There was nothing in the world that could compare to holding his son in his arms. His son. He didn’t think that the day would ever come and yet here he was, little Silas Randall Timberlake, tucked in the crook of his arm; a constant reminder that this was, in fact, his new reality.

Justin didn’t care if he was woken up at one and two and three in the morning because Silas was hungry. He didn’t care that he had to change his shirt a couple of times a day because Silas had a little bit too much to eat and couldn’t hold it down. He didn’t even care that Silas turned into a human fountain out of one end or the other at any given moment. Silas was his little fountain and he cherished every minute spent with the little guy.

“So you see we wanted to raise you away from all that stuff. Away from the prying eyes and the camera lenses and the people who just want to know everything. We wanted you to feel safe and secure and happy,” Justin said, smiling down at the little boy in his arms. Silas’s blue eyes were trained on his father’s face as he sucked on his pacifier. “And look at this view! No smog, no cars, no tall buildings in the way.” He turned Silas to look out the large back window of the house.

In the distance staring back at them were rolling hills, wildflowers, and blue skies as far as the eye could see. Moving to Montana had to be the best decision he and Jess have ever made. If it were for Silas he wouldn’t have gone along with it but now he was glad to have the little boy pushing him in ways he never would have thought about before.

“I hope one day you’ll grow up and understand why we decided to take you away from the public eye. I just want some sort of normalcy with you. My life has been viewed beneath a microscope of sorts ever since I was a kid. Not that I regret it, I’ve done a lot in my time that I hope you’ll be proud of one day.”

Justin turned away from the window and walked through the house, bouncing the small baby in her arms and hummed along the way. He carefully climbed the stairs, walked past his “man cave” and Jess’s office only to stop in front of the one closed door on the second floor. Silas wasn’t crawling yet so it wasn’t that they were afraid of him getting into anything. It was just that Justin wasn’t ready to talk to Silas about what was behind the door. Until now.

“Everything in this room is what shaped Daddy into the man he is now, buddy,” Justin announced as he opened the door. Awards, plaques, posters, and other trinkets of his achievements were scattered around the room. “All these awards were presented to me for my hard work in the music and entertainment industry. If you don’t want to be a part of it one day, that’s cool. But if you do, always know that Mommy and Daddy will be there to support you and do anything they can to help you achieve your greatest dreams.

“I was lucky. Not everyone can make it. For every person that makes it in this business there are more that fail but I tried hard and I learned and I grew and now I’m here. I have a lovely wife and the greatest son anyone could ask for. All of that could go away and I’d be happy, but I also realize that if it weren’t for my hard work I wouldn’t have my wife and son. As much as I want to pull away sometimes I know where I started.”

Grunting—his knees weren’t the same as they used to be—Justin sat down on the floor and reached into the box closest to his knee. He dug around inside and paused when his fingertips brushed against the ridges of a frame. It made a jolt shoot through his fingertips. He curled his fingers around the frame and pulled it out of the box, making a few CDs fall to the wayside.

He smiled down at the still glossy photo. After all these years it was as if it had been taken yesterday. He sat and stared at it, taking in every inch of the photograph. Memories flooded his mind and he could clearly think back to the very day the photo was taken.

“You know these guys as your uncles,” Justin said, turning the picture to face his son. “This was when we were kids.” Silas made a grunting noise behind his pacifier. “Yeah, that’s Daddy!” Justin said with a laugh. “I know, I look so different. So do your uncles. That was before Uncle Jo-Jo grew out his facial hair. Doesn’t even look like him, does it? I was…sixteen here. Much younger than I am now.

“See, back then buddy we were a singing group called *NSYNC. No one took us seriously at first but then…people liked us. They really liked us.” He paused, his shoulders lifting and dropping with the wistful sight that took over his body. “I’ve had the best time of my life with these five dues. They’re not just your uncles. They’re not just my friends. They’re…they’re my brothers. They were with me through thick and thin. I can only hope and pray that you find four guys as awesome as they are.”

Silas kicked his legs and stretched out his arms, briefly touching the surface of the picture. Justin chuckled and kissed his son’s forehead. “We broke a lot of records in this group. We changed the idea of what a boy band could be. We set the bar. Being in *NSYNC made me the entertainer that I am. I wouldn’t be who I am without *NSYNC. This is my legacy.” He motioned to the Grammys, Emmys, Teen Choice awards, Billboard awards, People’s Choice awards, and posters that surrounded him. “I just hope you don’t grow to hate our music; that would really bite. Some of my songs with the boys were silly in the beginning but we made some great music in the end.”

Silas’s cheeks reddened and his eyes scrunched up. More grunts came from behind his pacifier until he began crying. Setting the picture down, Justin lifted Silas to his shoulder and began to pat him on the back. “Someone’s tired aren’t they? Okay, buddy; it’s time for a nap.”

He rocked back and forth until he got enough footing to stand himself up straight. He took one last look around the room and then carried Silas over to his nursery which was decked out in baby blue amongst the dark mahogany furniture.

“There ya go,” Justin cooed, setting Silas down in his crib, placing the baby down on his back. He rested an arm across one of the bars and rubbed his stomach. He hummed and sang songs off the top of his head as he waited for his son to close his eyes and drift off to sleep. It didn’t take too long; Justin was proud to brag that his voice could put his mini me down for the count in a matter of moments.

He had barely stepped out of the nursery when his phone vibrated in his pocket. He pulled it out and saw that he had a text from Lance. An image was attached and the only thing that the message contained was an evil smiling emoticon.

Still, his curiosity got the better of him and he downloaded the attachment only for him to sigh and shake his head at his own image staring back at him.

He had completely forgotten what day it was. April 31st. Lance loved that day.

*NSYNC was a part of his life but it wasn’t his true legacy. No, that particular title belonged to the never-ending meme. Even as the years moved on and his time away from *NSYNC settled into his past, it came back to haunt him. What started as something that earned a chuckle became a tradition for some and while it got on his nerves sometimes he would never ruin it for others.

So, as he prepared a bottle for Silas for when he woke up, he sang It’s Gonna Be Me under his breath and looked off towards the mountains that that sheltered and protected his new family.