our baby.  I just…I couldn’t do that to her.”

“If it makes you feel any better, no one recognizes me even if I’m with Justin, so you don’t have anything to worry about.”  They merged onto the highway, moving into traffic and heading farther into the city.  “I know you’ve got a lot on your plate right now, but stressing out over it isn’t going to make it any better.  Relax.  Talk with Justin when he gets home and I’m sure you two can figure something out.”

“I suppose you’re right.”  Adah conceded.

“No supposing about it, my dear.  I’m right.”  Rachel grinned over at her passenger.  “Now, I order you to relax and enjoy the sunshine.  No more pouting today.”

“Yes ma’am.”

~*~

“She’s passed out.”  Adah whispered, gently extracting Emma from her car seat and following Rachel back into the house.  They’d managed to get all of Rachel’s errands done in pretty good time.  “Is there somewhere I can put her down?”

Rachel pointed to the staircase.  “Her nursery is the second door on the left.  Go on up.”

Adah ascended the stairs, feeling slightly strange as she did so.  She’d never been anywhere in the house other than the foyer, kitchen and back yard.  She felt a little like she was snooping, but she really did need to get Emma down so she could properly nap.

The door was cracked open, so Adah pushed it with her foot, her jaw dropping as she stepped inside.  The walls were painted with a mural that stretched around the entire space.  Fields dotted with white sheep, trees and bushes filled in empty spaces, and the blue skies were filled with fluffy with clouds.  It was a beautiful scene.  The room itself was furnished simple, white furniture.  Emma’s crib was off to the side, her bedding matching the mural on the walls.  Adah gently set the baby down, watching to make sure she stayed asleep.

When she was certain that Emma was okay, Adah took some time to explore.  The dresser was covered in framed pictures.  Justin and Emma on the day she was born; Lynn, Justin and Emma together; there was even a picture of Adah, Justin and Emma when they’d left the hospital together.  It brought tears to her eyes as she thought about the love and care that had gone into everything in this room.

Adah wandered further around the room, pulling open the closet and peeking into drawers.  Her curiosity led her over to another door, and she opened it carefully, feeling as if she were snooping.  She had obviously found Justin’s room, the masculine smell of him hitting her in the face as she opened the door.  His room was exactly as she’d pictured it; dark brown hardwood floors, light oak furniture, and earth toned walls and bedding.  It screamed relaxation and comfort, and it also screamed Justin. 

Adah backed out of the room, feeling like she was intruding.  Crossing to the other side of the room, she pulled open the only door she hadn’t looked behind yet.  She was surprised to find another bedroom, this one painted in tranquil colors.  It had a feminine touch and she wondered if it was Rachel’s room, but a memory popped into her mind and she instantly knew it was hers.  Justin had told her when they were in the hospital that he’d had his house re-modeled so she could have her own space there.  Letting her curiosity get the better of her, she entered the room, taking her time looking around.

More pictures were hanging on the walls, black and white photos taken of Emma, obviously by a professional.  She smiled at the images of her baby girl grinning and laughing.

Further into the room there was a set of thick, overstuffed chairs with a low coffee table and some lamps.  Adah thought that this would make a perfect reading corner.  She glanced at the bed, noting that it looked like the most comfortable thing she’d ever seen in her life.  She was tempted to jump on it and test the fluffy-ness, but a noise from behind her halted her movements.

“Hey.”  Justin’s voice was soft but it startled her none the less.

“Shit, you scared me.”  She placed her hand on her racing heart, suddenly feeling uncomfortable for intruding.  “I was just looking…”  She moved toward the door but Justin stopped her with a look.

“It’s okay.  It’s your room.”  He walked over to the chairs, running his hand along the back.  “I talked with Rachel.  I’m sorry about worrying you.”  The look on his face spoke volumes and Adah found that she couldn’t be mad at him even if she tried.

“It’s okay, but just freaked me out, that’s all.”  She stood awkwardly in the middle of the room, unsure of herself.  Justin motioned to the chairs and sat down, waiting for her to join him.

“I just want you to know I’d never do anything concerning Emma without asking you first.  She’s our daughter and we can make decisions together.”

“I know.  There’s a lot going on in my head right now and when Rachel mentioned you wanting to go public…I…I lost it.”

He tried to hide his grin, but he couldn’t help the smile that crossed his lips.  “Yeah, she told me.  You made Emma cry.”

“Hey!”  She grabbed the decorative pillow next to her and chucked it at him, laughing in spite of herself.  “I was stressed!” 

He chuckled a few more times, gaining back his composure.  “Is everything else okay?  She mentioned that you’ve got a lot going on.”

Adah shrugged, not sure how much she wanted to get into this with Justin, but knowing she needed to talk with someone about it.  Maybe he could make sense of things for her.  “Sam and Brett told me that they don’t want to renew the lease on the apartment.  I guess Sam wants to move in with her boyfriend, and Brett is looking to find something closer to work.  I think they were just finding a nice way to tell me they didn’t want to live with me and Emma anymore.”

“I’m sure that’s not it,”  Justin countered, knowing that Brett and Sam cared about Adah more than anyone else.  “It could just be time for a change.”

“Change sucks.”  She tried to smile, but this time she failed.  “I just…I don’t have any family, I don’t have a job, and I have no idea what I’m going to do without the two of them by my side.  I don’t think I could get a place on my own right now.  It’s really stressing me out.”

Justin licked his lips, hoping not to set her off again.  “You’re always welcome here, Adah.  This is your room and it will stay that way.  I know your reasons for not living with me and I respect them, but I don’t want you to think you don’t have any place to go.  This is your space and it’s here for you when you need it.”

Adah couldn’t say anything to that.  Her mind was heavy with thoughts and there was a tiny piece of her that thought living with him would be a good idea.  She was fighting that piece of her with everything she had.  Living with Justin would only add complications to their already strange relationship and she didn’t want to deal with that, too.  It was too much.

Emma cried from the nursery and Justin stood.  “I’ll get her.  You hang out here as long as you need to.  We’ll be down stairs.”

Justin left the room, leaving Adah with her thoughts.  She suddenly felt so heavy.

“Are you going to give me the silent treatment for ever? Or is this just a temporary thing?”  Sam’s voice startled Adah from the book she had her nose stuck in.  In all honesty, she hadn’t really been reading, but the book was a good way to keep people from talking to her.  Apparently Sam saw through that.

“Huh?”  Playing dumb was her best defense on short notice.

“Adah…”  Sam sighed.  She knew that Adah was upset, but it was difficult for everyone and it wasn’t fair for Adah to be shutting her roommates out.  They were supposed to be best friends.  “I know you’re mad and me and Brett, but I really wish you would talk with us.  We’re not trying to hurt you here, Ads.  We love you.”

Adah set her book down, looking at the coffee table before forcing her eyes up to Sam’s.  “I don’t know what to say.”  It was the truth.  She didn’t want to throw around hurtful words just because she was wounded.  She did love Sam and Brett; she just didn’t know how to explain what she was feeling.

“Say anything!”  Sam’s frustration bubbled over and she had to take a breath to reign it back in.  “Tell me you’re pissed.  Tell me you wish I would throw myself out the window.  Tell me you’re upset, or hurt, or scared…Just talk with me!   I’m your best friend, Adah.  Please don’t shut me out.”

Adah sat back, hoping the couch cushions would swallow her whole so she wouldn’t have to have this conversation.  She didn’t want to put and even bigger wedge into their friendship.  “I don’t want to fight about things, Sam.”

“Then let’s talk instead.”

Adah huffed, “Fine, I’m hurt.”

“I know.”

Blue eyes slammed into Sam’s green and both girls stayed locked in their stare until Adah couldn’t keep it up.  “Then why are you doing it?  Why can’t we keep the apartment?  You and Brett both know that I can’t afford this place on my own.”

“We’re not just going to leave you stranded, Adah.  We told you what we were thinking so we could all make a decision together.  I’m sorry it came off differently.  I would never do anything to hurt you.  You’re my home fry.”

The comment made Adah crack a smile.  “It just seemed to come out of the blue.  I had no idea you and Brett were even thinking of doing something else when the lease is up.”

Sam understood that Adah’s life was extremely complicated and it wasn’t going to get any better any time soon.  She didn’t fault the girl for being angry or upset.  She just wished that Adah would start talking to her or Brett again.  It was really difficult to know what was going on in the girl’s head when she kept it all inside.  It was also part of the reason that Sam and Brett agreed that it might be time for a change.  The both knew that Adah would never make a move on her own, so they thought maybe they could give her a little nudge.  “Well, you’ve had a lot on your plate lately.” 

Adah’s eyes widened as she thought over that statement.  “You’ve got that right.  I didn’t get to tell you about the room at Justin’s house.”

“The room he had re-done for you?”

“Yeah, how did you know about it?”  Adah was sure she’d never mentioned it to anyone.

“Justin’s mom was talking about it at the hospital when Emma was born.  She just mentioned that he’d had renovations done so both you and the kid could have a place.”

“Yeah, well, it’s a place all right.”  She smiled at the memory of the nursery.  “Emma’s room is beautiful.  He’s got this incredible mural painted around all of the walls, and Rachel told me the other day that he painted most of that mural himself.”  Her face turned slightly pink.  “I cried when she told me that.”

“You cried?”  Sam relaxed, relieved to be talking normally with her friend again.  “You sap.”

“Hormones, I swear.  It’s all Emma’s fault.”  Adah laughed.  It felt really good.

Sam’s own face light up with a sly grin.  “And that’s all Justin’s fault.”  She wiggled her eyebrows, loving the laughter that spilled from Adah.  It had been a while since she’d seen her friend relax.

When Adah finally caught her breath, she gave Sam a serious look.  “But really, Sam.  He’s got the whole place set up for us.  It’s….it’s really overwhelming.”

“You’ve already shacked up with him a few times, and you’ve had his kid.  What’s a bedroom at his house?”  Sam’s tone was teasing and Adah smiled, but it didn’t stay for too long.

“I have no idea what to tell him.  He told me that the room is mine whenever I need it, but…what does that mean?  Are we together? Are we just playing house? Are we just friends that happen to be raising a baby together?”  She licked her lips, taking a breath.  “And I didn’t even tell you that he wants to give Emma his last name.”

“Holy shit.” Sam’s eyes widened too.  “I had no idea.”

Adah laughed, “Me either.   Rachel broke the news the same day you and Brett told me what you’d been thinking about.  I freaked.”

“I think I might freak, too.  Have you talked to him about it?” 

Adah shrugged her shoulders.  “Kind of.  He caught me looking around the bedroom and he told me that he wasn’t going to make a decision without me.  He said that he it was something he’d been thinking about.”  She twisted her hands together, fidgeting.  “I just…I don’t know how he can even be thinking about it.  It would cause so many problems and…it scares me.”

Sam took a moment before answering, not wanting to upset Adah any more than she already was.  “He loves that little girl, Adah, very much.  I don’t think he thought about anything other than being a good father to her.  I’m sure he knows the repercussions of that decision, but you can’t blame the guy for wanting to give his little girl his name.”

The two were silent for a stretch, both lost in thought.  Adah was worrying over how to explain to Justin that she wasn’t comfortable with the idea of Emma being associated with the Timberlake name.  Not because she wanted to deny Justin anything, but because she wanted to save Emma the hassle of being Justin Timberlake’s baby for as long as she could.  Sam was lost in thought about Adah and Justin and when the two of them would realize how in love they really were.  Sam was sure that Justin was aware of his feelings, but Adah was completely oblivious to how much she needed that man and just how important his was in her life already.  Emma had only brought them closer together, the just needed another final push.

“Have you given any thought to moving into Justin’s house?”  Sam finally broke the silence with her question.

“Not until you and Brett told me about the lease.  I think that living with him would be way too much for the two of us to handle.  It would just make things more complicated.”

Sam smiled.  Her best friend was an intelligent girl, but she was blind as a bat sometimes.  “So, you’re telling me that having Justin Timberlake’s baby and randomly hooking up with him is okay, but living under the same roof would just tip the scales?”

Adah shrugged, “Yeah.”  She took a deep breath, trying to organize her thoughts so she could explain to Sam what she was thinking.  “I don’t know if being in a relationship with Justin Timberlake is something I can handle.  I’m not cut out for his life, Sam.  I don’t want to subject my baby to the craziness of the media and all of that.  Living with him would just…it would make all that real.  I’m not ready to face that yet.”  Her voice was soft as she finished, emotion tightening her throat.  “I know I’ve had his baby, but she’s my baby, too.  That should mean something.”

Sam wasn’t sure how to respond to that, but she really thought that Adah was making a bigger deal out of things than she should be.  “He loves you, Adah, and he loves his little girl.  He’s just trying to take care of his family.”  She gave her friend a long look.  “You’re making this harder than it has to be.”

“What?”  Adah wasn’t sure what she expected Sam to say, but it wasn’t that.

“Adah, Justin has been trying his damnedest to show you that he’s prepared to take care of you and Emma and that he loves you.  It’s written across his face, plain as day.  The way he looks at you…he isn’t going to put you or Emma in a position that could cause either of you any harm.  Stop punishing him for something he can’t control.  He is who he is.  Let it go and love the man!”

Adah sat back, stunned, as Sam stormed out of the room.  Sam was blunt and direct, but she’d never spoken to Adah like that before and she wasn’t sure how to take it.  She was still upset about the whole apartment bomb, and now she was having Justin thrown in her face, too.  Of course, she was also angry because what Sam said was true, but she wasn’t about to admit that yet.  Her pride was getting in the way.

“That was intense.”  Brett’s voice floated in through the doorway, and Adah looked up to see him leaning against the door frame, watching her.  “Are you okay?”

Adah shook her head.  “I don’t know.”  She buried her hands in her hair, closing her eyes against the range of emotions she was experiencing.

Brett crossed the room and sat down in the spot that Sam had just vacated.  “What’s up, Ace?  Why is Sam yelling at you about Justin?”

Licking her lips, Adah told Brett about the conversation she and Sam had just had.  She told him that they’d talked about the apartment and why Adah was upset, and then the conversation had turned to Justin.  “I didn’t realize she was so worked up about it.”  She finished, still reeling.

“She cares about you, Ace.  She’s just upset because we’ve been watching you and Justin dance around each other for almost a year now and it’s getting a little old.”  His smile was warm and he spoke quietly, trying not to add any more emotion to the already charged situation. 

“I didn’t realize that my dancing around Justin was a problem.  I didn’t even know we were dancing.” 

“We’ve been trying to keep ourselves out of your relationship, but it’s hard when we all live together.  We both love Emma more than anything and we will do anything to keep you two safe.  But, we can’t put our lives on pause until you decide yours.”  He chuckled nervously, tugging at his hair as he talked.  “To be honest, we were hoping that if we mentioned moving out, you’d be motivated to live with Justin and just end the man’s torture.”

Adah sighed deeply.  “Why do I feel like I’m the only one out of the loop?”  Her head was hurting and her body ached with all of the emotions flying around her.  “You could have just pointed out the apparent obvious and save me the trouble of freaking out.”

At this Brett laughed.  The sound was full and deep and Adah found herself chuckling along with him.  “Ace, you were going to be pissed at us either way.  We were just trying the more subtle route.”

“Gee, thanks.”  Adah stretched out on the couch, allowing her tired muscles to relax.  “Am I really making a big deal of things?  Because I was sure that getting into a relationship with Justin Timberlake wasn’t an ordinary thing.”

“It is a big deal, Adah, but any relationship is.  You’re stuck on the Justin Timberlake part.  I don’t think you should ignore it, but I don’t think it has to be the deciding factor, either.”

A frustrated grunt came out of Adah’s mouth.  She flopped her arm over her eyes, hoping to hide from everything.

“You want to know the worst part of all of this, Brett?”  She paused, waiting for him to respond before she answered.  “I’ve been falling in love with Justin ever since we went to Tennessee.”

Two Months Later

August 5th, 2008

“Happy Birthday to you…Happy Birthday dear Emma…Happy Birthday to you!”  Applause sounded throughout Justin’s kitchen and Emma grinned, loving the attention.

“I can’t believe she’s one already.”  Adah leaned against the counter top, wedged between Lynn and Paul as they watched the festivities.  Justin was helping Emma eat her cake, which she proceeded to smear all over her face.  There were cheers and giggles all around.  It was a heart warming sight for everyone involved.

“You’ve done an incredible job with her, Adah.  She’s beautiful.”  Lynn wrapped her arm around Adah’s shoulders, bringing the younger woman in for a tight hug.  “I’m really glad you’re here.  Justin is too, you know.”

“Yeah…I know.”  Adah glanced back over at Justin and Emma, a smile permanently attached to her face.  Seeing them together made her feel that all of the struggles were truly worth it.  Justin had stepped up to become an incredible father and Emma had him tightly wrapped around her little finger.  They were slowly starting to become a family and it felt really good for Adah.

“Presents!”  Rachel’s voice called out over everyone else, ushering the crowd into the living room where a mountain of gifts awaited the little birthday girl.  Adah hung back, letting everyone else take over for the day.  She hadn’t had to change a diaper, give a bottle, or wipe Emma’s face all day.  It was relaxing, if strange.

“I think she liked the cake.”  Justin’s grinning face broke through Adah’s thoughts and she chuckled at the sight of him.  He was covered in pink frosting and chocolate cake.

“I think she liked seeing it all over your face.”  She reached up to wipe a glob that had stuck over his eyebrow.  “You’re a mess.”

“I love it.”  His happiness was contagious.  “You having a good time?”

“This is incredible, Justin.  Thank you.  Emma is having the time of her life.”  Adah glanced around the room at the decorations and piles of bakes goods.  Streamers hung from the ceiling, balloons littered the room, and confetti covered every spare inch of surface.  It was beautiful and it was homemade.  Adah couldn’t have asked for anything more for Emma’s first birthday, and she didn’t have to lift a finger.

“I know she’s enjoying it, but I asked about you.”  Justin finished washing off his face and hoping that the pink frosting wasn’t going to stain his shirt.  He watched Adah carefully, sensing that something was slightly off.

Despite her extreme hesitation, Adah had moved into Justin’s house a little over a month ago.  He loved having his daughter with him every day, and it was even better getting to share all of those moments with Adah, too.  He truly felt their family growing together and he felt complete.  Adah had been very upfront with her feelings and her apprehension about getting into a relationship with him.  He was trying his best to respect her wishes, but the more time he spent with her, the more he knew that he was ready to be with her.  He was letting her set the pace though, even if it meant being at a stand-still.

“I am enjoying myself.”  Adah finally answered.

“But?”

She shrugged, looking up to meet his eyes.  “I just wish my Mom could be here to see this.”  She dropped her gaze when her eyes started to fill with tears.  Justin’s arms wrapped around her, pulling her into his chest.

“I’m so sorry, Adah…”  He rubbed her back in slow circles, feeling truly terrible.  Most of Justin’s family had flown out for the occasion, including his grandparents, but he’d forgotten that Adah didn’t have any family to invite. 

“It’s okay.”  She pulled back, wiping at her eyes.  “I shouldn’t be crying.  This is a happy occasion.  Our baby girl is a year old.” 

Justin pulled her back in for another hug, giving her a light kiss on the forehead.  “You have every right to feel sad, Ads.  I’m sorry I didn’t think about this before.”

She shook her head, stepping back from him completely.  “No, it’s fine.  I’m fine.”  Wiping at her eyes again she gave him a watery smile.  “We should get in there.  Emma would be upset if we missed opening her presents.”

Despite his worry, Justin laughed.  “She doesn’t even know we’re gone.”  He wrapped his arm around Adah’s shoulder, walking with her into the living room.  Everyone was spread out and Lynn had Emma in her lap as they tore at wrapping paper and cooed over presents. 

Adah leaned into Justin, looking up at him.  “Thank you for this.”

He grinned down at her, “Thank you for my daughter.”  He felt Adah chuckle softly.

“You have a point.  I did work harder than you.”  Her smile was genuine and her eyes sparkled.  It took a lot of will power, but Justin resisted kissing her.  It was getting more difficult by the day, but he managed.

“I think you’ll always have me trumped with that one.”

She rested her head on his shoulder.  “Don’t you forget it.”

~*~

“I never thought a baby’s birthday party would be so exhausting.”  Adah plopped down on the lounge chair by the pool, happy to have her feet up.  “I think I might pass out.”

“Tell me about it.”  Justin handed her a beer, taking his own seat next to her.  “I’m just happy my parents are here to watch her tonight.  I need a break.”

“You were great today, really.”  Adah smiled over at him, “Being Daddy fits you well, Justin.”

He laughed, blushing.  “It’s only because I’m still a big kid myself.”  He took a long swig of his beer and settled his head back against the chair.  Despite being close to dusk, it was still comfortably hot outside and the drink was refreshing after the long day.  It had taken them just as long to clean up the house as it had to set up.  It had been worth it, though.  Watching Emma toddle her way around the house, laughing and giggling had made being a dad the coolest thing in the world.  She was by far his best accomplishment, and that was saying a lot.

“I don’t know if I tell you this enough, but you’re a wonderful father.  She’s really lucky, you know.  It’s obvious how much you love her.”

Justin sat, speechless.  He was completely flattered by Adah’s words and he wasn’t entirely sure why he was getting so choked up about it.  “Thank you.”  He cleared his throat, taking another long swallow of his beer to cool off.

“I’m sorry that I’ve been so distant lately.”  Adah wasn’t entirely sure why she couldn’t stop talking, but something about this night invited honesty.  For the first time in a while they didn’t have Emma running around to steal their attention and she had a lot on her mind.  “You’ve been trying so hard to respect my wishes with everything and you’ve taken time off from your career to be here with me and Emma…”

“Adah…”  Justin tried to stop her, to tell her that this wasn’t necessary, that he knew, but she held up a hand to quiet him.

“No, let me say this now or I won’t.”  She took a deep breath and closed her eyes.  “You scare me, Justin.  What you do, who you are…it scares the shit out of me.  But it’s so damn difficult for me to remember all of that when I watch you with our daughter.  I don’t see the entertainer.  I don’t see the musician.  I see the dad and the man that stepped up to be that dad.  You’re making it really hard to stick to my guns and avoid any feelings I may have for you.”

“Adah…” He tried again.  He knew she’d only had one beer, but he was afraid that she was talking from alcohol and he didn’t want her to say something she might want to take back later. 

“I love you.” 

The air around them seemed to still with her confession, and Justin felt his heart slow before picking up and beating rapidly.  “What?”  He didn’t dare turn to look at her.  He didn’t want to disrupt the moment.

“I’ve fallen in love with you, Justin.”  She laughed, “No matter how hard I’ve tried to keep my distance, you still managed to get me to fall in love with you.”

“I’m…sorry?”  He chanced a look at her and was happy to see her smiling.

“You should be,” she chided, “you did it all backwards.”

“Backwards?”

“Yeah.  You got me pregnant and then made me fall in love with you.  I think you’re supposed to do it the other way around.”

Justin’s grinned stretched across his face.  He could still feel his pulse racing at her mention of being in love with him.  It felt right.  “We ended up in the same place, eventually.”

“Well, next time we can do it the right way.”  Adah’s voice floated over to him and he sat up, giving her a look.

“Next time?!”

He was met with the cadence of her laughter filling the backyard and floating off into the approaching evening.

**The End**