Wednesday, DEC 29, 1999

"We won our lawsuit, we won our lawsuit, we won our lawsuit."

Chuckling as he made his way towards the empty hotel bar, Justin couldn't help but roll his eyes as his friend's gleeful singing grew louder.

"They never seem to amaze me."

"That's a good thing, isn't it?"

Jumping slightly at the voice, Justin turned his head to see the bartender-the attractive bartender-staring down at him with an amused grin.

"Uh, yeah, sometimes."

Watching as she gave him a shy smile, before a blush took over her naturally tanned cheeks, Justin couldn't help but let his nervous smile turn flirtatious.

"The names Justin."

"So, I've heard...what can I get you?"

Giving her a once over from across the bar, Justin's eyes twinkled at the possibilities, "How about we start with a phone number."

 

******

 

March 15, 2000 (Three Months Later)

"So, you're really leaving to tour?"

"Well, not really until May, but..uh-yeah, we're heading to NY next week. Y'know for the Album Release party, and..."

Sighing, Debra turned towards the fireplace, ignoring her tears, "I'm really going to miss you."

Nodding briefly, knowing he'd miss her as well, Justin moved his hands to her chin; tilting her head so she'd look him in the eye, "I know, but let's not talk about that..let's just focus on you and me. Just...just for one more night."

Blinking softly, she nodded into his hand. Letting him lay her down as they began to make that night their 'first & last'.

 

****

 

July 21, 2000 (Four Months Later)

"Justin, I can't do this anymore."

Inhaling as his tears began, he cringed at the thought of losing her, "Deb, don't SAY that. We can make this work...we've always made it work."

"Not..not anymore. There's too much at stake."

"Like what? What's changed in the last four months?"

There was a brief pause before he heard her barely audible words.

"Everything...I'm pregnant."

 

****

 

December 19, 2001 (A year and five months later)

"Did she get my package?"

"Each and every last one...you know, Justin, you shouldn't spoil her."

"I'm her father, it's her first birthday. You know, I've got a right to."

"I...is Britney with you?"

Sighing, he nodded through the phone, "She's sleeping right now. Why, did Kayla want to talk to her?"

"No, but I think you need to."

 

***

 

April 27, 2002 (Four months later)

"Justin, who are they?"

Sighing as he picked his phone up off the night stand, Justin began absentmindedly dialing his voice mail while half-listening to the girl beside him, "They who?"

"Them!" Britney said, in a voice two octaves lower than her normal high pitch tone; before Justin was greeted with a handful of pictures being thrown at his face. All of them of Debra and her..well, their daughter, Kayla.

Turning around, with the phone still in his hand, Justin didn't bother to hide the shock that was on his face, "Where'd you get these from?"

A flash of guilt washed across Britney's face before he was once again met with an angry glare, "It doesn't matter where I got them from. The question was: who are they? And don't tell me their just fans, because I know damn well you don't keep any pictures of those sluts around."

Justin didn't know if it was the anger of Britney calling his fans sluts, or the anger of seeing her throw pictures of his daughter, ones she no doubt found while snooping through his dresser drawer, that made him react the way he did.

"Get out!"

"What?" She half-shrieked, not having been prepared for this response, "What did you-"

"I said, get out. I can't..no, I DON'T want to see you right now."

Not moving from her spot across from him, Britney pointed a blind finger towards the floor, where the unfamiliar, to her, pictures still laid at the moment, "Is this because of her?"

Part of him wanted to inquire whether the her in question was the little girl in the photos or if the her in question was the mother holding the little girl, but as his anger rose higher, he quickly realized it really didn't matter.

"No, it's not because of her, it's because of the fact that I'm standing here talking to someone whose insecurities with herself got to be so bad that she had to go snooping through her boyfriend's private property. Acting like a bat out of hell."

"Well, if I didn't feel like you were keeping secrets from me than I wouldn't have to snoop around, now would I?" She retorted, which caused his anger to lessen up a little; knowing she was right. "But you know what, J. That's fine. You don't have to tell me who that little girl is. Or any of the other secrets you've been hiding from me these past two years. And you know why that is?"

Knowing what she was going to say, but still feeling like he wanted to hear it from her very own two lips, Justin shrugged, "No, why is that?"

Picking up her jacket off the hotel bed, Britney threw it on over her head, before answering him with a response that somewhat shook his world to the core. "Because, as of right now, you and me...we're through."

Taking one last glance to see if he'd stop her, Britney turned around; throwing her hair over her shoulder.

And just like that she was gone....leaving Justin just as she had found him a year and three months ago; brokenhearted.

 

****

 

April 29, 2002

"Hey Justin! The phones for you."

Looking up from his spot on the stage, where him and the rest of the guys were in the middle of sound-check, Justin looked off to the side where Anna, the guys hairstylist, was standing with his phone in her hand. "I'm sort've in the middle of something, here."

Rolling her eyes, she ignored the comment before making her way over to Justin; shoving the phone in his hand, "And does it look like I care? Besides it sounds important, they said they were from social services-although I don't know why'd they be calling YOU. Secret services, maybe. Social services that's-"

Holding his hand up so that she'd stop talking, Justin gave her a look that said 'I get the point.'

"Whatever," She retorted, before walking off the stage; mumbling what he could only hear as 'That's why Britney dumped your sorry ass.'

"Remind me why she still works here?"

The rest of the guys shrugged and chuckled at his comment, before moving towards the other end of the stage; giving their friend a little bit of privacy.

"Hello?" He whispered, after a second; making sure no one was eavesdropping on his conversation.

"Mr. Timberlake?"

"Uh-yeah," he responded, furrowing an eyebrow at the proper, yet unfamiliar, voice on the other line, "Whose this?"

"Hi, my name's Cathy Jones, I work with social services in Orlando Florida."

"Ooookay. Cathy Jones, if I might call you that. Not to sound rude, but is there a reason why you're calling me? I'm sure it's not to swindle tickets out of me..well, atleast I hope it isn't."

There was a brief pause over the line, before Cathy got back on the phone; her voice becoming much softer than it had been a second ago.

"I-I'm sorry, Mr. Timberlake, I thought someone had already called you, and told you I'd be calling. I guess I was wrong."

Growing more confused by the second, the smile that was playing across Justin's face went away, and the biting bluntness that he was known for using when he didn't understand something, crept in, "Yes, you were wrong. And I have a sound-check to get back to, so whatever you need to say, do you think you could say it now in the next five minutes."

"Of course, Mr. Timberlake," Cathy said, switching back to her professional tone; an action which confused Justin once again, "I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but earlier this morning, around eight o'clock, Miss. Debra Wellson, mother of Kayla Wellson-your daughter-was involved in a fatal car accident."

Not expecting that to come out of her mouth, Justin's facial expression went from confused to shocked to disbelief.

"W-what are you saying? Are you telling me Deb is..she's...?"

"Yes, Mr. Timberlake. Miss. Wellson, along with the drunk driver who had crashed into her Saab, died shortly before being taken to the hospital after-"

"NO!" Justin screamed, getting the attention of his groupmates-who until now hadn't noticed the distress written across their friend's face, or the fact that he was slowly, but surely, dropping down to his knees.

"Justin...man, what's wrong?"

Ignoring his friends, Justin tightened his hand around his phone; feeling that it was the only thing keeping him sane at the moment, "This..you can't be..This has to be a joke.."

Sighing at the disbelief in his voice; having heard it from a lot of people in her field of work, Cathy paused for a minute, before answering his unasked question "I'm sorry, Mr. Timberlake, but this isn't a joke. And the reason why I'm calling you is to make plans for you to meet with me before the week is over, in regards of what to do with Kayla."

At the sound of his baby girl's name, anger shot through Justin; anger at the drunk driver for killing Debra, and anger at Debra for doing this to him and Kayla, "Where is she? Do you have her? Can I speak to her?"

"I'm sorry, Mr. Timberlake, but as we speak she's being kept at a neighbor's house. One which she'll remain at until you can come to Orlando, and speak with me."

Nodding absentmindedly to himself, a sort've calm shooting through him as he did so; Justin knew what he had to do.

Looking back at his friend's-who were still trying to help him off the floor, Justin sighed before giving the woman her answer, "I'll be on the next flight there."

 

****

 

Opening his eyes as the flashbacks hit him, Justin pulled the crying girl in his arms closer to him, "Shh Kayla, Daddy's here."

Blocking out the soft cries of his baby girl for a second, he glanced over at the bedroom clock; noticing it was going on three.

Sighing, he could only think to himself:

This is going to be a long night.

Bringing the ceramic mug to his lips, Justin took one huge sip of the dark liquid inside, before wincing as the steaming hot fluid slid down his throat.

"God dammit." He said, through gritted teeth; before sitting the cup down; making his way towards the freezer for some ice.

Afterwards, tearing a paper towel off it's holder on the counter, Justin made fast work of getting the already-melting ice into the towel, before he brought it to his tongue; almost immediately sighing in relief as it's numbing power took effect.

Moving across the kitchen floor, he glanced towards the microwave timer; noticing it was almost eight o'clock-four hours since he'd got up.

Adverting his eyes towards the sink, Justin let out a sigh of desperation before taking the ice away from his mouth; figuring if he started now, by the time Kayla woke up he could have the dishes washed, and the dirty clothes dried.

Well, that was what he had hoped he could accomplish, before the house phone rang; it's shrill sounding tone echoing across the kitchen-and unfortunately around the house.

Spotting the cordless laying on the kitchen table, he quickly dashed for it; picking it up by it's third ring.

"Hello?" He said, in a voice louder than normal.

"Whoa, did I interrupt something?"

JC.

"Hold on a sec," Taking the phone away from his ear, he listened in for the faint sounds of small feet-padding across the floorboards upstairs, but sighed with relief when he didn't even hear a peep. "Sorry about that, what's up, C?"

Hearing a slight inaudible curse come through the phone, Justin could tell his friend was now feeling guilty for calling.

Which he probably should've been, Justin assumed.

"Man, I'm sorry, J. Lance and I got in last night, and I didn't even bother setting my watch back to Florida time."

"That's okay," Justin said, more to himself, after being reminded that JC had given Lance Justin's ticket to Mexico; seeing as how Justin wouldn't be going anywhere outside of the house for a while, "To be honest, I've been up since three, and needed a distraction, anyway."

"Kay waking you up?"

At the mention of his daughter's nickname, Justin couldn't help but smile genuinely; only afterwards letting it falter as his mind wandered to why he had gotten up so early in the first place, "Yeah, she's been having these..um-I wouldn't say dreams, but uh-nightmares, on and off for the last couple of days."

"Damn, it must be hard for her. I mean, having to lose her Mom; the one person she's built her world around for the last couple of years."

Sighing, Justin could only nod; having had that same thought in his head ever since he'd heard about the passing of Debra a little over two weeks ago, "Yeah, I just wish she was a little older, y'know? So I could maybe ask her what the dreams were about. I mean, I know their about Debra, but I just..I don't know."

A slight pause was shared on both lines of the phone, before JC spoke up again, "So, how's that case worker thing going? I mean..how does it work?"

Hearing the soft sounds of footsteps approaching the stairwell upstairs, Justin made short work of switching the phone to his other ear, before dashing towards the living room; knowing if he didn't get there fast enough Kayla would try to take the steps on her own. Inadvertently causing him to have a heart attack.

"Cathy, that's her name, she's been calling every day, y'know just to see how everything's going. It's starting to get on my nerves a little, but I guess it's something to look foreword to. I mean, she has more information for me every time she calls, y'know. So, that's a plus."

"What kind of information?"

Reaching the stairs, Justin looked towards the top landing; noticing Kayla standing there ready to say something, but quickly after noticing her daddy on the phone, she shut her mouth; thinking twice about it.

Just like a good little girl.

"Just..stuff," Justin responded, as he made his way up the stairs; not wanting to get into it while Kayla was within hearing distance, "I hate to cut this short, C, but Kay's up, and..."

"Okay, that's fine." JC responded, after a second, "I was just calling to see if you two wanted some company later on. That is, if you don't already have plans for the evening...?"

Reaching the top of the stairs, Justin gave Kayla a small wink before picking the little girl up by her waist; heading back down towards the kitchen.

"Actually, that'd be great. I uh-sorta need a little help. Cathy's coming tomorrow for her first inspection, and with Kay here and all, I haven't really gotten a chance to air out the house properly. So, if you could maybe-uh swing by with the rest of the guys, at like noon, and keep her entertained while I clean up the place for a couple of hours, that'd be great."

Setting Kayla down on the ground, Justin watched her for a second, before waiting patiently for JC's answer.

"Well, I really don't know about Lance, he's working on some FreeLance stuff, but I know for sure I can drag Joey and Chris out of their beds. It'll give their lazy asses something to do besides sleeping the day away."

Nodding at the thought; knowing that's exactly what the guy's plans for the day were, Justin smiled a little. Instantly knowing with his friend's there, he'd get a little work down.

"All right, thanks man. I'll holla at ya later."

Waiting until JC hung up, Justin hit the 'power' button on his phone, before flashing Kayla, who was staring at him from her place on the floor, an excited grin, "Guess whose coming to see you today?"

"I no no. Who?"

Chuckling a little at her baby talk, something he'd been trying to figure out for the past week, Justin leaned over, before picking Kayla up. Making them eye level with one another, "Three of your uncle's: JC, Joey, and Chris."

"An Cwis?"

Chuckling, before nodding, as Kayla's eyes lit up with excitement; Justin could already tell who his daughter's favorite would be.

"Yeah, you still remember him?" He asked, as he made his way towards the kitchen; remembering how JC and Chris had taken time away from their families last thanksgiving; just so they could go with him to visit Kayla.

Nodding, Kayla squeezed her fingers together, as if to say small, "He sort."

Chuckling as he placed Kayla on her makeshift highchair-which was a regular chair with a couple pillows placed on top of it-Justin couldn't help but notice that his daughter had his sense of humor, "Yeah, he's short all right. But so are you."

"Me no short. Me tall." Kayla said, making a move to prove her point by standing up on the pillows she was sitting on. An action which caused Justin to quickly move to her side; knowing if given the right pressure, the pillows would slip out under Kayla, and she'd fall to the ground.

"Kayla, you're going to have to sit here like a big girl." Justin said, harsher than he'd meant to, as he gently sat his daughter back down; afterwards pushing her chair up closer to the table, making it harder for her to move from her seat.

"I sowwie, daddy." Kayla said, looking down towards the table with her bottom lip sticking out; an action which Justin had to smile at, knowing she'd gotten it from him.

"It's okay, Kay." Justin said, before pushing Kayla's curls back; gently sitting his lips on her forehead, "I just don't want to see you get hurt, ok?"

Seeing that her daddy's voice didn't sound angry anymore, Kayla looked up with a hopeful stare on her face, before giving Justin a smile. Telling him she understood.

"All right, now that that's over, who wants pancakes?"

As Kayla's squeals of me rang through the house, Justin couldn't help but chuckle to himself.

Feeling that there was nowhere else he'd rather be at the moment.

---

It was going on a little bit after twelve when Justin finally heard JC's car pull up outside; followed by three doors slamming shut, and the distinct sounds of grown men arguing.

And they wonder why everyone knows when we're coming.

Not wanting to disturb Kayla, who was in the middle of watching one of Justin's old N'sync concerts, Justin quietly stood up from his chair; making his way towards the front door before one of the guys had a chance to knock or ring the doorbell.

"You-" He began, as soon as he opened the door. But quickly stopped himself as he noticed not only had JC brought Joey and Chris, but Joey had also brought his infant daughter; who was at the moment, in her bassinet, knocked out asleep. "brought Brianna?"

"Hello to you, too." Joey said, chuckling softly as him and the other two men made their way past Justin, "Yeah, Kel's sisters kidnapped her for the weekend, and stuck me with the kid. Hope you don't mind."

After shaking his head, while closing the door-knowing all too well where Joey was coming from-Justin mentally told the older man that it was okay with him, "You can put her down in the guest-room, or lay her out on the sofa. Kay's watching a video, but she wont mind if I turn it down."

"Naw, that's okay, I got it." Joey said, as he made his way towards the guest-room; having been to Justin's so many times that he didn't need any directions as to where he was going.

"So, where's the kid?"

Adverting his eyes from Joey's fleeting figure, Justin gave Chris a confused stare, before repeating what he had just said to Joey, "In the living room...watching a video."

"Okay!" Chris said, before skipping out of the room; leaving a confused Justin and an amused JC behind.

"Do I even want to know?" Justin asked, this time not bothering to move his head from in the direction of where his friend had run off to.

"Not really, but since there's no telling when we'll pry Chris away from Kay, we might as well get started cleaning up now."

Nodding his head, Justin could only make out the words right on, before heading towards the kitchen; figuring there was the best place to start.

---

Looking towards the clock on the VCR, Justin sighed with relief, before flashing a genuine smile at his friends. With JC and him working side by side, and than sometimes with Chris and Joey-when they weren't playing with the kids-it didn't take the men as long as Justin had thought it would-to clean up the house.

"Four o'clock, I have to say we made pretty good time."

"Thank God!" JC exclaimed, before plopping down on the couch; figuring that if he had to dust one more piece of furniture, he'd either scream or pass out in exhaustion, "With the way Dumb & Dumber, over there, have been acting I thought we'd never finish."

Having heard the remark, from his spot on the floor, Chris shot an offended look at JC, before putting his hand's over Kayla's ears, "Joshua! Just because Kayla and Brianna aren't over the age, doesn't mean they don't have feelings, too."

Opening his eyes, JC threw Chris a confused stare, "What?"

Chuckling, Justin made his way towards Chris; picking his little girl up off the floor, before causing her to giggle by making a silly face-all the while wondering when him and his friend's had become four men and the babies "Basically he's telling you to stop calling Bri and Kay names."

"I wasn't.." JC began, sitting up defensively; but stopped, blushing, as he realized, not only, was Chris laughing hysterically at him, but so was Joey-who up until that point had been silently sitting on the other end of the couch, tickling his daughter. "Ha, Ha. Very funny."

Justin joined in with the other two men, chuckling at their gullible friend, before focusing all his attention on Kayla; remembering she hadn't eaten anything since breakfast, "What do you say we order some pizza, Kay?"

"Wit pep o'nee?"

Chuckling softly, Justin nodded; mentally telling himself he should've known. "You got it."

Turning his head towards the guys, who were, now, in the middle of another semi argument, he raised his voice; hoping to be heard over all the bickering, "You guys want to stay for dinner? I'm calling Papa Johns."

Almost immediately, the two men-who held the private nicknames of The human garbage disposals-nodded their heads; and then as an afterthought, looked towards JC, knowing he'd be the deciding vote if they could stay or not-seeing as how he was the one who drove.

"Umm.." Checking his watch, silently making sure he wasn't going to miss anything, JC nodded, before smiling up at the rest of the guys, "Sure, I don't have anywhere to be till 8."

"Right on," Justin exclaimed, before heading towards the kitchen; silently preparing to order some food for his baby.

 

****

 

An hour after Justin had placed the phone call, the guys and Kayla, were seated in the family room, chowing down on pepperoni pizza.

"I swear this is way better than NY's pizza." Joey commented, as he sunk his teeth down into his third slice of pepperoni. "Well...almost."

"You would know," Chris retorted, before folding his slice of pizza in half; eating it like a sandwich, "I'm sure you've tried every Italian product in the tri state of Brooklyn."

"Now, now Chris, you know Joe doesn't eat anywhere in New York besides at places that start with an A."

At the statement, all three men turned towards JC; looking at him confused.

"You know: A Wendy's, A Food Court, A McDonalds...."

As JC broke off laughing, the other men soon followed as well: even Joey, who was trying his hardest to pout at the joke. "Aww, fu-freak ya'll guys."

Each one of the guys laughed even harder as, the always foul mouthed, Joey censored himself in front of the children.

"Daddy?"

Minimizing his chuckles, Justin turned his attention from his friends, towards Kayla-who was in the process of taking her pepperoni off her pizza-a habit that she no doubt got from her Mom, "Yeah, sweetie?"

"Watch sync?"

At the question, the guys-sans Justin-all stared at her confused; not having been around Kayla long enough to pick up the baby talk, yet.

"You want to watch N'sync?"

Nodding, Kayla ate one of the random pepperoni's on her plate, before pointing towards the TV screen, "V'doh."

"All right," Justin said, before turning around; putting himself right in front of the VCR.

Making fast work, he turned on the TV screen, and began rewinding the video that was already in the VCR. Afterwards pressing the play button, which not only, sent Kayla into a fit of giggles-as she watched her daddy and uncles perform in front of her, but also sent the three guys in front of him into shock.

"What?" Justin asked, turning back around; only to catch the guys looking at him disgustingly.

It was a minute before one of them spoke up, but as Chris did so-Justin had to admit he was now the one confused.

"You're sick, man."

"Wha..?"

Rolling his eyes, at Chris's vagueness, Joey pointed a finger from Kayla to the TV screen, "You got her addicted to our group, curly. That's sick."

Thinking about it for a second, Justin nodded slightly before chuckling.

Yeah, it was pretty sick..but it wasn't his fault. "Don't place the blame on me. Ya'll know just as well as I do: Deb loved hearing us sing way more than the next person."

One by one each of the guys nodded, but didn't bother approaching the topic any further; each one of them feeling that Debra wasn't a subject they wanted to get into at the moment.

If not only for Justin's sake, than for theirs as well.

---

Before Justin even knew it, it was going on seven o'clock and JC had to bounce.

"Sorry to have to eat and run, J, but-"

"Someone's got a date." Chris sang, smiling evilly as Joey and Justin both flashed, the blushing, JC an 'Oh really?' grin. "Oops, were you holding out on them too, C?"

Throwing an icy glare at Chris, who in return smiled back at him smugly, JC sighed; frustrated. "It's not really a date..persay. I just want to get to know her a little better. Y'know..test the waters."

At this comment, even Kayla, who had been seated quietly on her daddy's lap, got into the questioning , "Taste da waters?"

Chuckling slightly at the little girl's words, JC figured this would be a good time to change the subject, "Cute. Anyway, J-do you want us here tomorrow before that lady comes, or...?"

Knowing what JC was doing, Justin smiled a little, before letting the grin drop; wondering if he really should ask the guys to come over tomorrow and help him out with the inspection.

"Umm su-" He began, but than after thinking about it for a second, he quickly shook his head no; knowing he needed to do this alone, "Nah, that's okay. Cathy said to make sure only the people who lived here, full time, were going to be here. So..I don't think I want to press my luck by having all of you guys here, ya know...even if it'd cool my nerves a little."

One by one, each of the guys nodded their heads; not really knowing what their friend was going through at the moment, but understanding why he didn't want them to be there for him. Or better yet..why he lied to them, and didn't want them to be there for him at the moment.

"All right, so we'll see ya later?" Joey asked, switching the bassinet-that held Brianna--from one hand to the next.

"No doubt. I'll be the one with the babbling one year old." Justin said, slightly chuckling as he stood up. Balancing Kayla in his arms before making his way towards the front door; opening it for his guests. "I'll call you later."

"You better.." The guys simultaneously chorused as they walked past him, only getting to look back once at their friend-before Justin closed the door behind them.

And behind his sanity.

Whoever said parenting was easy, they obviously never had any children.

After spending most of the morning doing laundry, fixing Kayla's breakfast, and then cleaning up what little of the top floor the guys didn't get to the day before, Justin was practically worn out by the time it came to getting both him and Kayla ready for the big day's events.

"Maybe if I just lay here and rest my eyes for a minute, I'll get my second wind going."

Unfortunately for Justin, just as his head hit one of the sofa pillows, the phone beside him began to ring; causing him to bolt up frustrated. "Dammit."

"Uh-oh. Daddy say no-no."

Having forgotten Kayla was in the room, Justin winced as he realized what he'd said. "Yeah, Daddy said a big no-no. I'm sorry, sweetie."

"S'okay."

Waiting until Kayla moved her eyes back towards the television screen in front of them, Justin lifted the cordless phone, that was sitting on it's charger, up to his ear; hoping that whoever it was calling would make it fast.

"H'lo?"

"Mr. Timberlake? Hi, it's Cathy..from Social Services."

Rolling his eyes at the last part, Justin had to stop himself from saying, How could I forget?

"Ahh, Mrs. Jones, it's a pleasure to hear from you again. But please, call me Justin."

"As you wish, Justin." Cathy said, slyly putting a little emphasis on the last part, "I just hope you'll do the same with my name. And it's Miss Jones, not Mrs....I'm not married."

The slight pause in between the two phrases caused Justin to wonder if the slightly older woman was happy about that last part. But after realizing what he was thinking, Justin quickly erased that thought from his head. "So, Miss. Cathy, what did I do or not do to deserve this call?"

The slight sigh heard on the other end told him that whatever it was that had Cathy calling him was not a good thing.

"Actually, Mr...I mean, Justin, you didn't do anything to deserve this call. However, my boss, on the other hand, did. He's decided that he wants full inspection of your ground property on his desk by six o'clock tonight. Which means if I want to get it to him by that particular time, I'm going to have to move my visit up two hours ahead."

"Two hours!" Justin practically screamed. The regular inspection time had been One PM and, after checking his watch, Justin noticed it was already going on ten.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Timberlake." Cathy said, forgetting already about her promise to use his first name, "My boss just called me ten minutes ago, and had I known before-"

"I know, you would've told me." Justin interrupted; not wanting to hear the woman's excuses right now. "Just..ugh! Call me when you get to the front gate and I'll give you directions from there, okay?"

Not waiting for her to confirm the deal, Justin hung up his end of the phone and then as if he was living on coffee alone-which he practically was-he stood up quickly, picking up Kayla in the process, and began making his way towards the main stairwell; absentmindedly tuning out his daughter's protest while doing so.

"I was sync."

 

~*~

 

Forty minutes after taking a shower, getting dressed, giving Kayla a bath, dressing Kayla, then afterwards changing his, then wet, clothes, Justin found himself in the kitchen making his daughter's lunch.

"All right, K, what it'll be? PB&J or Grilled Cheese?"

"P.P.J!" Kayla cried out, causing him to smirk a little. Figures as much....that's the only thing she ever eats.

Pulling out the bread box, Justin took out two slices of bread from the plastic package; figuring-with how nervous his stomach was at the moment-it'd be a better idea to wait until after Cathy left to eat. Then he started making one of his famous peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

After placing the sandwich on a paper towel in front of Kayla, Justin was about to take a seat at the table when the doorbell rang; prompting him up from his seat. "Daddy just can't get a break, Kay."

"Kit Kat break?"

Raising an eyebrow at his daughter's words, Justin chuckled to himself before saying, "No, not that kind of break." Afterwards, making his way towards the front door.

 

************

 

Sighing as she positioned the car seat--which weighed almost as much as her--on her left hip, Cathy rang the doorbell, in front of her, a second time. Let's get a move on, Mr. Timberlake. Some of us have things to do and people to ignore.

As if hearing her thoughts, not even a second later, the front door to the slightly huge manor opened up and Cathy was greeted by Justin, himself. What, no butler?

"Miss. Jones! I thought you were going to call me once you reached the gate."

Ignoring the pain that seemed to be moving down her leg at the moment, Cathy slid her routine business grin on her face, before replying, "I was. But your security guard, Randy, said that you were expecting me and that I didn't need to call you for directions--I just had to make a left turn at the basketball courts."

"I see." Justin replied, all the while rolling his eyes at his security guard's actions; knowing full well that the man insisted on everyone, who came over, to call Justin; unless the guests were one of the guys or, in Cathy's case, a good looking woman. "Your going to have to remind me to fire him."

Not knowing if that was a joke or a bit of Justin's ego coming out, Cathy politely laughed; figuring it was the safest way to reply.

"You didn't have to buy Kay anything." The younger man replied, after finally noticing and removing the car seat from her arms; which Cathy thought would have fallen out of their sockets if he had not have. "I was planning on buying her some furniture later on today."

Noticing the thankful look on Justin's face, Cathy knew he was lying. But instead of commenting on it, she instead answered his unasked question. "Actually, I went by Debra's old house and picked up a few things of Kayla's. Thankfully enough, their neighbors, who cleaned up and donated most of the stuff to the orphanages, said they weren't sure if whoever was keeping Kayla was going to come by for her things, so they just kept it at their place for safe keeping."

Watching as different emotions began to play across the younger man's face at the mention of Kayla's mother, Cathy--realizing she really didn't have a clue as to what was going through Justin's mind at the moment--figured that maybe she should give him a few minutes to himself. "The rest of Kayla's things are in my truck--most of them being just clothing items--so, I'll just-"

Before she could finish her statement, Justin snapped out of his thoughts; interrupting her as he did so. "No, that's okay. I can get it. You can, um, just go inside and do your...inspection thing. Kayla's probably still eating her lunch, so if you need to ask her whatever questions you probably have for her, you'll find her in the kitchen."

Having seen this type of behavior before in a few of her previous clients, Cathy nodded her head shortly, before watching Justin carefully set his daughter's car seat down, inside the house, and begin making his way towards the West driveway--where she had parked her jeep. Poor guy.

Letting out the slow sigh, that she hadn't known she'd been holding in, Cathy turned her attention away from the man who was swiftly walking away from her and back towards the job at hand.

Inspection time.

Taking one step foreword, Cathy entered the large foyer in front of her--and had to remind herself that even the well-endowed liked to remain low-key--as her body adapted to the comfort level set in the house.

No gold albums or pictures of himself on the wall. He must not be as conceited as Keith thinks he is.

"But then again, Keith's really not known for much thinking, is he?"

Ignoring the slight pain those words brought her, Cathy continued to make her way further into the house; stopping only when she heard a slight pounding noise coming from the right of her.

What the hell?

Knowing she shouldn't be a snoop, but figuring that in her boss's mind, snooping was in her job description, Cathy made her way towards the direction of where the noise was coming from--expecting to see an animal of some sort making the now slapping sounds. But as soon as she stepped foot into the living room--where the assumed animal was--a slight smile edged across her face as she saw what exactly the noise was and who was causing it.

"You urk."

Furrowing her eyebrows at the small girl, who was at the moment beating her tiny fist on the TV screen in front of her, Cathy began inwardly saying the comment back to herself; figuring out what the little girl was saying after almost a full minute of watching her. She's demanding it to work. Very un-bossy like of her.

"You need some help?"

Watching as Kayla jumped slightly before falling down, on what Cathy guessed was the girl's diaper covered bottom, Cathy waited for the small girl to start crying but was immensely impressed when instead the child turned around; shooting Cathy what the older woman could only guess was a small glare.

"Me fall."

Holding back a smile, Cathy waited a second before making her way further into the living room; watching the child for any signs of panic. "Yeah, I saw you fall. I didn't mean to scare you. I'm sorry."

"S'okay. No scared." Kayla replied, afterwards proving her point by smiling slightly; showing off her almost completely filled mouth of baby teeth. "You daddy friend?"

Slipping into work-mode, Cathy nodded slightly before saying, "Yes I am, and I soon hope to be yours, as well. That is, if you want me to be."

Watching as the younger girl's eyes lit up slightly, Cathy couldn't help but wonder to herself if Justin's eyes did the same when he got excited. But after realizing what she was thinking, Cathy quickly erased the thought from her mind. "So, what's wrong? The TV wont come on?"

Nodding her head a little, Kayla stuck her bottom lip out slightly; afterwards replying, "It no work."

Feeling the urge to tickle the small girl until she stopped pouting and smiled once again, Cathy set her untouched clipboard on the couch beside her; afterwards making fast work of finding the remote control for the Television and VCR set. "Hmm..I think we just have to press the right button."

Hitting the power button on the remote, Cathy couldn't help but laugh slightly as the child in front of her began to clap excitedly; afterwards yelling: "Pay doh." Which Cathy figured either meant Kayla wanted some play-doh or wanted her to play the video.

Choosing the latter, they were both soon met with the playful sounds of Techno all around them and the sight of five grown men skipping to the beat on the TV screen. One of the men interestingly enough being Justin.

He has his daughter hooked on his group? Maybe there is some truth to the conceited theory.

Hearing the front door of the house slam shut, Cathy quickly snapped out of her thoughts and grabbed her clipboard off the small couch before making her way towards the foyer where Justin was seen standing; booster seat in one hand and a box, that she'd clearyly marked clothes, in the other. "Need any help?"

Tightening his arms around Kayla's box of clothes, Justin shook his head slightly before saying, "Nah, I got it. You found Kay?"

Having opened her mouth to say that she indeed had, Cathy had to quickly shut it as the sounds of small feet were heard running on the hardwood floor.

"Daddy?"

"In here, Kay."

Moving slightly out of the way as Kayla made her way into the room beside her, Cathy silently leaned up against the main entrance wall; watching the interaction between Justin and his daughter as the small child seemed to beam up at him.

"What is it, sweetie?" Justin asked; seeming to ignore the older woman's presence as his daughter ran towards him; a slight wondering look in her eyes.

"Me cele-tweety?"

Fortunately enough, or rather unfortunately enough for Justin's sake, it didn't take Cathy as much time as before to figure out what Kayla was saying.

"C-celebrity?" Justin asked; having quickly put the two words together as well. "Are you a celebrity?"

Shrugging, Kayla smiled proudly once again, before loudly saying the word "TV". And afterwards turning around; making her way back towards the living room with Justin hot on her heels. "Shit."

Following slowly behind the younger male as he ran to catch up with his daughter, Cathy couldn't help but agree to the comment. But the small agreement was soon replaced with a slight smile and a shake of the head on both ends as she stepped into the living room and realized why Kayla had called herself a celebrity. The video.

If I wasn't a celebrity, would you be so nice to me?

---

While following Cathy around the room with his eyes, Justin couldn't help but begin biting his lower lip; an action which he was known for doing when either nervous or hesitant about something. Enough with the suspense already. Just tell me if I passed or not.

As if sensing his thoughts, the woman in front of him looked up from her clipboard and smiled slightly. "You can relax now. I'm finished."

After absentmindedly letting out a sigh of relief, Justin pushed himself off the wall he was leaning on; creating a nonchalant expression--even though he was pretty much jumping from one terrible conclusion to the next in his head. "Really? That didn't take too long."

Smirking in amusement, Cathy agreed to the statement before looking back down at her notes; biting her own lip in the process, "Everything seems to look good here. But I still have one more question to ask you."

Smiling inwardly, Justin folded his arms in a slightly cocky move, before asking, "And that is?"

"When do you plan on going back on tour?"

Not having thought that'd be the last question, Justin immediately brought his arms back down to his side; licking his lips while stalling. "We..well, I don't know really. I mean, my manager and the guys pretty much left it up to me. But with Kayla being at such a young age and all, I didn't think I could go on tour. Can I?"

Looking up from her clipboard, Cathy nodded her head for a second before saying, "Actually you can. The State Officials have us go to extreme lengths when dealing with celebrities or other always on the go parents and as long as we can contact you while your on the road, during the small time we have to do these inspections, you'll be fine. No muss, no fuss."

Nodding his head in understanding, Justin opened his mouth to ask one last question, "Even though the State wants me to continue living my life the way I have been--just while situating Kayla more into it--don't you think she's a little too young to be going out on the road with us?"

Never having been asked what she thought before, Cathy stared at Justin for a second before telling him what she thought she would like to hear, if she was in his situation. "For her age, Kayla is a very bright girl--immensely bright--and I think given these circumstances she has adapted very well to living here. So, in my honest opinion if you decided to continue performing for a few more months, I don't think you'd really have a problem so much if you made sure that she was around people that you'd see on a daily basis off the tour as well as on it and if you made sure she was eating regularly. Not just a half of a peanut butter sandwich three times a day."

Blushing slightly, Justin thanked the older woman for her opinion. Then afterwards ducked his head down a little; knowing he'd been caught.

"Don't mention it. But anyway, it's getting late, and I better get a move on if I want to get this to the office before six." Cathy replied after a second; motioning towards her clipboard as in afterthought, "If their is anything you need to ask or tell me, regarding the inspections or Kayla, you can either reach me in the office or at home on the business card that I gave you before. Okay?"

Nodding his head slightly, Justin leaned foreword a little, making sure Kayla was still seated on the living room floor, before making his way through the foyer; walking the older woman to the door.

"You know.." Cathy began, just as Justin placed a hand on the knob in front of her, "I'm not supposed to tell you this until the end of my last inspection. So off the record, from what I've seen of you and Kayla's relationship so far, I think that you are going to be a great father to her. And I mean that, down to a T. You have been under a lot of pressure, and whereas most parents put in your position still wouldn't even be able to put on their child's diaper at this point, you've actually gone beyond that in the last two weeks; proving to me in more ways then one that in a drop of dime you'd move your career and celebrity status to the side just for Kayla's sake. That takes a lot of heart."

Not really knowing what to say to that, Justin shrugged a little before saying, "She's my daughter. There's nothing in the world that I wouldn't do for her."

Afterwards slightly proving the point to himself by saying his good-byes to Miss. Jones and curling up on the couch with Kayla; putting his baby girl before any food that was in his refrigerator.

 

~*~

 

Adverting his eyes from the TV screen in front of him, which was, once again, playing one of the guy's home town performances, Justin looked towards the VCR clock; noticing it was going on a little after nine o'clock.

"It's almost time for beddy-bye, Kay."

Not getting the usual protest at this comment, Justin moved his eyes down to the girl who was curled up in his lap; at the moment literally fast asleep. "But I guess you knew that, huh?"

After watching her for a second, Justin slowly began to prepare himself for the move; first by stretching out his legs hesitantly then by positioning Kayla in a rocking position so he could get a better grip on her as soon as he stood up.

This is so much easier when she's awake.

After carefully making sure not to make any noise as he made his way down the hall, up the stairs, and towards Kayla's room, Justin quickly got his baby girl changed into her pajamas before laying her face up on the make shift crib he had made for her--the guest bed with two pillows on the side so she didn't roll onto the floor at night. Afterwards he couldn't help but smirk to himself as he thought, It's a wonder why Cathy didn't mark me up for trying to suffocate the poor child.

While rolling his eyes at the thought, Justin bent down slightly, pressing his warm lips to Kayla's forehead, and tucked her all the way under the covers. Afterwards, standing back up, he made his way to the room across from Kayla's--turning on the hallway light as an afterthought.

Now to get down to business.

Ignoring his need for food and sleep at the moment, Justin quickly took a seat on his bed and after a second, without so much as another thought, he picked up the white cordless phone laying beside him.

"You better be home."

Hitting one of the speed dial numbers on the cordless, Justin listened as three rings came through his line before the other end was finally picked up.

"James here."

Smiling slightly at his friend's usual greeting, Justin paused for a second before saying, "Justin here." Getting a much more enthused response from the other man's mouth.

"Hey man! What's up? I didn't think I'd be hearing from you for another couple of weeks."

Knowing that was true since he was mostly preoccupied with Kayla and Lance seemed to be spending most of his off time wrapped up in Freelance work, Justin nodded to himself before saying, "Yeah, me either. But-uh-I'm probably going to be changing that in a couple of seconds. That is, if you can do me a small favor."

"Hold on."

While listening to Lance whisper a muffled I'll be right back to someone before a small kiss was heard over the phone, Justin couldn't help but wonder to himself if he was doing the right thing or not. "All right, I'm all yours. What can I do for you?"

Licking his lips slightly, Justin inwardly reached for the small bit of courage he had inside himself at the moment and replied, "Do you think you could book us a meeting with Johnny? I think it's time for Nsync to go back on tour."

***

Tuesday, May 14, 2002 (Seven-Thirty Am)

"So, your headed to the compound now?"

Flipping on his left turn signal, Justin waited until he had made it into the other lane before replying, "Yeah, Johnny's still in meeting after meeting to cover up for our missed performances and my lack of exposure. So, this was the only time until next week that he could book us all in."

"Well, then it's a good thing, for all of you, that this will soon be over, right?"

Even though he knew his mother couldn't see him, Justin nodded slightly, before replying: "Yeah, then I'll just have to deal with the stupid press my damn self. Woo-hoo! Lucky me!"

Hearing the slight sigh on the other end, Justin knew his mom was more upset at the fact that he was right about the press than at the small curse word which had just come out of her son's mouth.

"It'll be okay, sweetheart. I'm almost positive Johnny can make sure no one finds out about Kayla until you want them to. And I'm also sure, as the day you were born, that whatever you decide to tell everyone--when they do find out--will eventually end up being the best thing for all of us involved. All right?"

Smiling slightly at his mother's reassuring words, Justin replied: "All right." Afterwards asking her how long it would be until her flight was set to board.

"I don't know. A couple of minutes, I think. I'm just glad to be finally heading back to Orlando. I can't wait to see my good looking son and my-just as beautiful-granddaughter."

Not bothering to hide his smile at the comment, Justin replied that him and Kayla couldn't wait to see his mother as well; figuring that it had been too long since just the three of them had all been in the same house together. The last time being over six months ago when Justin had flown Lynn in for her fortieth birthday.

"So, are you going to be at the airport when I land?" Lynn asked, after a second; snapping Justin out of his slight thoughts by doing so. "Or are you going to try and send Lonnie in your place once again?"

"Mmm, Lonnie will probably be the one waiting for you at Baggage claim. But what I think I'm going to do is have him meet me at Kelly's after the meeting--that's where Kayla is right now--and then from there the three of us will just head over to the airport to pick you up. Does that sound cool to you?"

After making a slight agreement sound over the phone, as if to tell her son: "That's the safest way to go." Lynn replied that the flight attendants were now boarding the plane; which meant that it'd be anytime soon that she could do so as well.

"All right. Well, have a safe flight and I'll see you in a few, okay?" Justin said, in his best fatherly tone; which he only used to use when teasing his mother before she went on vacation with some of her girlfriends. But now it seemed like he was using it almost three times a day when telling Kayla she couldn't do something which could possibly hurt her in the slightest of ways. Damn, I'm becoming more and more like an overprotective father. I can already imagine what will happen when she turns sixteen.

"Don't worry, I will. But just in case..."

Waiting until he had turned down the street--which would put him in front of the compound--Justin replied, "Yeah, Mom?"

"Just in case I don't, I want you to know that--even though I'm sure you've heard this thousands of times before--I am very proud of you. Not just because you're Justin Timberlake of N'sync, but because you have continued to show me day in and day out just how good of a person I set out for you to be. And because of that and so much more, I am not only proud of you, but I am also proud of the fact that I can call you my son. I love you very much, Justin."

Noticing tears start to blur his vision, Justin quickly wiped the corner of his eyes out before replying. "I love you too, Mom."

 

~*~

 

"You guys ready to begin?"

Knowing that the question was more-so directed towards him than towards any of the other four men at the table, Justin nodded quickly before saying, "Yes, sir!"

A statement which somewhat frightened Johnny; since the older man had realized years ago that when any of the younger men--in front of him--addressed him by anything--but their made up nicknames for him--then it was serious business to be talked about. And there had been enough of that, as of late, to last Johnny a lifetime.

"I'm assuming by this meeting that the four of you have come to an agreement as to what should be done about our remaining tour dates, correct?"

After simultaneously nodding at the question, Joey, JC, Chris, and Lance looked towards the younger male at the table; inwardly reassuring him that they were behind him one hundred percent.

"We have." Justin said, before clearing his throat; giving himself a little bit more time to stall before dropping the bombshell; which him and the rest of the guys knew would, not only, surprise their manager, but also worry him to an enormous degree. "And we've all came to the conclusion that--while these two weeks off have been great--our slight break has gone on long enough. We want to head back on tour."

Before stepping into the conference room, Johnny had pretty much talked himself into believing that the guys, in front of him, would either tell him that they had decided to cancel the rest of the tour. Or worse..that they had decided to go their own separate ways. So, to say that he was surprised at Justin's announcement would be an understatement.

"Are you sure about this? I mean, have you really thought this entire thing through?"

Without even bothering to hesitate, Justin nodded quickly before saying, "All the way, sir. I've even gone as far as asking Cathy, the social worker who was hired to look over Kayla and my situation, if it was indeed possible. Which she replied that it was as long as she, or someone else from her department, could get in touch with me anytime they needed to do a routine inspection."

While raising both eyebrows in surprise, as he allowed his mind to absorb the fact that the younger man--in front of him--had not only thought this situation through but had also contacted his social worker to make sure it was okay, Johnny wondered to himself when it was, and where he had been, when Justin had gone from being a young man who had made an irresponsible mistake to a young man who was dealing with his responsibilities in an adult like manner. Amazing.

After studying the other four men at the table--noticing for the first time in a while just how much of an alliance they were in with their younger group mate--Johnny realized that even if a part of him didn't think it was a good idea for N'sync to go back on tour so soon after Debra's accident, he really didn't have any other choice. Which made his next comment that much more unsurprising. "Okay. When do you guy's want to leave?"

Having thought his manager would at least give them his doubts on the situation, before agreeing to the guy's demands, Justin found himself widening his eyebrows in disbelief before fully letting it all sink in.

"We were hoping to start in Minneapolis, so how about the twenty-eighth?" Lance asked; figuring now that the announcement had been agreed on, he'd go back to being the group's spokesperson, as usual.

Without his schedule even on hand, Johnny pointed out that, given the date the guy's wanted to depart on, the group would be leaving in exactly two weeks; which would fortunately enough give him the right amount of time to promote the tour while also giving the guys enough time to remember the few--if any--dance steps they'd completely forgotten while on their short break. "Seeing as how we've now gotten that huge subject out of the way, is there anything else you guy's would like to cover before I leave to go tell another bunch of suits to fuck off?"

After chuckling in amusement at their manager's behavior, the guys shook their heads one-by-one; each of them inwardly admitting to Johnny that besides the tour announcement, none of them had anything else to discuss with him.

"All right, with that being the last word, I will see you guys here bright and early Monday morning to start with tour rehearsals. Meeting adjourned."

---

(Two hours later)

After having stayed in her office until around Three A.M. to finish rewriting a few notes that her boss just had to have on his desk by the following afternoon, Cathy decided to take the next morning off and catch up on some much needed rest that she'd been putting off for some time now.

Or, at least that had been the plan until the phone beside her rang; causing her to wake up from her deep slumber just five hours after she'd crawled into bed the night before.

I swear to god, if this is one of Robert's little friends calling, I will personally see to it that he has his testicles ripped off and fed to him for dinner.

With that thought in mind, Cathy extended her right arm, from it's resting place underneath her blanket, and picked up the black cordless phone; which at the moment seemed to be vibrating on it's charger. Afterwards, putting the receiver up to her ear, she shot out in her most bitch like tone of voice: "What?"

After not hearing anything but silence on the other end, Cathy mused to herself that it was probably just a prank caller. But just as she began to put the phone back on it's charger, a familiar voice was heard on the other line; stopping her actions completely. "Umm..is this Cathy? Cathy Jones?"

No, it's her evil stepsister, Laughy Phones. Cathy sarcastically thought to herself. But knowing that the voice--on the other end--sounded a little too familiar to be a Solicitor, she answered back honestly with: "This is she, who may I ask is calling?"

"It's Justin...Justin Timberlake."

As if all of her anger had quickly vanished, after the small introduction, Cathy found herself absentmindedly smirking at the way the younger male had remembered to add his last name; only after a few brief seconds had passed. And they say he's conceited.

"Why hello, Mr. Timberlake. It's so good to hear from you again. I just hope that you aren't offended by me asking what did I do or not do to deserve this lovely phone call at nine o'clock in the morning?"

After a slight pause was heard on the other end, Justin responded with: "Nothing really." A mix between amusement and hesitancy noticeably evident in his voice. "I just needed to ask you a quick question and figured, with the time, that I should try your home number first. If that's okay with you?"

If it wasn't, don't you think I would've hung up on you already? Cathy, once again, sarcastically thought to herself. But knowing that it'd be impolite and also very UN-lady like to do so, she--instead of saying the words out loud--just nodded her head slightly, before asking, in her most professional-like voice: "What's the question?"

As a lengthy pause was heard on the other line, Cathy knew that the younger man was trying to come up with the right words to say. Which somewhat caused her to tense up a little when realization dawned on her--that since Justin and his daughter were such a new case--his question for her could be just about anything.

Just not what she had expected from him in the beginning.

"The other night, you said that when social workers were given a case which involved a Celebrity or an on-the-go parent, the State asks for you to go the extra mile to make sure that the parent or parent's don't necessarily have to stop their personal and professional lives, correct?"

Now having somewhat guessed what the younger man was trying to say, Cathy sit up on her bed; knowing full well that after this conversation she probably wouldn't be able to go back to sleep. "I see you must've been listening, Mr. Timberlake, because that is indeed correct."

"Well, that's good to know." Justin replied; all-the-while ignoring the slight sarcasm which was clearly evident in Cathy's voice, "'Cause I-uh-just got back from a meeting with my manager, a half-n-hour ago, and it looks like in a couple of weeks I'm going to have to be stretching my inspection rights, big time."

Not even needing for him to explain what that comment meant, Cathy smiled genuinely; happy that the younger man had gotten what he wanted. "Well, I guess congratulations are in order. But if you don't mind me asking: besides the fact that I'm probably going to be the one flying out to see you every two weeks, what does this have to do with me?"

Having known that was the exact question he had been waiting for her to ask, Cathy wasn't that surprised when two seconds later Justin had an answer for her. "I know this is probably going to sound very irresponsible of me, but while planning on continuing with the tour, I didn't realize that the people, here in Orlando, who are able to watch Kayla for me--when I need to get outside of the house for a bit--aren't as able to come on tour with us and do so while I work; which is interestingly enough where you step into the picture."

After furrowing her eyebrows in confusion for a second, Cathy found her eyes widening in surprise as the realization--of what he was asking her--finally dawned on her. "Justin, are you trying to ask me if instead of flying out to see you and Kayla every two weeks, if I can just take a slight leave of absence from work and go driving around the country with you and your little singing group?"

"Well, when you put it that way....yeah, I am."

Rolling her eyes slightly, Cathy opened her mouth to tell Justin that his offer wasn't a very good idea. But before the words even had a chance to pass by her tongue, the question as to why it wasn't a good idea came into her head; causing the older woman to think to herself: It's not as if Keith wouldn't let one of the other social workers go if they were in my shoes.....but then again, Keith hasn't yet slept with any of those other social workers, so he really wouldn't want them to be outside of humping distance for a lengthy amount of time, now would he?

Lost in thought, Cathy didn't realize Justin was still waiting for an answer until she heard him call out her name in a confused-like manner, "Miss Jones...are you still there?"

Snapping out of her thoughts, Cathy replied that she was indeed still on the phone and that once she had a chance to talk to her boss, Mr. Murphy, she'd call Justin back with word on if she'd be able to go on tour with the group or not. Causing Justin to sigh in relief before replying cheerfully with: "Thanks Cathy. This really means a lot to me."

Smiling slightly, Cathy told the younger male that he didn't need to thank her. Then afterwards smoothly dropped the hint that if she wanted to speak to her boss before he left for lunch then she needed to get off the phone soon in order to be at his office by Eleven.

"All right, that reminds me that I need to get a move on as well. But before I do so, I just want to thank you once again. I mean, if you're able to go, you'll truly be a godsend in me and the rest of the guy's books. I mean that."

Figuring she might as well take this compliment, Cathy told the younger male that it was her pleasure. Then after hanging up, she added inwardly to herself:

Especially if it allows me to get away from Satan for at least a month or two.

 

~*~

 

Almost an hour after ending her brief conversation with Justin, Cathy found herself practically being pushed into Keith's office by an elderly lady at the front desk. Just one more reason why I stopped hanging around this side of the building.

After making sure the slightly perky secretary was nowhere in sight, Cathy inwardly gave herself a reassuring pep talk before twisting the brass knob on her boss's door and making her way into his spacious, yet cramped, office.

Looks like some things haven't changed. She thought to herself as she noticed Keith situated behind his desk; telephone completely glued to his right ear. "Mr. Murphy?"

Watching as the man in front of her, quickly moved his eye's from the stacks of paper on his desk, to the spot where she was standing, Cathy found herself wanting to roll her eyes in annoyance as he gave her his usual once-over. Pervert.

Placing his left hand over the mouth piece of the phone, Keith stared at Cathy for another second before asking her how she had got in to his office without him being paged.

Stating what she thought was the obvious, Cathy replied nonchalantly that Keith's secretary had told her just to walk in; afterwards--to no surprise of her own--getting in return, the response, "Your going to have to remind me to fire that bitch soon."

Aye, Aye, your majesty.

Looking on with a slightly disgusted expression, Cathy watched as the man--she'd once gone as far as saying she loved--adverted his attention back to his phone call; telling, who she assumed was his wife, how much he couldn't wait to see or better yet, ravish her for lunch. Afterwards, for show, ending the conversation with a sugary sweet high pitched kiss; one which Cathy inwardly admitted to herself was making her quite nauseous.

"Sorry about that." Keith lied; afterwards placing his office phone back on his desk, "You know how my wife can get. But please, enough about her, have a seat."

Knowing this would go much easier if she cooperated with what he said in the beginning, Cathy reluctantly pulled a chair out from underneath her side of the desk, then--after ignoring the brief flirtatious look Keith gave her once she'd fully sat down--she crossed her unusually long legs in a business like manner. One which told the older man, in front of her, that this conversation was going to be strictly professional.

"I'm guessing by the look on your face that you didn't just stop by to say Hello."

In you dreams. Cathy sarcastically thought to herself, before replying: "No, actually I came by to talk to you about the Timberlake situation. It seems that I've run into a slight problem which only you can help me out with."

Raising an amused eyebrow at this, Keith quickly shuffled through a few files on his desk before replying, "Oh really? Don't tell me you're starting to grow feelings for the young man and he doesn't want anything to do with you."

No, but I am starting to grow an attitude and not want anything to do with you.

Knowing full well that she couldn't say that type of comment to her boss without getting some sort of repercussion thrown back at her in return, Cathy instead just shook her head slightly. Then afterwards replied, "Actually, him and the other guys of N'sync have decided to go back on tour in a few weeks and Mr. Timberlake has asked that instead of flying out for inspections every two weeks if I could just go with them instead. Which, after thinking about it for a while, makes a lot of sense to me."

"I bet it does." Keith commented; without so much as a pause. "And it might just be the double espresso I had this morning, talking, but it makes somewhat sense to me as well. In other words, as long as you have your desk cleaned out by Saturday, you are free to leave."

Having figured that Keith would at least give her the full third degree before finally giving her his seal of approval, Cathy couldn't help but widen her eyes in disbelief. "Thank you, sir. But there's really no need to take everything in my office with me. The tour doesn't start for another couple of weeks and I'll be back in less than a month to continue working with my other customers."

Realizing that she hadn't caught on to what he'd been trying to say, Keith shook his head before replying, "I don't think you understand. You'll have to move your stuff out by Saturday, if we want your replacement to have a place to set up by Monday."

"Replacement?" Cathy replied in confusion, before sudden realization dawned on her. "You're firing me?"

Not bothering to hide the amused smirk, which he had displayed on his face, Keith replied nonchalantly, "Mmm, firing is such a harsh word. I'd like to think of it more as getting rid of unwanted space."

Completely outraged, not only by her boss's words, but also by his--as usual--wanna be intimidating attitude, Cathy stood up so that she was glaring down into Keith's gray eyes, before asking: "But why? I mean, I'll only be gone two months tops and I can probably get all of Mr. Timberlake's and most of my other client's paper work done while I'm on the road."

Chuckling at the sight of his ex mistress at her finest, Keith mockingly chanted, "Cathy, Cathy, Cathy. You still don't get it, do you? This has nothing to do with that pop star client of yours or his little wannabe Backstreet boy group. But it does have everything to do with the fact that you're really not that much of use here anymore. And, to be honest, I think it'd be better--for all of us involved--if you just moved on from here and went on to another job. It's quite easier this way."

Having had enough, Cathy gritted through her teeth: "Easier for whom other than you?" Causing Keith to retaliate with, "Everyone around here. They've all come to me complaining about how much you've been slacking off as of late and, to be quite fair, I don't think the company needs to employ someone who isn't up to par just because she's a great lay in bed. It's not right."

Feeling her anger reach it's boiling level, Cathy had to hold back from slapping the man in front of her as she angrily responded to his previous statement with, "I'm not up to par? Well, whose fault is that? You've practically been holding me back every step of the way; waiting for a chance to fire me at any given moment."

Not in the mood to hear the woman in front of him continue to argue her opinion, Keith shrugged nonchalantly before saying, "Well, I'm sorry you feel that way. But I guess it's a good thing that starting in a few months you wont have to deal with me anymore, now isn't it?"

Completely frustrated at this point, Cathy opened her mouth to let out a few more sarcastic comments to the slightly cocky man in front of her. But as soon as she came up with the words she wanted to say, she realized it didn't really matter anymore. She was going to be out of a job, come two months from now, and even though--if asked at a later point in time--she wouldn't admit it to anyone else, she knew Keith was right.

This was the best thing for everyone involved. He and the company wouldn't have to deal with her slacking off. And she wouldn't have to deal with his unprofessional behavior bringing her down.

It was a win-win situation any way she viewed it. But still, given the fact that she was now out of a job, it was a sore win for her, as far as she was concerned. I'm sure he doesn't agree with that comment in the least.

Noticing the look of defeat on Cathy's face, the older man slightly smiled to himself; knowing full-well that the woman in front of him--given no other choice--had just ended up siding with him. No but's about it.

"Well, now that we've gotten that out of the way.." Keith began. Not even bothering to hide the amusement from his voice, as he picked up a stack of papers off his desk and handed them to her. "Here's your ending contract. Go over it, sign it, and have it back on my desk by the morning after you return from your little adventure. There's really no reason to read the entire thing, it mostly just states that you're not allowed to give out any information you know about the clients you've worked with, so if you want to just sign it quickly and put it away until you come back, then that'll be just as fine as well."

Staring down at the papers in her hand, Cathy noted to herself that what Keith had just stated--would be in her contract--was common knowledge to anyone. Which meant that if she wanted any chance of finding another job in Social services--when she came back to Orlando--she'd need to find a lawyer to go over the documents really soon. Because Lord knows this sneaky bastard would try and put a clause in my contract which wouldn't allow me to get a job in Orlando for the rest of his or my life. The latter being the one, he'd probably recommend.

"Now, if that is all, Miss Jones, you may take the rest of the day off and come back tomorrow to start cleaning out your things."

Not having anything more to add to the conversation, Cathy nodded her head slightly before making her way towards the office door, closing it on her way out. Then after she had made it across the building and stepped into the comfort of her own office, she finally let out the anger that she'd barely been holding in while standing in front of her, now ex-boss, listening to him read her her faults. "That son of a bitch."

Now feeling slightly better, Cathy took a seat behind her wooden disk, which would soon belong to someone else, and picked up her office phone; hitting number nine to place an outside call before dialing a slightly familiar number.

"Hello..."

Hearing the voicemail click in, before the all too annoying operator on the other line spoke up, Cathy sighed with relief; knowing that it was much easier to lie on a voice mail than directly to another person.

With that thought in mind, Cathy let out a huge sigh before saying, "Hey Justin, it's me, Cathy. Since I got your answering machine, I'm guessing your probably busy with tour preparations. But uh anyway, I was just calling to tell you that my boss loved your idea and was more than willing to give me the time off to help you out on the road with Kayla...said something about a good opportunity for me. But um anywhoo, call me back when you get the chance. Or else I'll see you next Sunday for our weekly inspection....Bye!"

*****

Sunday, May 26, 2002

Hey Justin, it's me, Cathy. Since I got your answering machine, I'm guessing your pretty busy with tour preparations. But uh anyway, I was just calling to tell you that my boss loved your idea and was more than willing to give me the time off to help you out on the road with Kayla...said something about a good opportunity for me. But um anywhoo, call me back when you get the chance. Or else I'll see you next Sunday for our weekly inspection....Bye!

"Tuesday, May 14. To repeat this message, press one."

"It looks like somebody's been a little preoccupied."

After hanging up the phone--figuring he'd listen to the rest of his messages later--Justin turned away from his office desk and couldn't help but smile in amusement as he caught the first glimpse of his mother and daughter dressed up in identical cowboy wear gear. "Preoccupied isn't even the word. Right now, I'm feeling more stressed out than anything else."

Frowning slightly at the pure exhaustion that was written all over her son's face, Lynn couldn't help but hope, for Justin's sake, that this Cathy woman wasn't a bitch; so when tour time came and Justin needed a little time to himself--to sleep or maybe just to hang out with rest of the guys for a couple of hours--the older woman wouldn't mind watching Kayla; giving the younger man some time alone to do so.

"Anyway.." Justin continued; snapping his mother out of her thoughts while doing so, "Should I ask why you and my one year old are parading around the house looking like runaway cow girls?"

Smiling slightly, Lynn waited until she had scooted Kayla further up on her hip before replying, "Well, to be honest, sweetheart. Even though I love you and thank God everyday that you've been given the opportunity to do what you so love to do, I have to say that two weeks of having to continuously watch video tape after video tape of you and the guys performing the same songs over and over again is enough to make anybody want to run for the hills. That's why last night I decided that today Kayla and I are going to dress up in our new cowboy digs, which I just had Lonnie buy from that little store down the street, and we're going to watch the Sunday afternoon rodeo show together. That is, if Mr. Timberlake doesn't have any problems with his face not being all over the TV screen for a couple of hours."

After shaking his head and chuckling slightly at his mother's explanation, Justin opened his mouth to tell the older woman that he didn't know if he should be offended by her comment or not. But as the grandfather clock beside him chimed--telling him that it was going on three o'clock--he stopped himself and replied, "No, I don't have any problems with my face not being all over the TV screen for a couple of hours, Mother. I hope you two have fun. But can you please make sure that you and Kayla are done in the living room by at least five-thirty. I have a conference call with the guys at four and this week's inspection is supposed to be at six. Which means that if I want anytime at all to clean up this place before Cathy gets here then I'll have to do so then, all right?"

While nodding in agreement, as if to say "All right", Lynn couldn't help but raise an eyebrow in questioning; wondering to herself if it was just her imagination or was her son, at the moment, trying to impress--the much talked about--Cathy.

Be serious, Lynn. Justin's just trying to show the social worker that he's a fit enough parent to take care of Kayla by himself. And besides, everyone knows Justin would've told me if he felt anything more than just friendly feelings towards Cathy the first time they met. Hell, he would've told me if he felt anything more than sexual feelings towards Cathy the first time they met. It's just my always overanalyzing mind that's picking this up....but then again, he does seem just as nervous now as the first time he introduced me to Debra; which makes inquiring minds want to know.

"I sync?"

Snapping out of her thoughts, Lynn smiled down at her granddaughter who was now looking up at her with a hopeful expression on her face. "No, we're not going to be watching N'sync this afternoon, Sweetheart. The boys are tired and have asked for a break. Which means you and I will get to go in the living room and watch my favorite program, The Rodeo Show. Now, how does that sound?"

If someone was to question whether Justin was really the father of Kayla or not, the question would've immediately been put to rest as the small girl in Lynn's arms stuck out her lower lip; imitating a movement that Lynn had seen Justin do so many times as a child.

"I sync."

Adverting her eyes from the pouting girl, Lynn rolled her eyes at Justin; who was at the moment trying to hide his amused grin with the palm of his hand.

"Should I even ask where she picked up that little trick from?"

While shrugging nonchalantly, Justin shortened the gap between him and the two women in front of him. Then afterwards waited until he was an inch in front of his mother before bending down and kissing each one--of the most important women in his life--on the cheek; afterwards giving each one of them his famous Cheshire grin. "Let's just say she learns from the best."

After rolling her eyes at her son's comment, Lynn waited until Justin had fully made his way out of the room and half way down the hall before bringing her attention back towards her granddaughter and commenting with a slight funny expression on her face that Kayla had a very silly daddy.

"No silly, you silly."

After smiling in amusement as the little girl in her arms began giggling wildly, Lynn could only think to herself.

Yeah, I am. And I defiantly know where I got that from.

 

~*~

 

(Six O'clock)

"So just to make sure I've got everything down, we're all going to meet at the compound Tuesday morning around Seven o'clock, correct?"

Already feeling the anxiety of the tour hitting him, even though the guy's hadn't officially begun yet, Justin waited until everyone else had replied to the older man's question before saying, "Correct."

"Well, gentleman, it looks like we've finally covered everything."

And it only took us two hours. Justin sarcastically thought to himself as he eyed the digital clock on his night stand. Must be my lucky day.

With that as his last thought, Justin absentmindedly listened in as the other men expressed their genuine relief over the fact that all the behind the scenes labor was finally finished.

"Now, it's just two more wild and free days of slouching around in my tighty whities."

After wincing inwardly at the image that was just portrayed in his mind, Justin replied, "Well, with the topic of Joey's underwear preference--at the moment--being the last word, I'm going to have to bid you guys ado. Miss. Jones is going to be here soon, which means I've got about two minutes to clean up."

"All right. Bye J." The four men responded respectively before Johnny cut in, saying, "Son, call me later, I want to make sure I've got all of Kayla and Miss. Jones' backstage passes with me."

"Will do, Johnny." The younger man replied; continuing to hold back the tired groan, that had been trying to itch it's way out of his mouth, until after he hung up the phone. "Will do."

 

*****

 

After running a hand through her slightly tangled hair, Cathy let out the huge sigh that she'd been holding in, for what felt like, the entire weekend. Then afterwards, catching sight of her bag-heavy eyes in the rearview mirror, she couldn't help but mumble to herself, "Does it get any easier?"

She had spent the majority of yesterday shipping all of her office supplies to the local storage warehouse and receiving tearful good-byes from surprisingly all the coworkers, who Keith said couldn't stand her. But when questioned about that particular statement, they all commented that they really couldn't stand him; especially given the fact that he was firing the one person who they knew wouldn't stand for any of the B.S he'd been putting everyone through as of recently. Cathy didn't know why, but just from those few remarks alone, she knew in the future she wouldn't only miss working in that particular building but she'd also be putting each and every last one of those people in her prayers; knowing full-well that if any of them so much as mentioned her name in Keith's presence, they'd probably all be fired on the spot.

But it's time for me to move on from that. She thought to herself as she finally opened the door to her jeep and stepped out onto the darkish gray black top of Justin's driveway.

Pressing a button on her keys, Cathy waited until her truck made it's final locking sound before making her way towards the front door of the large manor. Afterwards, to her surprise, not even needing to ring the doorbell, as the front door was quickly opened as soon as she had placed both feet on the porch. What the...

"Hi, you must be Miss. Jones."

While trying not to raise her eyebrows in surprise, Cathy was slightly taken aback by instead of being met at the door--once again--by Justin, she was greeted by a slightly young looking older woman. Tell me this is not his girlfriend.

"Please, call me Cathy." She replied absentmindedly. Then afterwards, noticing the woman's familiar dark blue eyes, she quickly brushed her previous thought aside before replying, "You must be Justin's mother."

Smiling even wider than before, Lynn nodded her head slightly before saying, "That is correct, but you can just call me Lynn. I find Justin's mother to be a little too formal, don't you agree?"

After slightly laughing at the words, Cathy took the older woman stepping aside to mean that she should come in. And after doing so, she couldn't help but perk up slightly at the aroma that seemed to be drifting from the kitchen, through the house. "Something smells wonderful."

"That's my mother's famous Peach cobbler. I've been refusing to make it for Justin for two weeks now, but since tonight's my last night here in Orlando, I figured that the poor boy's suffered long enough. I just hope you'll be able to stick around and join us for some after dinner."

Knowing that she shouldn't intrude, especially since it was their last night together, Cathy opened her mouth to say that that was okay and that she could just pick up something on her way home. But stopped herself as she noticed the look in Lynn's eyes and realized the previous comment was more of a statement than a question.

"I wouldn't miss it for the world."

"Great." Lynn responded; afterwards preparing to continue on with the conversation, until footsteps--coming down the stairs--were heard. "Theirs Justin now."

Looking towards the stairwell where Justin was now reaching the bottom step, Cathy couldn't help but smile as she noticed the little girl in Justin's arms. Or better yet notice the outfit that the little girl in Justin's arms was wearing.

Seeing this, Lynn said, "I'm trying to get Kay to start watching something other than the guy's videos. I bought the outfit as sort of a prop for our afternoon TV Rodeo show together."

Slightly smiling at this, Cathy couldn't help but say, "Well, I thank you for that. Because even though I've been impressed with the couple of performances of theirs that I've seen, I don't know if I can deal with watching nothing but the guy's performances for two months. No offense to you or Kayla's choice of entertainment."

"None taken." Lynn said, while laughing--drawing the attention of her son--who hadn't until now noticed the two women standing in front of him.

"Miss....Cathy, I didn't know you were here already. I didn't hear the doorbell ring."

Before she even had a chance to open her mouth to say that was because it didn't ring, Lynn spoke up saying, "I was outside watering the plants when she pulled up." Causing Justin to hit his mother with a knowing look before replying, "That's funny since I don't own any plants, Mom."

Noticing the I've just been caught expression on Lynn's face, Cathy had to hold back the slightly amused grin that screamed to take over her face. This beats dinner with Robert, any day.

"How about Kayla and I just go set the table while you two talk amongst yourselves." Lynn quickly replied. Afterwards, not waiting for an answer as she took her granddaughter from her son's arms and made her way towards the kitchen; Justin's unbelievable stare chasing after her.

"Sorry about that."

After shaking her head slightly, as if to say It's okay, Cathy replied, "Your mom seems nice. She looks just like you."

"Don't tell her that." Justin teased slightly, before biting his lip in, what looked to be, nervous concentration, "So, how does this second inspection work? I mean, do you go through the house again making sure all the light sockets are still covered?"

Knowing that the younger man in front of her was not only nervous because of the inspection, but also because of his tour which would be coming up in a few days, caused Cathy to slightly smile before saying, "No, actually this inspection is just mostly to see if anything's changed since the last time I was here and also to note how closer you and Kayla have become in the last two weeks."

After nodding his head in understanding, Justin stuck his hands in his pockets before asking, "Where do you want to begin?"

"Upstairs." Cathy said, then after realizing how bad that sounded, she quickly followed the word with an explanation. "That way I can go in the same order as I did last time."

While nodding his head, as if to say "Okay", Justin couldn't help but smile; having noticed the slip-up and the slight blush that was evident on the older woman's face. "After you."

Smiling slightly, Cathy gripped her clipboard tighter in her hands as she made her way across the room; towards the stairs. Then afterwards one by one, she climbed the marble floor case until she found herself at the top landing.

"Kay's room first?"

After nodding slightly, Cathy let Justin lead her down the hall and to the first door on the left. Once inside, after noticing the crib, which was situated in the middle of the room, she couldn't help but raise both eyebrows in surprise. Afterwards stating that it looked like Justin had finally bought the few pieces of furniture that he said he'd get around to buying on her first visit.

"Well, actually.." Justin began; blushing slightly as he realized he couldn't lie, "My mom and a friend of mine went shopping the other day and bought back a few things for Kay. I guess they figured with the tour coming up and all, I wouldn't have as much time as I would've liked to shop around for a few essentials. You know what I mean?"

After smiling slightly, as if to tell Justin she understood completely, Cathy furrowed her eyebrows before saying, "And no reporters asked them who they were for? I mean, I probably am wrong, but I've seen a few reports about you and the rest of the guys on the news. And to me it seems like if you even cross your eyes the wrong way some tabloid is contemplating why you did it."

While chuckling slightly at her statement, Justin had to stop himself from saying, You don't even know the half of it.

"The tabloids, they probably would've investigated the situation more had the friend of mine--who went with my mom--not been Kelly; Joey's girlfriend. They also have a one year old."

Understanding the situation more clearer now, Cathy nodded her head before writing a small note on her clipboard; a reminder to ask Joey, given the same circumstances he was in, if Justin was to come out to the world about Kayla, would the public react to the matter just as weakly as they reacted to Joey's beforehand situation. I sure hope so, at least for both Kayla and Justin's sake.

After checking out Justin's room and the two other guest rooms upstairs, Cathy was amused to hear Lynn call out from downstairs, "Stinky, dinners ready!"

Immediately adverting her gaze from her clipboard to Justin's eyes after the scream was heard, Cathy couldn't help but smile as she noticed the slight blush on the younger man's face. Poor popstar.

Figuring that the right thing to do would be to lessen up the embarrassment for him a little, Cathy replied, "I don't know about you, but I haven't been called that one in a while." Causing Justin to laugh in agreement; while all the while inwardly reminding himself that he'd have to hurt his mother later. "Well, we better head down before she remembers another one of my more embarrassing nicknames."

After smiling slightly, Cathy replied, "After you." Before following Justin down the stairs; towards the kitchen where Lynn was, at the moment, placing Kayla in her highchair.

"There you two are! I thought Kayla and I were going to have to polish off the fried chicken and peach cobbler all by ourselves."

Not missing a beat, Justin replied, "Over my dead body." Afterwards, taking a seat next to his daughter; and after a second causing the little girl to laugh as he playfully stuck out his tongue and crossed his eyes in a comical sort of way.

"Kids!" Lynn mumbled teasingly, before taking a seat across from her son; a movement which caused Cathy to take a seat next to him. "Anyway, you two eat up, while I feed this growing child over here."

"You sure, Mom?" Justin asked, already having been prepared to cut up a small slice of chicken so Kayla could eat along side him. "I can manage."

"I know you can, sweetheart, but still I'm feeding my grandchild." Lynn said, in her best don't mess with me voice. "You three are going to be all over the road come Tuesday morning and I at least want Kayla to be stuffed to the brim before that day gets here, got it?"

As Justin nodded, giving into his mother's words, Cathy couldn't help but stifle the grin that so much wanted to come across her face. This definatly beats dinner with Robert.

"So, Cathy.." Lynn began, as she fed Kayla a couple of peas, "I hope this is not too personal, but what background are you. Your features say Puerto Rican, but I'm really not quite sure."

Having been asked this question so many times before, Cathy replied that it wasn't too personal. Afterwards confirming that she was half Puerto Rican. "I'm biracial, actually. My father's part African American and part Puerto Rican. My mother, on the other hand, is purely Caucasian."

After raising both eyebrows in surprise, Lynn replied, "That's some mix." Then after a second passing, she asked the younger woman, in front of her, if she spoke any Spanish. Causing Cathy to smile slightly before replying, "Only when I'm angry."

While laughing at the comment, Lynn wiped a speck of pea juice off of Kayla's bottom lip. Then afterwards, continued the getting to know you conversation by saying, "I don't mean to be nosey, but what caused you to become a social worker."

Noticing the slight posture change that Cathy seemed to be experiencing at the moment, Justin opened his mouth to advert the topic of conversation but stopped himself when the woman beside him began to speak.

"When I was thirteen, both my parents were killed in an automobile accident and because we didn't have any other family here in Orlando, my brother and I were sent to a foster home where the people didn't know the first thing about taking care of a child. So, I guess you could say after that my life's goal was to make sure any child moved from their home was placed into a good home; surrounded by loving parents, or in Justin's case, a loving parent."

After catching the raw emotion on the woman's face and also noticing the pure irony of the situation, Lynn realized she could only respond to the story with the words:

"Wow..that's some reason."

---

(An hour and a half later)

"All right, so will you and Miss. Jones be taking two cars to the compound or just one?"

"I don't know." Justin quickly responded, while absentmindedly trying hard not to let the annoyance, he was feeling at the moment, show in his voice. "Probably one. I'm thinking of asking Miss. Jones to stay in one of my guest room's tomorrow night. I haven't really decided yet."

"Well, whatever you choose is fine with me as long as all three of you are safely at the compound come Tuesday morning."

Knowing that the reason behind the older man's aloof comment was the quickly approaching tour, caused Justin not to call Johnny out on how uncaring his previous statement seemed to be. "Dully noted. But um, not to sound rude or anything, but I have to get going if I want to spend some more time with my Mom before she heads out tomorrow. So, if that's not all you wanted to tell me then I can try and call you later or stop by the compound after I drop her off in the morning. Is that cool with you?"

After a small pause was heard on the other end, Johnny confirmed that that was indeed cool with him before saying his good-byes. Afterwards quickly hanging up with the younger man; leaving Justin with the fleeting thought that his manager desperately needed an Enima. Or better yet, a stronger dose of Valium.

With that thought in mind, Justin quickly hung up his end of the phone, before making his way back towards the kitchen table; which he had almost immediately left after his cell phone began playing it's third ring.

Four seconds before I finished polishing off the rest of my peach cobbler.

Unfortunately for the young man, as soon as he stepped into the kitchen, the only thing he saw at the table was a plastic bowl of fruit that his mom had bought him as a center piece. First she refuses to let me feed my own daughter, now she gives me fake fruit in place of my dessert. The woman needs to be stopped.

With that being his last thought, Justin made his way towards the main kitchen area; where he found his mom, just as he expected, elbow deep in sudsy water. Without so much as a pause, he opened his mouth and asked his mom if she threw away his cobbler. Causing Lynn, who figured Justin would come looking for her soon, to move her head towards the refrigerator; afterwards responding, "No, I did not disturb your precious cobbler, Mr. Timberlake, it's in the refrigerator waiting to be touched by your greedy paws."

After smiling slightly, Justin made his way towards the older woman; throwing his arms around her waist in a slight hug before resting his chin on her shoulder. "Thanks, Mom."

Smiling just as slightly, Lynn turned her head to kiss her son on his forehead. Then afterwards replied, "Don't mention it, sweetheart."

After a couple seconds passing, Justin interrupted the silence by asking if Cathy had left yet; which Lynn responded back with, "No, after you left the table, Kayla started drifting off, so Cathy volunteered to put her in her crib while I tended to the dishes."

"Oh." Justin said, then after another couple seconds passing, he straightened up; figuring he should probably say goodnight to Kayla before she was officially knocked out for the night. "I'll be back."

Interestingly enough, before Justin even had a chance to make it halfway towards the stairwell, he had to stop himself as Lynn called out her son's name; causing him to turn around and look at her with a raised eyebrow. "Yeah, Mom?"

After smiling slightly, Lynn paused for a second before saying, "I just wanted to say that I really like Cathy and think that she'll be a good influence in yours and Kayla's life."

What the.. Not knowing how to take that comment, Justin--instead of saying anything out loud--just simply nodded his head in agreement before turning around; continuing to make his way upstairs. All the while leaving his mom to look after him in amusement; while inwardly thinking to herself:

He doesn't even realize it yet.

 

~*~

 

When we are together, the moments I cherish...with every beat of my heart.

Staring down at the little girl in her arms, Cathy couldn't help but smile slightly as she watched Kayla fight a losing battle with her eyelids. To touch you..to hold you..to feel you..to need you. There's nothing to keep us apart....

Noticing that Kayla's eyes were now fully closed, Cathy waited until the very last line of the song she was singing had finished before carefully standing up--from the rocking chair she was seated on--and putting Kayla, just as carefully, into her--big enough for the both of them--crib. Beautiful.

Watching as the little girls chest moved up and down, Cathy couldn't help but think to herself that everyone should be just as lucky as Justin was. Then after a second of that thought being in her head, Cathy couldn't help but follow it with one filled with self-pity. I almost was...until I let Keith take it all away from me.

It was another few seconds of inwardly kicking herself before Cathy was startled slightly by a male voice heard saying, "I think she's asleep."

Looking behind her, at the source of the voice, Cathy smiled slightly before saying, "Yeah, I know. I was just watching her for a second. She's beautiful."

After slightly nodding, in agreement, Justin placed a hand in his daughter's crib; pulling the small blanket, his mother had bought Kayla, over her small legs. "She's my everything."

I know. Cathy inwardly said to herself, before letting the small silence that had been in the room--before Justin had walked in--take over once again.

Well, actually she let the slight silence that had been in the room earlier take over once again, Justin didn't. "I hope you don't mind me asking, but I heard you singing before I came in here. And while the song sounded oddly enough familiar, I still can't quite put my finger on what the song is called."

After slightly blushing at the revelation that he had heard her sing, Cathy shrugged before replying. "It was Three times a lady by Lionel Richie. My parents used to sing it to my brother and I before we went to sleep at night. And I guess it sort of stuck with me through the years because I don't think I can have a full nights sleep without hearing it before I turn in for bed."

Slightly smiling at this, Justin asked the older woman if she was close to her brother. Causing Cathy to smile slightly before saying, "I guess you could say we're close. We live together."

"Right on!" Justin replied, before turning fully away from his daughter's crib; hitting Cathy with a questioning stare in the process, "I don't mean to sound repetitive, but do you think you could maybe do me a favor tomorrow."

After turning around, so her entire body was facing Justin's, Cathy slightly smirked before saying, "It depends on what it is."

Grinning slightly, Justin licked his lips unconsciously before replying, "Well, usually I would ask Kelly if she could do this for me. But after thinking about it and realizing that you're going to have to be spending a lot of time with Kay sooner than later, I figured I'd ask you instead."

Having already figured out what he was going to ask, caused Cathy to slightly smile as the younger man continued to run on with words. But instead of the older woman interrupting Justin and agreeing to watch Kayla, she instead inwardly thought to herself, Just ask me already.

Which he did..after a second.

"So, anyway, if your not busy tomorrow, do you mind watching Kayla while I drop my mom off at the airport and go see Johnny at the compound. It doesn't have to be all day, it-"

Before Justin could finish his slight blabbering, Cathy put her hand over his mouth; silencing the younger males words while, also, making him see that she was nodding her head in agreement, at the same time. "I'd love to, Justin."

After waiting until Cathy took her hand off his mouth to smile in embarrassment, Justin replied, "Thanks. I appreciate it."

Throwing a genuine smile back at Justin, Cathy coyly replied, "Don't mention it. It's my pleasure."

**

(The next day)

You know we don't care at all..let-let me see you up-up against the wall.

What the hell?

After adverting her eyes from the contents of her suitcase, Cathy furrowed her eyebrows in confusion as the sounds of--all too familiar--music began floating throughout the apartment.

 

I was just doing my thing, hanging out at the spot. You know the place we go, the music's John Blaze hot.

He must've really lost what little common sense he had.

With that thought in mind, Cathy stood up, from her position on the floor, and made her way towards the main living room foyer where Robert, her younger brother, stood; seeming to be lost in thought. He has defiantly lost his mind.

And everybody was feeling the DJ, the Dj, the smoke cleared and I saw this beautiful lady...

Not bothering to wait until the first verse ended, Cathy took two steps foreword, putting herself right next to the taller man, and then--without so much as a pause--she pressed stop on the CD player; causing the younger man to snap out of his thoughts. "Are you crazy?"

After staring at his older sister for a second, Robert absentmindedly moved his hand to above where Cathy's fingers were placed. Then after a seconds pause, he reluctantly took the CD, which he'd been listening to, out of the CD player. "No, but I could ask you the same thing."

While rolling her eyes in annoyance, Cathy let out a deep sigh; which hopefully told Robert not to start with her this early in the morning. Even if he gets the message, lord knows he wont listen.

It had been like this ever since she had came home the previous night, only to find Robert on her bed; ready to break down and confess to her how he really felt about his older sister going on tour with the guys of Nsync. And to say that Cathy and him were now seeing eye to eye with one another, well, that would pretty much be the overstatement of the year. "Do we really have to get into this again?"

"No." Robert began, afterwards adverting his eyes from the CD, he was holding, to stare into Cathy's identical brown eyes, "But since it looks like you're still going tomorrow, I think we need to discuss it once again."

Having had enough already, Cathy let out a low growling noise, in the back of her throat, before throwing her hands up in the air; afterwards bringing them back down to quickly rake her fingers through her slightly tangled hair. "What more is their to discuss? You've stated more than once already that you don't think I should go, for reasons unknown. And while I value your opinion, I've already told you I'm leaving anyway. Case closed."

Before Cathy could turn around and walk back to her room, Robert stopped her by putting a firm hand on her shoulder. "No, the case is not closed, Cathy. We have discussed it, but as you just stated, I haven't given you my reasons for why I don't think you should go. And since time and time again I've let you state your reasons for why I shouldn't do many things before, I think you should shut up for one-second and hear me out, okay?"

Knowing that what her brother was asking of her was the right thing to do, caused Cathy to slightly sigh before saying in an impatient tone, "Fine! But make it quick. I told Mr. Timberlake that I'd be by to pick up Kayla around ten and it's already going on nine forty-five."

"And we wouldn't want to keep the little popstar waiting, now would we?" Robert commented sarcastically, with a slight smirk. But afterwards, seeing that Cathy was about to blow up at him once again, he threw his hands up in surrender, before replying, "Sorry, I'll make it snappy."

"Thank you." Cathy said, before tightly folding her arms together; showing Robert that she was ready to hear what he had to say but--unfortunately enough--wouldn't be changing her mind due to anything he intended to say.

With that in mind, Robert sighed slightly before saying, "The reason why I don't think you should go on this tour is because, believe it or not, I don't want to see you get hurt."

What the..? While feeling her anger start to rise, Cathy, instead of slapping her younger brother in the face, shot him a glare that could've frozen ice, "Wake up and smell the coffee, Robert. We're not little kids anymore and I don't need you to protect me from getting my heart broken. So, stop acting like it's your part time duty."

After realizing that Cathy had taken his comment in a totally different way then he had meant for her to, Robert, once again, held both hands up in surrender.

"Whoa, hold up for a second, Cat. First of all, I know we're not little kids anymore. Believe me, I've seen you with just a towel on and am well aware of that small fact, thank-you-very-much. And second of all, no one ever said anything about a broken heart. I meant before, when stating that I didn't want to see you get hurt, that I don't want to see you get hurt by spending time with your client's daughter, Kayla. Not by you being in another relationship."

While refusing to let her brother see her blush over the small slip-up, Cathy furrowed her eyebrows in confusion before asking, "How could I possibly get hurt by spending time with Kayla?" Causing Robert to slightly roll his eyes in annoyance before saying, "Please don't act dumb, Cathy. You and I both know that ever since last year, it's been hard for you to be in the same room with a small child for more than a half-n-hour without thinking about what that slime ball, Keith, put you through. So how you can possible stand there and tell me that it wont hurt you to be locked up for hours with that little girl--knowing that she is not your child--is completely ridiculous to me. I mean, come on, think about it."

I have been thinking about it. Cathy inwardly thought to herself.

She knew Robert was right and that it was going to be like hell on earth to be locked up for hours with Kayla and Justin; knowing that if she'd just been a little bit smarter, she not only would've had a child of her own at the moment, but also could've possibly had another job.

But after spending the majority of the past two days thinking about it, Cathy finally came to the conclusion that if going on the road--and spending time with Kayla--was what she needed to do to not only fulfill her life's goal of being their for a child when they entered a new environment--but also to move on from her past, then that was a risk that she was willing to take. And Robert would just have to deal with it whether he wanted to or not.

Seeing the determined look on his sister's face, Robert opened his mouth once again to argue his point further but immediately cut himself off as the small device on his hip pocket began to vibrate. "Shit."

Saved by the beeper. Taking this as her cue to leave, Cathy, refusing to wait until after Robert had a chance to finish checking to see who was paging him, turned away from the younger man and picked up her purse off the living room table. Afterwards, only getting a chance to grab her keys from the kitchen counter before Robert called out. "Don't think we're done with this conversation."

Which Cathy knew, in her brother's words, meant, "This isn't over until I say it's over."

 

~*~

 

(Ten-fifteen)

While making her way across Justin's driveway, Cathy couldn't help but inwardly scold herself as she noticed Kayla and Mrs. Timberlake playing in the front yard while Justin absentmindedly finished loading up his truck with his mother's suitcases. "Hey, sorry I'm late."

Looking up from the suitcase he was holding, Justin smiled slightly as he locked eyes with Cathy, before replying, "It's cool. You're actually just on time, this is the last one."

Knowing that he was talking about the suitcase caused Cathy to nod slightly before adverting her attention back towards the front yard, where Lynn, at the moment, was pretending to run from Kayla's giggling figure. "She's an energetic toddler."

After placing his mom's suitcase in the back seat of the truck--with the rest of her things--Justin followed Cathy's line of vision towards his daughter; smiling afterwards as he watched the little girl try to tackle his mother. "Yeah, I have no idea where she gets it from. But if she keeps it up, she's going to be the first toddler on the NFL team."

After laughing slightly, Cathy could only get out an I can imagine before Lynn, hearing the laughter, looked up; spotting the younger woman with her son for the first time.

"Hey! I didn't hear you pull up."

"It's okay, I just got here." Cathy replied; afterwards waiting until Lynn had picked Kayla up and made her way towards her and Justin, before asking: "What time does your flight leave?"

Before Lynn could even get a chance to glance down at her watch, Justin replied, "In an hour and half." Causing Lynn to raise an eyebrow in disbelief before asking, "Whatever happened to my never knowing what day or time it was son?"

Smirking slightly, Justin replied, "He grew up and bought a watch." Causing Lynn to roll her eyes before mumbling sarcastically, "Smart ass." A comment which caused Kayla to interestingly enough glare at Lynn in disapproval. "Grammy say no-no."

After laughing slightly at her granddaughter's words, Lynn apologized to both Kayla and Cathy for her potty mouth--saying that it was a result of spending too much time with Justin.

"Whatever." Justin replied, before turning his attention back towards Cathy, who--up until that point--had been silently watching the interaction between grandmother-father-and child, with a slight look of amusement on her face. They certainly aren't the Brady bunch, are they?

"Well, we better get out of here before the plane leaves. Did you want to stay here while I'm gone or do you want me to pick Kayla up at your apartment when I'm finished?"

Having figured, on the way to Justin's house, that she should use today as sort of a sneak peek on how it would feel like to have Kayla with her when she did everyday--ordinary things--caused Cathy to pause for only a second before saying, "Actually, I still have a couple more things to pick up at the store before we leave tomorrow and I figured I could just bring Kayla along with me while I did so. I mean, if that's okay with you."

From the slight nervous expression--which appeared on Justin's face as soon as she finished her sentence--Cathy knew that the younger man unfortunately didn't think her idea was such a good one. But before he could get the words out, Lynn spoke up; speaking the exact opposite of her son's thoughts.

"I think it's a good idea."

After adverting his eyes away from the slightly older woman, Justin shot his mother a confused look before saying: "You do?" A question which caused Lynn to nod in approval before saying, "As a matter of fact, I do. It not only gives Cathy the chance to kill two mocking birds with one stone but it also gives her and Kayla a chance to get to know one another a little before you guys get on the bus tomorrow morning. I think it's a great idea."

While studying Justin's facial expression, wondering if he was going to agree with his mother's words or not, Cathy couldn't help but furrow her eyebrows; not really knowing what the younger man was thinking as a neutral expression seemed to creep across his face. This is harder than reading Robert's mind sometimes.

After another second's pause, Cathy opened her mouth to withdraw her previous statement but before she could do so, Justin spoke up. "Okay...you can take her to the mall with you."

While letting out a sigh of relief, that she hadn't even known she'd been holding in, Cathy couldn't help but smile slightly at Lynn who, while Justin wasn't watching, winked at her playfully.

I can already tell that I'm going to love this woman.

---

(Four O'clock)

After dropping his mother off at the airport and then spending close to two hours at the compound, waiting for Johnny to arrive--to no avail--Justin was slightly relieved when he finally got home to find out that Kayla and Cathy hadn't come back yet.

It wasn't that he wasn't worried about his daughter's presence not being around him. But after coming to the conclusion that since no one outside of his parent's and his and Debra's small group of friends knew about Kayla--given the fact that him and Debra had kept her a secret since the day she was born--Justin realized that he really didn't have to pull his hair out with worry; wondering if his daughter was safe or not. And it also helped that even though neither one of them knew it, Justin had asked Lonnie, one of the guy's bodyguards, to follow Cathy and Kayla just to be on the safe side.

I'm going to have to talk to Johnny about getting them their own personal bodyguard once we get on tour.

With that thought in mind, Justin made his way towards his office phone; preparing to call his absent manager once again. But before he even had a chance to pick up the black cordless, his cell phone began to vibrate; telling him he had an incoming call.

Britney? Justin inwardly said to himself as he looked at the number on his caller ID, What the hell does she want?

Having not spoken to his ex-girlfriend since she walked out of his hotel room a month earlier caused Justin to tense up slightly as he answered his phone; figuring that this--sudden out of the blue--phone call could pretty much be about anything. "Hello?"

"Why didn't you tell me?"

While furrowing his eyebrows at the greeting, Justin had to wonder to himself for a second what Enquirer B.S was floating around about him at the moment which would cause Britney to call him up with that question. "You're going to have to be a little bit more clearer, Brit. I have no idea what you're talking about."

"First of all, my name's not Brit, Justin. And second of all, you know exactly what I'm talking about, so stop playing games and just tell me the truth."

"I am telling you the truth." Justin practically screamed over the phone; afterwards saying a quick apology.

He tried not to raise his voice at anyone, especially not a female, but when Britney started playing games--like the ones she seemed to be playing right now--he started to get pissed off and couldn't help what came out of his mouth.

"Let's try this again, what are you talking about?" Justin asked, after a second. But before Britney had a chance to answer, the doorbell rang; causing Justin to slightly curse. "Shit."

Figuring that it was probably Cathy and Kayla at the door, Justin quickly told Britney that their was an emergency--and he had to go--but that he'd call her back later on; which she replied whatever to before hanging up the phone; causing him to roll his eyes slightly before mumbling, "Women!"

"Curly, man, open the hell up!"

Making his way towards the front door, Justin couldn't help but furrow his eyebrows in confusion as he heard, not Cathy's voice at the door, but Joey's. What's he doing here?

After opening the door, and seeing a look of panic on the older man's face, Justin quickly realized it wasn't a good reason that Joey had stopped by. "What's wrong? What happened?"

After quickly pushing his way into the house, and locking the door behind him, Joey practically dragged Justin towards the living room foyer.

"Joey, what are you-?"

Before Justin could finish his sentence, Joey let go of Justin's arm and picked up the remote control from Justin's coffee table. "You haven't seen this week's Enquirer, have you?"

What the..? While furrowing his eyebrows in confusion, Justin couldn't help but wonder what the hell was going on with his friends. First Britney now Joey.

Fortunately enough, or rather unfortunately enough, Justin soon found out what was going on as Joey flipped the TV on and, first the voice, then the face of John Norris--a news reporter at MTV--filled the screen.

"Well, I'm sure most of you in the audience have already heard about it and I'm sure that some of you, in the audience, can't believe it. But we, at MTV, have just gotten official word from a source in the Nsync camp that group member, Justin Timberlake is indeed the proud father of a bouncing baby one year old."

"What the fuck!"

As soon as the words left Justin's mouth, it was like a shot of pure anger had been inserted into the younger man's blood.

Turning towards the older man beside him, Justin shot him a look that could've frozen hell, "Who did this?"

Having expected this reaction from Justin, but not knowing the answer to the question, caused Joey to shrug. "I don't know. I just found out about it an hour ago and rushed over here as fast I could. Fortunately enough, I made it pass the gate just in time; three camera crew men were parking just as the gates closed."

Camera crew men.. As if he'd just seen a ghost, Justin's face whitened in horror at the mere mention of paparazzi now waiting outside his house. "Oh God!"

Noticing that the anger--that seemed to be generating off of Justin's body a second ago--had suddenly vanished, being replaced by a sudden look of panic, caused Joey to look at his friend in worry, "Justin? Bro, breath. You're turning white."

While tuning out the sound of his friend's voice, Justin quickly ran into the next room, grabbing the cordless from where he'd left it. But before he even had a chance to dial the number he'd put on speed dial, at his mother's request, Joey grabbing the phone and yelling at him to calm down--and tell him who he was calling--caused the younger man to look up at his friend with a look--mixed between anger and panic--before saying: "I'm calling Cathy. She's out there and she has Kayla."

 

~*~

 

If someone was to say that her day with Kayla was going okay, Cathy would have to tell them that that was an understatement. The day, in her opinion, was going better than okay.

She had been slightly nervous as to what she'd feel after the day's events, given the fact that--like Robert had said earlier--she usually couldn't spend more than a half-n-hour with a small child without thinking of past events. But an hour into her one-on-one time with Kayla, Cathy couldn't help but think that maybe her wish--that this case would hopefully give her enough strength to move on--was coming true.

She felt a lot better about going on the road with Kayla and the guys now than she did before. And that small fact was causing Cathy to smile at the moment.

Well, that was one of the small facts that was causing her to smile at the moment. The other was the adorable girl in the back-seat; who Cathy had realized earlier in the day was really talkative when she wanted to be.

"You sleepy."

After furrowing her eyebrows for a second, Cathy waited until she had moved into her left lane before replying, "Am I sleepy? Not really, sweetie, are you?"

"I tired."

After slightly moving her eyes from the road to the rear view mirror, for a small second, Cathy couldn't help but smile to herself as she watched the little girl behind her yawn dramatically. "I can see that. Well, we'll be home shortly and then you can take a nap, how does that sound?"

"Daddy nap, too."

She's such a daddy's girl. Stealing another look at the girl behind her, Cathy could only smile once again before saying, "I'm sure if you ask him nicely your daddy will take a nap, too."

"Coo."

Turning back to the road ahead of her, Cathy couldn't help but say, "Cool" as well.

After five minutes of silence between the two of them--silence which Cathy noticed Kayla had fallen asleep during--Cathy found herself slightly jumping as her cellphone began ringing. Please let this not be Robert, Keith or..nevermind, just please let this not be Robert or Keith.

Taking one hand off the steering wheel, Cathy quickly picked up her cellphone from the seat beside her before hitting send causing her phone to pick up. "Cathy speaking?"

"Where are you?"

"Well, hello to you, too." Not placing the voice, Cathy looked at her phone's ID and couldn't help but slightly smile as she saw that it was Justin calling. Surprise, Surprise.

"I'm turning onto your street right now, so you can call off the search team."

Not getting anything but a slight curse from the other end caused Cathy to open her mouth and say that she'd just been kidding but as she turned onto Justin's street and saw the scene before her, she realized maybe her joke was more true than ever. What the..?

From what Cathy could see, there were news vans everywhere. On the road, in front of people's driveways, on curbs, even to her surprise, on the sidewalk. They were everywhere. But from what she could tell, they all had one thing in common: they were all surrounding the front of Justin's driveway.

Which only meant one thing.

"Please tell me what I think happened didn't happen and you just robbed a liquor store."

"Can you turn around?"

If Cathy wasn't already growing slightly worried at the moment, the desperation--heard in Justin's voice--would've done the trick.

While looking around to see if their was a space she could make a quick U turn at, Cathy felt her heart rate start to speed up as she realized she was parked in the middle of a road, which only lead to Justin's house, and people were starting to look at her.

"Their are trucks everywhere, I can't turn around."

"Shit."

Hearing Justin's voice grow deeper with half anger and half panic caused Cathy to see the big picture of the situation the younger man was in. Everyone now knows he's been keeping a secret and lying to the world. Now, if the media is as bad as their rep makes them out to be, their going to eat him and Kayla apart until they find out everything they want to know.

"Do you think I should try to hurry up and enter into your gate? I mean, my windows are tinted and your security guard knows my jeep, so-"

Before Cathy could even finish her statement, Justin interrupted her. "No, their fucking savages. One or two of them will make it into the gate behind you, no matter how fast you or Randy go. Just try to back up and go out the same way you came in."

"All right." After making a move to put her phone down, so she could back up unnoticed, Cathy had to stop herself as she looked in her rear view mirror not only to find another news crew pulling up behind her but also to find Kayla waking up as well. "Shit!"

"What?"

While explaining the situation to Justin, Cathy couldn't help but notice six people stepping out of the van behind her and from the looks of things they seemed to be going straight for her car. "These guys, behind us, their coming towards my jeep."

"Whatever you do, don't get out of the car and don't hang up. Joey just called his bodyguard from his phone and Randy and him should be there soon, okay?"

Even though she felt slightly better at this, Cathy couldn't help but feel her stomach start to do flip-flops as the guys from behind suddenly began closing in on her jeep. Why couldn't I have just taken Justin up on his offer to either stay at his place or go back to mine. We wouldn't be in this mess if I had of.

"Hey!"

Snapping out of her thoughts, Cathy looked to the left of her and couldn't help but thank God that she had tinted windows as she realized, not only were the guys from before surrounding her jeep, but they were also now trying to look inside.

Fortunately--and unfortunately--enough, not in the back-seat, but at her.

"Hey, I think the mother is in here!"

While widening her eyes in disbelief as the guy, on the other side of her truck, called the squad of news reporters--at the gate--to come quick, Cathy couldn't help but say in a slightly scared tone, "Justin, their all heading over here."

"Just stay put. Randy will be there soon."

Even though Cathy knew Justin was trying to calm her down, the panic in his voice and the panic she was feeling at the moment, caused her to bite her lip in worry.

Then afterwards scream as the sound of glass breaking was heard from behind.

***

After first hearing the sound of glass breaking behind her, and then Kayla's piercing scream of fright, it had only taken Cathy two seconds to drop her cellphone, unbuckle her seat belt, and climb into the back-seat with the screaming girl; using her body to shield anyone's view of Kayla. Please God, make them hurry up.

As if someone had been listening to her prayers, she heard--more than saw--a loud siren go off from the left of her, then a brief scuffle outside, before a familiar voice was heard saying. "Hey, come on. Let's go."

After risking a quick glance towards the sound of the voice, Cathy couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief as her slightly blurred vision landed on Randy, Justin's security guard, and three other men--who looked to be armed police officers. All of them were standing next to her now broken window; pushing camera crews out of the way. Thank God.

"Watch your step." Randy called out, after Cathy--without taking her body away from the small girl--unlocked Kayla from her car-seat and then took her jacket off--placing it over the little girl's head as a full body shield. "Look down, stay close, and walk fast."

As if in a trance, Cathy did exactly what Randy had told her to do. She looked down, so that none of the news reporters could get a good shot of her face. She stayed as close to Randy as she could--so close, that if her thoughts weren't on the safety of the little girl in her arms, she probably could've gotten a good whiff of the cologne that the older man had used that morning. And she walked fast--fast enough that within seconds, the four of them--another guard had been following closely behind them--soon found themselves inside the gates of Justin's house. Thankfully, safe at last.

"You two can just go inside. Wes and I will stay out here to make sure nobody tries to jump the gate."

After nodding slightly, Cathy continued to make her way towards the front door of the house; not finding it surprising at all when the wooden door in front of her, quickly swung open as soon as she stepped foot onto the younger man's porch.

"Thank God!"

After literally being pulled into the house by Justin, Cathy found herself suddenly at a loss for words as the younger man quickly took Kayla from her arms and began checking to see if--minus the tear stains--the little girl was unharmed.

He's a good dad. Cathy thought to herself as she wrapped her arms around her shaking body; slightly missing the comfort of Kayla's warm body so close to hers.

"Are you okay?"

Turning her attention away from Justin and Kayla, Cathy locked eyes with Joey, who--up until this point--had been silently watching the other two as well.

Do I look like I'm okay? Cathy sarcastically thought to herself. But even though she had just gone through a frightening ordeal and was at the moment praying for a hot shower and a warm bed where she could forget the days events in, she knew--if she'd still be spending the next couple of months with the older man--she'd have to be nice. So, instead of her biting remark, she simply replied to the question with:

"I've been better."

 

~*~

 

(Seven Thirty)

After spending almost three hours in the living room, watching the news while talking to Joey about the downfalls of being a celebrity and how the paparazzi could possibly ruin a person's life, Cathy excused herself for a second to go make a phone call.

I'm sure Robert's probably pulling his or Ryan's hair out by now.

Waiting until she had taken a seat at the kitchen table, Cathy pulled her cellphone, which Wes had brought in from her jeep a couple of minutes ago, out of her purse and quickly dialed the office number of her younger brother. Afterwards, once it started ringing, she couldn't help but begin praying to God that she would get his answering machine; if just to prolong the inevitable I told you so conversation she knew her and Robert were going to have.

No such luck.

"Thank God, you're alive! Do you know how worried I was?"

Not even bothering to ask how he knew it was her, Cathy let out a small sigh before saying, "I know. That's why I wanted to call you....to tell you that I was okay."

"I don't want to hear that your okay, Cat. All I want to hear is that you're going to forget about this touring foolishness and come home this instantly."

Without so much as a pause, Cathy replied, "You know I can't do that. I owe it to Justin and-"

"So, it's Justin now."

Knowing by the tone of his voice, her younger brother was getting angrier at the moment, caused Cathy to not even bother commenting on the subject. "Like I said, I owe it to Mr.Timberlake and Kayla to be on that tour bus in the morning. And I'm going to do that, Robert. Whether you like it or not."

After a few seconds of silence, Robert finally spoke up again. "Why do you think you owe them that? I mean, as far as I'm concerned, neither that child nor that man have done anything for you but almost get you killed."

"Don't you think you're exaggerating just a little?" Cathy replied, in slight annoyance. Causing Robert to reply back, in the same tone of voice: "No, Cathy, I don't think I'm exaggerating just a little. I watched the news. I saw what happened with my very own two eyes. And you cannot possibly say what happened this afternoon didn't scare the hell out of you because I know for damn sure it scared the hell out of me."

Letting the comment hang in the air for a second, Cathy said, "I know, it scared me too. But as much as it scared me being in that truck, with those camera guys trying to break in, it scared me more when the reporters tried to grab Kayla. And I don't know what else to say to make you understand that."

Another second of silence was heard on the other end before Robert--having fully grasped what his sister was saying--replied in a calmer voice: "What time are you coming home to pick up your clothes?"

Knowing that Robert's question was a hidden way of saying that even though he didn't think she should go in the morning, he would respect her decision--and not try to stop her anymore--caused Cathy to let the slight smile, that ached to spread across her face, do so. "I'm not sure. If the news reporters are still out there in an hour or so then I'll just see if I can spend the night here and go get my things in the morning. Is that all right with you?"

"I guess so." Robert answered back, after a second. "But I'm going to have to let you go now. I got to go open up downstairs and then I have to meet Ryan at DiVinos for dinner."

"Tell him I said Hi." Cathy replied, before telling Robert she'd hopefully see him in the morning and that--even though he could be quite stubborn sometimes--she still loved him.

"I love you, too."

With that being said, Cathy waited until the dial tone was heard on the other end before hanging up her cell phone and thinking to herself, It's amazing that, unlike some other people, no matter what I say or do, he's still behind me one hundred percent.

 

~*~

 

Silently watching as Cathy first hung up the phone, then sit at the table with a slight smile on her face, caused Justin to bite his lip slightly.

First, she doesn't even blink an eye when I ask her to baby-sit my kid. Then when my celebrity status practically gets her caught in the middle of a riot, she without thinking about it, guards Kayla with her own body. Now, I'm causing a rift between her and her brother and she's still smiling. Theirs so much about this woman that I don't know, but I defiantly want to find out.

"Justin?"

After snapping out of his thoughts, Justin blushed slightly as he noticed Cathy was staring at him with a confused expression on her face. "Sorry, I must've blanked out there for a second. Was that your brother?"

Looking down at her phone, Cathy slightly blushed as well, before nodding. "Yeah, he saw me on the news and wanted to congratulate me for being the first one out of the both of us to be mentioned on Access Hollywood. We're huge fans."

After smiling slightly at the sarcasm he heard in the older woman's voice, Justin took a seat across from her, at the table, and began what he came in the kitchen to do. "I just wanted to come in here and say thank you again for earlier. I mean, I know you told me before that I didn't need to thank you, and that you were just doing what you thought was right, but I, uh, really am thankful that you were there for Kay and me today. It really meant a lot to me."

After smiling slightly, Cathy responded that she was just glad she could help. "I'm sure you would've done the same thing for me if the tables had been turned."

While nodding slightly, as if to tell Cathy that she was indeed correct, Justin couldn't help but think to himself: She just can't take a thank you, can she?

After a brief pause of silence fell between the two, Justin looked down at his watch; noticing for the first time that it was already going on eight o'clock. And after thinking about it for a split second, he figured if he wanted to be awake and at the compound by at least six forty-five, he'd have to put Kayla--his alarm clock--to bed soon. "I'm going to go give Kayla a bath and then put her to bed, did you want me to turn down one of the guest rooms for you?"

From the way Cathy let out a slight sigh of relief while biting her lip, Justin knew the older woman had already been planning to stay, because of the media outside, but hadn't already said so because she didn't want to be rude.

"You don't have to fix up a room on my account. I can manage. But if it's not too much trouble, do you mind if I stay in the guest-room downstairs. Besides the couple of things I bought from the store earlier, all of my clothes are at my apartment and I don't want to wake you or Kayla up when I go get them in the morning."

After thinking about it for a second, Justin replied that Cathy could stay in any room she wanted to. Then after another second, he mentally added to himself that just in case another riot, like the one before, broke out, he'd have to call Lonnie, when he got upstairs, and tell him to follow Cathy in the morning.

Just to be safe.

---

May 28, 2002 (The Next day)

As the two of them silently worked together to fit all of Cathy's suitcases in the back of Justin's truck, Cathy couldn't help but thank God Justin wasn't a morning person; if only because of the simple fact that she hated talking to anyone before she had her morning cup of coffee.

"That's it?"

After nodding slightly, Cathy waited until Justin had closed the trunk of his jeep before following the younger man into his house. "You want me to get Kayla settled in her car-seat while you lock up in here?"

"Yeah, thanks. She's in the living room."

Having figured as much, Cathy didn't bother to wait until Justin started up the stairs--to make sure he hadn't forgotten anything--before heading towards the living room foyer; surprisingly enough finding Kayla in front of the TV screen, watching Yogi the bear. No Nsync this morning? Now, I really am in love with Lynn.

Waiting until after a commercial came on, Cathy cleared her throat as to make her presence known. "Hey sweetie, you ready to go?"

Adverting her attention from the television for just a second, Kayla pointed a finger towards the TV screen and mumbled, "Yo-gee."

After smiling slightly, Cathy picked up the remote control, which Joey had literally thrown on the couch, twenty minutes ago, before he ran out of the house--remembering the fact that he hadn't begun repacking yet. Just like a man.

"I know you're watching Yogi, sweetie. But we have to leave soon, we're going to be riding on a big bus today."

"Daddy, too?"

"Yeah, your daddy is coming, too." Cathy replied, before turning off the television and placing the remote control back on the couch. "But if we don't hurry up, your daddy might leave without us."

"No leave." Kayla said, while standing up; causing Cathy to smile once again before bending down to lift the small girl up into her arms.

"I thought you'd see it my way."

 

~*~

 

After getting Kayla settled into her car-seat while absentmindedly watching Justin as he finished locking up the house doors, Cathy was surprised to find herself slightly drifting off. I must be more tired than I thought.

Figuring she might as well rest her eyes a little, Cathy situated herself further back in her seat, before closing her eyes; not noticing when Justin hopped into the car, a couple seconds later, only to tell Kayla that "Miss. Cathy is sleeping, so we have to be quiet."

After--what she assumed--was only a couple of minutes, Cathy opened her eyes, only to discover Joey and another man, staring at her from outside Justin's truck. "Oh my God!"

Watching as the two men first started to chuckle before opening the back door to the truck, Cathy realized that she must've fallen asleep and that they now were at, what she assumed, was the compound. Now, I know I must've been more tired than I thought.

"Hey, sorry we scared you. Justin told us to watch Kayla for a second, while he went to talk to Johnny, but we didn't know you were still in here."

"It's okay." Cathy replied, as she watched Joey unhook Kayla from her car seat, before pulling the small girl into a football like pose.

"Fatone, if you even think about hitting a touchdown with my daughter, I'll kill you."

"Darn, your no fun."

Adverting her eyes from the now pouting man, Cathy watched as Justin swiftly made his way back across the parking lot; with whom she assumed was his boss, Mr. Wright, in tow.

"Miss. Jones, I presume?"

Figuring it'd be quite unprofessional to talk to the older man through the halfway wined down window of his protegee's truck, Cathy quickly opened the passenger door, before stepping out; finding herself oddly enough almost the same height as the man in front of her.

"That is correct, Mr. Wright, but please call me Cathy."

"As you wish."

After exchanging pleasantries with the older man, Cathy couldn't help but furrow her eyebrows a little as Johnny handed her a small freezer bag, with what looked like, ten laminated cards inside. What the hell?

Noticing her confusion, Johnny smiled slightly before explaining what the laminated cards were to be used for. "Those bad-boys are your all access passes. The red ones will get you into all of the venues backstage areas. The purple ones will get you into all of the clubs V.I.P areas. The blue ones will get you onto the guys, and your, hotel floor. And, last but not least, the green one is for, if your backstage at a venue, and you want to eat, but none of the guys are within jumping distance. You just take that baby and show it to Lonnie, and he'll take you to the nearest fast food place he can find."

After smiling slightly, Cathy furrowed her eyebrows in confusion before asking the older man, "Whose Lonnie?"

"He's your--" Johnny began, but before he could finish his answer, Justin quickly intervened. "He's one of the bodyguards."

Moving her eyes away from the older man, Cathy couldn't help but furrow her eyebrows, once again in confusion, as she noticed Justin hitting his boss with a don't you dare look.

Among other things, it looks like I'm going to have to keep my eye on this one, as well.

"Well, now that my job here is done, I must bid you all ado. I still have a few other people to curse out before I board my flight to Minneapolis tonight."

After slightly chuckling, Cathy quickly told the older man--before he left--that it had been a pleasure to finally meet him. And then afterwards, she turned her attention back towards the three men next to her; noticing for the first time both Joey and the other man--whom she guessed from Kayla's slight squeals--was Chris, both staring at Justin in slight amusement. I must've missed something.

As if not wanting Cathy to know what the other guys were smiling at, Justin quickly adverted his eyes towards his watch; afterwards asking, "So, where's Lance? Wasn't he supposed to be here five minutes ago?"

Before Joey or Chris could answer the question, Cathy--noticing a male and female approaching the group from the corner of her eye--asked, "Is that him?" And after moving his eyes in the direction where Cathy was pointing in, Justin nodded his head slightly before raising an eyebrow in questioning. "Becca, what are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be somewhere in New York by now?"

Turning her head slightly, Cathy watched as Lance, Justin's group mate, and Becca--who Cathy hadn't heard mentioned until now--slowly made their way towards where the group was standing.

"That had been the plan until Mr. Bass over here decided to stick his nose in where it didn't belong and get me first chair on your group's styling committee."

"And I'd do it again." Lance replied, not even a second later; interestingly enough getting a swap in the arm for all his troubles.

As if this was an every day occurrence, after rolling his eyes, Justin held up a hand to stop the feuding two before they got started. "Hold up, if your first chair, then Anna is...?"

Watching as the younger woman's facial expression quickly changed from a slight grimace to an annoyed smirk, caused Cathy to figure out that this Anna person defiantly wasn't on Becca's top favorite people list and that she probably didn't get second chair.

"You'll have to ask JC that one."

As if hearing his name being mentioned, not even two seconds later, another male had joined the group of seven; bringing in tow a very petite woman--one whom, upon seeing Kayla, quickly lighted up in surprise.

"Oh my God, is this the little girl I've heard so much about? She's so adorable."

And you are so fake.

After watching as the small woman, that she guessed was Anna, ask if she could hold Kayla, Cathy couldn't help but raise an eyebrow in wonder as she noticed everyone but Kayla and JC shooting Justin their own don't you dare looks.

Wow, this girl sure does make a lot of friends.

After a brief seconds pause, Justin reluctantly took Kayla from Joey's arms and held her out to Anna. "Um, yeah, you can hold her while the guys and I go load our bags. Come on, JC."

Noticing the slight frown that seemed to be forming across JC's face at the moment, caused Cathy to realize that the slightly older man was hoping for the group to welcome Anna with open arms.

Which they didn't.

And I don't think I want to know why.

 

~*~

 

(Fifteen minutes later)

"Was that the last one?"

After nodding slightly, Cathy watched as Leon, the driver of the bus she was riding on, shut the bottom compartment of their bus before silently making his way across the street--towards the front entrance of Dunkin donuts; without even a glance back to see if she was still standing there.

Another anti-morning person. These are my kind of people.

"My God, do you know how adorable you are?"

After adverting her eyes from the driver's--quickly fading away--form, Cathy turned her attention towards the high pitch squeal she'd just heard; interestingly enough, not finding herself at all surprised when she saw Anna a few feet in front of her messing with Kayla's curls. "Please God, tell me that she's not always like this."

"Don't worry, she's not. But if you really want to see the real side of her, just accidentally walk in on her gossiping about everyone behind their back. I can't even count how many times I have."

Turning her attention away from the display in front of her, Cathy couldn't help but smile as she saw the younger woman from before, smirking at the scene in front of them. "I'll make sure to keep that in mind. But uh anyway, I don't think we've been properly introduced. I'm Cathy, Kayla's part time baby-sitter and full time social worker."

"And I'm Rebecca, the guy's part time hair stylist and Lance's full time not so significant other."

After laughing slightly and shaking hands with the younger woman, Cathy looked past the brunette; towards where the guys were now standing--seeming to be lost in a small argument with one another. "I wonder what that's all about."

After following the older woman's line of vision, Rebecca couldn't help but smirk as she saw JC walk away from the four other men and get on the guy's bus, heatedly. "From the looks of things, JC just announced to the other guys that his new girlfriend just got promoted from head stylist to head back up dancer."

Whoa. While widening her eyebrows in disbelief, Cathy couldn't help but ask, "Can she do that?" Causing Rebecca to reply back with: "She can and she did. All it takes is a major in hair and a minor in bull shit to persuade good ole Mr. Johnny Wright to hire you."

Then I might as well ask him if I can open up for the guys. I can't sing a lick but I sure can B.S my way through the first chorus.

"Anyway..." Rebecca began; all the while snapping Cathy out of her thoughts. "I better go and smooth things out with JC. Knowing him, if I don't, we're going to have one very cranky pop star for the rest of the day."

"And we wouldn't want that, now would we?" Cathy sarcastically mumbled to herself, causing Rebecca to slightly laugh as she made her way towards the other bus; which JC had just entered a few second before.

After watching Rebecca, as she boarded the bus behind her, Cathy figured she might as well board hers now--and started to make her way towards the front of the vehicle. But interestingly enough, a few seconds before Cathy reached the door, she found herself having to stop as she heard her name being called from behind her. That's one way to let everyone know who you are.

After quickly turning around so the person would stop yelling, Cathy couldn't help but slightly smile as she saw Justin swiftly approaching her--thankfully with Kayla in hand. "Hey, you just caught me. I was just about to get on the bus."

"I figured as much." Justin sarcastically replied, as he quickly got rid of the two feet in front of him and Cathy. "But I just wanted to ask if you wanted to ride with us. It's sort of an old tradition on the tour, that on the first day--for at least an hour or two--Becca rides with us. And given the fact that your here, the guys and I figured we might as well extend the invitation to you as well, that is if you don't mind hanging out with us trouble makers for a few hours."

As if having to think about it for a second, Cathy bit her lip slightly in hesitation, before saying, "I guess so. But only for a few miles." Causing Justin to chuckle slightly, before turning around; making his way back towards his bus--with Cathy in tow.

 

~*~

 

Once on the guy's bus, Cathy found herself heading in the opposite direction of Justin as he made a move to head towards the back of the bus--with Kayla--and she made a move to sit next to Rebecca and Chris in the guy's kitchen booth area.

"So anyway, like I was saying...Lance decides that since Amber went away for the weekend, him and I should go out for the night. So, we get dressed up and head down to this new club, that he found near downtown Disney, and I swear to God, Joe, not even ten seconds after we step in the place, I spot two girls literally going at it on top of the bar."

"Whoa, little poo-fu dragged you to a place like that?"

"Yeah, and get this, he knew the bouncer."

After raising an eyebrow in confusion as Joey and Chris continued to talk about Chris's wild night out, Cathy adverted her attention towards Rebecca who was only halfway listening. "Should I even ask which club they went to?"

While shrugging her shoulders slightly, Rebecca replied, "I wouldn't, but if you really want to know..." Before elbowing Chris in the ribs and asking him which club the guys went to. Causing the older man to wince slightly before replying, "The Cactus Club."

A club which Cathy knew all too well of.

No wonder there were girls making out with one another. They went to a gay strip club.

"Was there, by any chance, any purple triangles or rainbow tags on the windows at this club?"

While watching as Chris first nodded slightly before raising an eyebrow in questioning, Cathy realized that whereas the older man had some idea of what the club was about, he really didn't understand her questioning. "You were at a gay strip club. When people open up bars or clubs for gays and lesbians, they put a rainbow sticker outside their window. And when they open up gay strip clubs, they put both rainbow tags and purple triangles outside of their windows. It's so the close minded know to stay away."

After a seconds pause, Cathy realized that not only did she have Chris's full attention but she also had Joey's and Rebecca's as well; which meant only one thing to her. Here comes the questions.

After a couple more seconds of silence, Chris finally addressed what Cathy already knew was going to be asked, "How'd you know that?"

"My younger brother is not only part manager at the club you went to, but he's also gay; which means theirs not much about the gay community that I don't know about."

"Oh."

After watching as a mixture of disbelief, interest, and relief passed through everyone's faces, Cathy couldn't help but wonder to herself:

What have I gotten myself into?

May 29, 2002 (Minneapolis, MN)

"Great! Looks like we're finally here...now the hard work can begin!"

Looking up from the US! Weekly magazine she had been skimming through, Cathy couldn't help but widen her eyes in surprise as she took in the scenery in front of her.

"Theirs so many people here....I thought the concert didn't start until seven o'clock tonight."

"It doesn't." Rebecca replied, while continuing to frown at the handful of teenage girls who were standing outside of the Minneapolis Metrodome; waiting for any sign of one of the Nsync guys. "These are just some of the guy's more diehard fans who follow them around city to city; almost always getting to the venues hours before the lighting and set designers even have a chance to get the stage ready and set up."

"Wow..." Cathy slowly replied; not even bothering to keep the somewhat impressed tone from her voice. It's no wonder some people think Justin is egotistical. With this large group of people following him around, I couldn't blame him if he really was that way.

"Excuse me, ladies, but we're about to head into the parking lot. And at Mr. Wright's request, I ask if you both could please back away from the windows, thank you."

After furrowing her eyebrows at Leon, the driver's, request, Cathy did as he asked; followed shortly after by Rebecca. "What was that all about?"

As if it was just a normal routine for her--like Cathy assumed it was--Rebecca shrugged nonchalantly before saying, "For two reasons. The first one being that most of the fans know me as one of the guy's closest friends and if they see me they'll probably want to get as close to the bus as they possible can--resulting in a few minor or major injuries. And the second one being because of the Justin and Kayla situation. Assuming one of these fans is really an undercover reporter, they can just take a picture of you and me and say that one of us is Kayla's mother; which would probably add more flames to the fire that is already building around this tour, don't you think?"

Even though Cathy knew she should be writing this information down in Kayla's case file, she instead just nodded yes to Rebecca; causing the younger woman to respond with: "I thought so."

After what felt like a half-n-hour, but was really only a mere ten minutes, Leon finally stopped the vehicle; causing the two women to quickly get up from their spots on the bus's pull out couch and grab their backstage passes--afterwards heading out to meet with the other members of the crew.

"Hey Leslie!" Rebecca called out, to a woman, who was walking off the bus in front of theirs, "Do you know if they've set my stuff up yet?"

While absentmindedly watching as the petite redhead in front of them closed the distance between the three--so Rebecca wouldn't have to yell anymore--Cathy mentally guessed that Leslie was the guy's wardrobe stylist; judging by the garment bags that were placed in her hands.

"No, but to be honest, I'm not even sure if they've set my stuff up yet. Fred and Fritz told us all last night that their objective for the remainder of the tour was to be as lazy as they possibly could be without getting fired in the process."

"Well, we'll just have to see about that, now wont we?" Rebecca replied angrily, before turning her attention back towards Cathy; an annoyed expression covering her face. "Come on, I'll show you where the guy's green room is before I go kick a couple of backstage manager's where the sun don't shine."

After smirking slightly at the comment, Cathy quickly followed Rebecca and Leslie through the backstage door of the venue and then down two long hallways; which, interestingly enough, lead them to a room filled with all sorts of things for teenage boys. I hope they realize Kayla is a little bit too young and a little bit too feminine for some of this stuff.

As if reading her thoughts, Rebecca replied: "This is where the guy's hang out before and after their sound check. It's kind of like their own little gateway back to the days before fame and fortune had begun."

"Wow, and I thought it was just another one of their ways to transform Kayla into a tomboy."

After smirking at the comment, Rebecca replied back with: "Over my dead body." Before saying that the guy's would be coming in soon and Leslie and her still needed to catch up with Fred and Fritz, the two--soon to be dead--slackers.

"All right, I'll just wait for them in here, if that's okay."

"Okay.." Rebecca replied, before grabbing Leslie's arm and leading her back through the hallway, "I'll see you in a few."

"Not if I see you first."

 

~*~

 

(Eight O'clock)

"Ouch, Becca! Will you quit it...your hurting me!"

"Well, if you would just sit still for one more minute, Lance, I wouldn't have to hurt you." Rebecca scowled, before pulling another one of her best friend's blonde strands of hair into an even spike; causing the older man to growl slightly in frustration. "You know, I'll probably deny it if you ever tell anyone I said this: But as we speak, I can honestly say that I like Joey, Chris, and Justin a hell of a lot more than I like you and JC right now. I mean, they at least had the decency to shave their heads halfway bald before coming back on tour. But not you two..oh no, you guys just had to make it hard for me, didn't you? Didn't you?"

As Rebecca roughly pulled on another piece of Lance's hair, Cathy couldn't help but wince for the younger man.

I would not want to be in his shoes right now.

Just from watching the two in front of her, Cathy figured if she hadn't spent the majority of the day with Rebecca, she would've guessed that the brunette hated the blonde, in front of her. But if truth be told, it was the exact opposite.

Rebecca loved Lance. But she was also pissed at him and the rest of the guys--minus Justin, who had spent most of his non-work related parts of the day with Kayla--for taking the labels off of her hair styling products; causing both her and Cathy not to know the difference between the jar of hair mayonnaise and the jar of shaving cream.

Fortunately enough for all four of them, one of them was smart enough to remember to put the label names on the bottom of the jars.

"Come on, Becca. We have to be on stage in ten minutes, aren't you finished yet?"

Without bothering to answer the question outloud, Rebecca instead just pulled on another strand of Lance's hair--causing him to groan outloud--before pushing her friend out of the styling chair; afterwards saying: "Go tell the artist, formally known as Curly, that he can come in now."

"Yes, Ma'am." Lance spat out bitterly; before bringing his hand up to rub on the uncomfortable areas of his head. Unfortunately not getting that far, because after just one look from Rebecca, he immediately put his hand back down. "I'll go get him now."

After watching the younger man practically run out of the room, Cathy couldn't help but stifle a grin as Rebecca turned towards her, with a questioning eyebrow raised. "What's so funny?"

While shaking her head, Cathy replied, "Nothing." But then after a second or two, she finally asked the question that she'd been dying to ask ever since she had met Rebecca and Lance the day before. "Would it be too personal if I asked how you two came to be such good friends?"

"Not really. Almost everyone who meets us has asked us that exact same question, and I usually tell them-" Rebecca began, only to have to cut her next statement off as Justin came into the room--carrying, a surprisingly sleeping, Kayla. "Consider me stunned speechless."

Knowing that hadn't been what Rebecca was about to say caused Cathy to smirk slightly. But then as she got a closer glimpse of the peacefully sleeping Kayla, in Justin's arms, her facial expression soon turned to one of amusement. "Hmm, she's knocked out. I guess this means that I wont be hearing any Nsync tonight. Sucks for me."

Noting the sarcasm in Cathy's voice, Justin had to chuckle softly before saying, "Don't worry, you'll get your fill of it tomorrow. I forgot to pack Kayla's copy of the concert so I asked David, our video director, to do me a small favor and tape tonight's show for me. Our choreographer, Wade, put in some new steps for us to work with, so it'll be like Kayla's seeing the whole thing over again for the very first time."

Realizing, because of this information, Kayla would want to watch the video as many times as she could, caused Cathy to playfully narrow her eyes at Justin before replying: "I hate you." Causing the younger man to chuckle and Rebecca--who was silently eaves dropping on the two--to roll her eyes in amusement.

"Well, I better get going before the guys start the show without me." Justin said, before gently kissing Kayla on her forehead; and then afterwards placing her in Cathy's arms. "The concert should end around ten or ten-thirty. But either way, I don't really want to take the chance of her waking up to a bunch of loud, sweaty and obnoxious men. So after I take a shower, I'll probably just wait until we get to our first stop and then switch buses, if that's okay with you two."

Knowing that they had more than enough beds on their bus to accommodate both Kayla and Justin, Cathy waited until she had gotten the okay nod from Rebecca before saying, "Sounds good to me. So, I guess we'll see you later, then."

"Not if I see you first." Justin playfully replied back, before walking out of the room; leaving Cathy to raise an eyebrow in questioning as Rebecca stared at her new friend in amusement.

"What?"

After rolling her eyes slightly, Rebecca replied, "Nothing, I was just thinking." And then after another second, she mentally added to herself:

She doesn't even realize it yet.

---

(Milwaukee, WI)

The morning after the guy's first concert, Cathy wasn't really sure what it was that woke her up. It could've been the sun light streaming through the open window beside her. Or the realization that the bus wasn't moving underneath her. Or it possibly could've been the younger man, who was sitting across from her, with his head bowed down in a thick note book.

She really didn't know...but she had a gut feeling that it was the latter.

After sitting up slowly, causing Justin to glance upwards and smile hello at her, Cathy raised an eyebrow in questioning towards her surroundings "How did I get here?"

While a semi blush started to creep across his face, Justin replied: "You and Kayla were both sacked out when I got on the bus last night. And you looked uncomfortable seated up right with her on your lap. So, me being the nice guy that I am, got a few blankets off of one of the spare beds in the back and practically forced you to lye down, with them on top of you, before taking Kayla and calling it a night myself."

Not really knowing how to respond to the very sweet gesture, Cathy instead just mumbled a slight thank you before switching the topic of conversation all together. "You look kind of lost over there, a penny for your thoughts?"

Bringing his attention back towards the book in his lap, Justin nonchalantly shrugged before saying: "It's nothing really. I'm just stuck on a line in this song and don't really know where to go with it next."

Without bothering to think about it first, Cathy replied: "Well, they always say two heads are better than one....maybe I can help you out with it."

As Justin looked up from his notebook, a look of confusion evident on his face, Cathy opened her mouth to say: "Nevermind." But before she could do so, Justin cut her off by passing her the open notebook and softly replying: "It's the one in blue."

After nodding her head slightly, Cathy looked down at the book in her hands and almost immediately regretted her offer to help Justin with the song; seeing as by the first line she could tell it was a very personal one.

And one very much about Debra.

With that thought in mind, even though she knew she shouldn't, Cathy continued to read the lyrics on the page.

 

Beautiful days are long gone, I can't seem to breathe
Feels like a year, has it been that long since you walked away from me
Now, I can try to act real strong but you and I both know I still think of you that way
and you should know that...

 

The beautiful lights, the star filled nights
they don't mean a thing
cuz you are my star so it don't seem right
without you here with me
now I can try to act real strong
but you and I both know its hard for me to say...
you were my soul

Now I could say that I don't love you no more
and I could say that I've closed the door for our love
and I could tell you I'm feeling its time for us to go our separate ways
but baby I just wouldn't be the same, cuz girl your love is still on my brain

Without bothering to read the rest of the lyrics, Cathy silently handed Justin back his notebook before stating: "Theirs no need to add anything else. It's perfect."

While raising an eyebrow at this information, Justin slowly sat back on the other couch and asked, "You really think so?"

After nodding mutely, Cathy responded shortly with: "I know so." Before saying, "I'm assuming that the song is going to be on your guy's next album?"

Adverting his eyes towards the book in his hands, Justin silently noted that he would soon need another one, before saying: "I don't think so. This really isn't a song that I think the guys would feel to much in the studio, if you know what I mean."

Once again, without bothering to think about it before she responded, Cathy replied: "Then why don't you just record it on your own. You know, make a solo CD."

As soon as the words came out of her mouth, a somewhat uncomfortable feeling passed over the room; causing Cathy to realize that she had probably just said the wrong thing at the wrong time.

Once again.

Not knowing what to say at the moment, Cathy quickly stated, after a seconds pause: "Well, with that being said, I probably should go take a shower now. I promised Rebecca, last night, that I'd go out to brunch with her while you guys did your own thing this morning."

"Right on!" Justin replied, afterwards absentmindedly watching Cathy as she got her blankets together and headed towards the back of the bus; leaving him to ponder the words that she had said a couple of minutes ago about a solo deal.

Maybe...you never know.

 

~*~

 

(Johnny V's Classic Cafe)

"Oh, and could I have a coffee instead of a hot chocolate with that......I'll probably need as much caffeine as I possibly can get today."

"Yes, Ma'am." The older man quickly replied, before placing his notepad in the front pocket of his white apron and saying: "I'll be right back with your drinks."

After smiling politely at the waiter, Rebecca turned her attention back towards Cathy and hit the older woman with a confused eyebrow. "So, what were we talking about before we were so rudely interrupted?"

While smirking slightly at the question, Cathy took a sip out of one of the complementary waters they had received, after being seated. Then after a second, she shrugged nonchalantly before replying: "I think you were about to continue on with your story from last night and tell me how you and Lance came to be such good friends."

"Oh..right!" Rebecca sarcastically retorted back; knowing full well that she had not been about to do such a thing. "Well, you might want to sit back and get comfortable because this is going to be somewhat of a long story."

I figured as much.

Waiting until it looked like she had Cathy's undivided attention, Rebecca sighed slightly before beginning her story: "Well, it all started when I was around nine and Lance was about ten. We both had just respectively moved away from our homes and into Clinton, Mississippi and after only being there for about a week and a half, we both started to become ostracized by our entire fourth grade class. Me, because I'm only one part white, and two-thirds Puerto Rican. And him, because he preferred singing in the church choir over having to play sports with the other guys."

Ouch.

After seeing the semi-apologetic expression on Cathy's face, Rebecca outwardly said, "It's okay," before continuing on with her story. "Anyway, I really can't remember all the details of how it began, but one day during lunch, I was sitting by myself in the back of the cafeteria when all of a sudden some skinny looking kid came up to my table and asked me if anyone was sitting in the chair across from me. Of course, I looked at him like he was crazy--seeing as how he looked like he could use a couple of days in the sun--but then after a second's pause, I told him to go ahead and sit down."

"So, it was like friendship at first sight?" Cathy asked, before taking another sip of her water. Causing Rebecca to respond back with, "Not really," before absentmindedly fingering the silver necklace on her neck--which Cathy inwardly guessed was a gift from Lance.

"After he took a seat across from me, we began to have one of the world's most uncomfortable conversations; showing both of us that we literally had nothing in common. And I don't know if it was my secret love for boredom or his ability to be able to sit through some of the most awkward situations on this planet, but it was like every day until he joined Nsync, a few years later, that lunch with him would become a daily routine for me. He'd come in with his bagged lunch, ask if anyone was sitting in the seat across from me, and I would look at him like he was crazy before telling him to go ahead and sit down. It was really strange and still is..but I guess that's how we became to be such good friends. We survived the awkwardness together."

Without bothering to hide the amused expression that soon came over her face, Cathy let a brief second pass between the two of them before saying: "That's really sweet...you two are very lucky to have one another."

"I know." Rebecca softly replied, before gently continuing to finger the necklace in her hands. An action, which caused Cathy to wonder if the younger woman felt more than just friendship towards her best friend.

She wouldn't be the first woman in America that has....and probably wont be the last, either.

"Damn!"

After shaking her head, snapping herself out of her thoughts, Cathy shot Rebecca--who was staring over her shoulder--a questioning eyebrow. "What?"

Without bothering to turn her head away from what was behind Cathy, Rebecca quickly replied, in slight amusement: "I guess Joey and Chris weren't lying when they said Justin had hired you a bodyguard."

"Excuse me?" After turning her head around, Cathy couldn't help but widen her eyes in surprise as she caught Lonnie--the bodyguard who she had briefly met the day before--trying to hide behind one of the restaurant's potted plants. I don't believe this.

"I'm guessing by the expression on your face, that you aren't too pleased by this turn of events. I'm impressed."

Turning back around, Cathy hit the younger woman with a questioning glare, before asking: "Why would I be pleased? I mean...I just found out that the man I'm doing a favor for thinks that I'm so much of a vulnerable woman that he has to go out and hire me a bodyguard. If anything, I should be pissed off right now, don't you think?"

While chuckling softly at the anger evident in Cathy's voice, Rebecca reached for her glass of water and took a small sip of the slightly cool drink, before saying in an amused tone: "First of all if it helps any, from what I've seen and heard so far, I can honestly say that Justin's thoughts of you are the complete opposite of thinking your a vulnerable woman."

The complete opposite?

Before Cathy could open her mouth to ask what that was supposed to mean, Rebecca continued: "And second of all, in reply to your question: Why would I be pleased? Well, to answer that, I'd first have to ask you: Why wouldn't you be pleased? I mean, a man who--I personally know--can care, sometimes, too much about other people, is so worried about your safety on this tour that he goes as far as paying for you to have your own bodyguard. Now, I don't know about you, but if I was in your situation and someone did that for me, the first thing that I would try to do is--not get pissed at him--but thank him for caring about me so much......and then later on--after we've kissed and made up--then I'd curse him out for being somewhat of a chauvinist pig. But remember, that's only after I thanked him."

While slightly laughing at the younger woman's last comment, Cathy couldn't help but nod her head slightly; realizing that the younger woman was right and that she really couldn't blame Justin for what he did.

I guess, even though he went about it the wrong way, I should still thank him for trying to protect me from having to deal with all these reporters...I just wish I knew how.

Unfortunately before Cathy could ask Rebecca for some ideas, the waiter came back with their drinks in hand.

I guess I'll ask her later.

June 6 (Houston, Texas)

"So, have you come up with a way to thank him yet?"

Looking up from Kayla's case file, Cathy couldn't help but sigh in frustration at the knowing look on Rebecca's face.

Here we go again.

It had been a week since she had asked the younger woman for help in figuring out a way to thank the younger man. And if Rebecca's apology--because she couldn't think of anything--didn't help matters, then the younger woman's constant need to ask Cathy--every five seconds--if she had come up with a way yet, was helping her even less.

"No, I haven't....but at the rate I'm going, I think the only thing Mr. Timberlake will be getting from me is a statement that says: I know you've hired me a bodyguard and even though I don't really appreciate the fact that you went behind my back while doing so, I still want to thank you for lessening my chance of a bloody death at your expense. That sounds about right, doesn't it?"

"A little bit morbid, maybe. But yeah, it works for me." Rebecca responded, sarcastically, before smirking slightly and sitting down in the aisle seat next to Cathy. "So, what are you working on?"

Knowing that she probably wouldn't be getting any more work done now, caused Cathy to sigh slightly before saying: "Kayla's inspection form. It'll be two weeks on Sunday, since I did her last one, and I just want to jot down a few more things before that day comes."

After nodding her head slightly, in understanding, Rebecca nonchalantly asked: "So, how long does Justin have until you're finally finished with your inspections and he becomes a fully legal parent to Kayla?"

Without bothering to think about it for a second, Cathy replied: "Well, you can't really say that he's not already Kayla's fully legal parent now. He always was--and from the way things have been going--he always will be. But in answer to your question, my stay on this tour will be ending on July 14; a month from next Sunday. And then, from there, I'll be heading back home."

To fill out a whole bunch of job applications.

With that thought in mind, no longer feeling the desire to work on something--that when she finished--she'd be fired for, Cathy quickly closed the case file in her hands before putting it back in her book bag.

"You know, this sucks, right?"

While raising a questioning eyebrow at the younger woman, Cathy asked: "What sucks?"

"You leaving." Rebecca responded, after a brief seconds pause. "I mean....the guys finally bring me a cool chick to hang out with on tour and you're leaving me two months before we can even call it a wrap. It sucks!"

Not bothering to hide the surprise she felt at the comment, Cathy immediately widened her eyes in shock, before bringing them back down to their normal level and slightly smiling, "I promise you, it wont be that bad. I mean, it's not like you wont be able to call or email me every night from the tour bus complaining about what the guys did to you this time."

"I know." Rebecca replied, while slightly sighing. "But it wont be the same...I mean, even the rest of the crew has said that within a week, they've grown to like you more then they ever liked Joey...which I'm not sure is a compliment or just a statement meant to annoy the heck out of Fatone."

 

Probably both.

 

After slightly smirking at the thought, Cathy let her eyes advert towards the main stage area; where Joey and Chris were playing keep away with Kayla.

If they don't be careful, someone's going to get hurt.

"I wonder who he's talking to."

Without bothering to ask who Rebecca was talking about, Cathy followed the younger woman's line of vision--towards the back stage area--and found herself raising an eyebrow in questioning as her gaze landed on a furiously red Justin, talking on his cellphone. "I don't know..but I'm just glad that I'm not the one on the other end."

"Me too. You don't know how-" Rebecca began, but before she could get the rest of her statement out, a shrill piercing scream was heard from on stage.

"DADDY!"

 

~*~

 

After turning around as the familiar sound of his daughter's panicked screams filtered through the air, Justin felt himself practically growing weak as he saw his baby-girl on the ground with tears coming from her eyes. Shit.

Making his way towards the main stage area, Justin only had enough time to tell Johnny, who he had been talking to on the phone, that he'd call the older man back later, before getting to the little girl--who was surrounded by two of her uncles--and quickly picking her up off the floor.

At seeing the familiar frightened expression on the younger man's face, Joey quickly said: "J, man, I'm sorry. We were just playing a quick game of keep away and she tripped over her own feet and landed on her chin....I'm really-"

Not wanting to hear any more of the man's apologizes, Justin angrily interrupted him with: "Not now, Jo! Save it for later." Before turning around and bringing Kayla back to where he had came from.

After sitting her on his lap as he took a seat on a nearby amplifier, Justin quickly checked underneath Kayla's chin for any bruises, before softly saying: "Kay, open your mouth so daddy can see where you got hurt at."

"No." Kayla immediately replied, while shaking her head. "It hurt."

Feeling his heart almost drop down to his stomach at this comment, caused Justin to blink back the tears that were slowly starting to form in his eyes before saying: "I know it hurts, sweetie. But if you don't let me look in your mouth, it's only going to get worse and we don't want that. So, can I please see?"

After staring at her father's concerned face for a brief second, Kayla reluctantly opened her mouth; showing Justin a small split on her bottom lip.

Shit. Justin thought to himself as he saw a small pool of blood seeping out of the sides of Kayla's mouth. What the hell am I supposed to do now?

As if reading his thoughts, a familiar voice from behind said: "It looks like someone needs some baby Oral-jel and some liquid Ibuprofen."

"Thanks, I-" Justin began, but as he turned around and saw who had suggested the idea, he couldn't help but silently curse under his breath. Shit.

Seeing the frightened look on the younger man's face, Cathy couldn't help but furrow her eyebrows in confusion. But then as a thought hit her, she couldn't help but smirk slightly. He thinks I'm going to write him up for this...which I probably should, but wont.

"I can explain..." Justin quickly began, but before he could get the rest of his statement out, Cathy held up a hand to stop him.

"No need, Mr. Timberlake. I'm not going to report it....I saw the whole thing happen and believe the incident was merely just a toddler being a toddler."

While slightly sighing in relief, Justin replied: "You should report it. I mean, it was my fault. I should've been watching her more closely and not have left her alone on stage with Joey and Chris. I know how rough they can be sometimes...especially when we're all on stage."

Damn, this kid can really be rough on himself and the people around him.

After adverting her eyes towards Kayla, who wasn't crying anymore but instead looked to be wincing at the pain her lip was causing her, Cathy slowly replied: "First of all, Justin, you shouldn't blame yourself for what happened. I mean, from what I saw, the three of them were all laughing and having a good time until Kayla tripped. And second of all, don't take this the wrong way because I'm not saying that you shouldn't be mad at Joey and Chris because they could've been more careful and picked a better setting then the hard stage to play on. But honestly..accidents happen. I mean, I know you probably don't want to hear this, but Kayla is probably going to get about a hundred more bruises and cuts on her body before she reaches the age of 10. And, even though your going to want to, you can't always blame yourself every time it happens..... because if you do, your going to find yourself in therapy before you reach the old age of twenty-five."

Even though he didn't want to, Justin couldn't help but chuckle at the last comment. And then afterwards, realizing that the woman in front of him was right, he couldn't help but nod his head slowly, in agreement. "Thanks."

While smirking slightly, Cathy coyly replied: "No, thank you." Causing Justin to stare at her in confusion.

What the hell?

---

(Eight Twenty-five)

"Um, can you tell me again what we're doing here?"

Looking up from the toddler that was fidgeting around in her lap, Cathy smirked slightly at the frown that she saw on Rebecca's face, before replying: "We're here because Justin promised Kayla that if she took a nap, after he gave her her medicine, then she'd be allowed to come see Nsync perform live tonight."

After slightly nodding at this information, Rebecca replied: "All right, that explains why you're here, but it still doesn't explain why the heck I am."

Without bothering to hide it from the other woman, Cathy rolled her eyes in amusement before saying: "If I have to spend another night watching Mr. Timberlake and the other guys perform in concert, then so do you."

"Whatever!" Rebecca replied, before turning her attention towards the live crowd below her and absentmindedly ignoring the slight chuckles coming from the older woman beside her. "Anyway, I've been meaning to ask you this for a while now: but why do you always call Justin: Mr. Timberlake? I mean, I know that's his name and all, but you keep going back and forth. Why don't you just call him Justin?"

After thinking about it for a second, Cathy replied: "I don't know. I think it's mostly because I'm so used to calling my clients by their last names that the professional side of me wants to call him by that all the time."

While nodding her head, in understanding, Rebecca raised an eyebrow in slight amusement before saying: "Well, if the professional side of you wants to call him that all the time, then what does the personal side of you want to call him?"

Huh?

Not understanding what the younger woman meant by that comment, caused Cathy to furrow her eyebrows in confusion before asking: "What do you mean?"

A question which Rebecca was about to open her mouth to respond to, but unfortunately didn't get a chance to as the lights in the venue went down and the vision of a type writer on the Jumbotron came up.

"I guess the shows about to start."

"I guess so." Rebecca confirmed, with a hint of slyness evident in her voice; something which Cathy would've questioned the younger woman about had Nsync not popped up on stage, a few seconds later, and had Kayla not have begun clapping soon after that.

"I sync!"

After adverting her eyes from the younger woman's laid back form, Cathy quickly stood up, so that Kayla could get a better view of her daddy on stage. "Yeah, sweetheart, that's Nsync. Look at them go."

Dirty pop!

While absentmindly smiling to herself as the guy's and Kayla started to sing, as only they could, Cathy couldn't help but roll her eyes at Justin, who if she looked at close enough, she could tell was smiling and singing in the direction of the V.I.P area; where her, Kayla, and Rebecca were seated in.

Show off!

After watching the guys perform two more songs and laughing at Cathy and Kayla who were dancing around the V.I.P area, Rebecca reluctantly stood up; saying that she hated being the only one seated in their section.

"Sure, that's the reason."

While ignoring the other woman, Rebecca adverted her attention towards the stage where Lance was about to begin speaking, "Uh-oh, here he goes with his speech."

After smirking slightly at the younger woman's comment, Cathy adverted her attention towards the stage as well; finding herself rolling her eyes, once again, at Lance's brief words.

"How are you guys feeling out there......? That's good, because if you didn't know...you guys are at the Pop Odyssey tour and that's the only way you can feel tonight. Now, with that being said, before we can continue on with the next song, me and the guys would just like to send a small shot out to a couple of people in the crowd: Kay, Becca, and Cat. Thank ya'll for coming out tonight and watching the show. We love you."

 

In all of creation
All things great and small
You are the one that surpasses them all
More precious than any diamond or pearl
They broke the mold when you came in this world

 

And I'm trying hard to figure out just how I ever did without ...the warmth of your smile, the heart of a child
That's deep inside, leaves me purified...

While watching the guy's begin the chorus of a song, that she had heard hundreds of times--thanks to Kayla--Cathy couldn't help but think to herself, in amusement:

I guess I have to rephrase my last thought. Justin's not the only show off...they all are.

 

~*~

 

(Twelve Thirty, AM)

After quietly stepping on the girl's bus, Justin silently nodded his greeting to Leon, the girl's bus driver, before heading towards the back of the vehicle; stopping suddenly as he as got towards the middle of it and saw Cathy seated on the bus's pull out couch with a sleeping Kayla in her arms.

Wow.

After silently watching as the older woman gently brushed a curly strand of hair from his baby-girl's face, Justin couldn't help but wonder to himself was this one of the things that Kayla was missing from her life because she no longer had her mother in her life.

Fortunately--and unfortunately--enough, as soon as that thought came, it left as well; replaced by the memory of Debra saying a long time ago that she had to sometimes leave Kayla with the neighbors, so she could tend bar at night; unfortunately not getting back to the small infant until it was well around six thirty in the morning.

With that memory on his mind, Justin inwardly promised himself that no matter what happened, he'd always be home to put Kayla to bed at night, before snapping himself out of his thoughts and clearing his throat, to make his presence known. "Ahem."

Quickly looking up at the clearing of the throat, Cathy couldn't help but blush slightly as she realized she'd once again been caught staring at Kayla, in awe. "Hey..I didn't hear you come in."

Without bothering to make a move towards the little girl in Cathy's arms, Justin made his way towards the kitchen area booth. And after taking a seat on the comfy couch, he--so as not to wake the sleeping Kayla--silently whispered: "I figured everyone was asleep and didn't want to risk waking you guys up."

After slightly nodding her head, in understanding, Cathy raised an eyebrow in questioning at the tired expression, that seemed to be on Justin's face ever since the conversation he had earlier on the phone. "So, what's up? You look like you just swallowed a whole bottle of Tylenol PM's on accident."

While slightly smirking at the comment, Justin let out a low sigh, before running his hands over his fuzzy hair and saying: "It's nothing..I'm just--for lack of a better word--frustrated."

After a second of seeing no sign of the younger man continuing, Cathy raised both eyebrows in a prodding manner before silently replying, "Go on." Causing Justin to open his mouth to do as she asked, but then stop just as quickly; causing Cathy to guess--by his facial expression--why he had done so.

"Don't worry, Justin. Anything that you say in the next couple of minutes will be completely off the record. I promise."

After blushing slightly, Justin opened his mouth to tell the older woman that that wasn't the reason he had stopped talking. But after seeing the knowing expression on Cathy's face, he instead of quickly lying to the older woman, began to tell her the truth. "I talked to Johnny earlier today and he confirmed that, even though him and Doug, our Public relations guy, have been able to keep the reporters at bay for now, I'm still unfortunately going to have to do an interview on Debra and Kayla; whether I want to or not."

Damn.

Not knowing how the younger man was feeling at the moment, caused Cathy to silently whisper an "I'm sorry" before asking Justin what he was going to do.

After letting out another deep sigh, Justin replied: "I don't know. Johnny says that everyone from Barbara Walters to Carson Daly is willing to put me on their show to talk about it. But the thing is, I don't want to talk about it. I mean, it's my life, not theirs, you know what I mean?"

Knowing exactly what he meant, caused Cathy to nod her head, in understanding, before saying: "Did he give you a time limit as to when you'd have to come to your decision on this?"

While nodding his head slowly, Justin replied: "He gave me to the end of the week. Then I'm going to have to either schedule a press conference or look foreword to a bunch of news reporters having my home and cell phone number."

Not believing for a second that the guy's manager would do such a thing, caused Cathy to furrow her eyebrows in confusion before saying: "Is that a threat?"

And after shaking his head No, Justin replied, after a few seconds:

"Knowing Johnny....that's a promise."

June 8, 2002 (Kansas City, Missouri)

After spending almost forty-eight hours thinking about Johnny's ultimatum and talking about it with the guys--who Cathy had practically pushed him into telling--Justin finally came to his final decision early Saturday morning.

I just hope Johnny goes for it 'cause this is all I'm offering him.

With that thought in mind, Justin looked up from the small hotel stationary he was holding, with his manager's room number on it, and began softly knocking on the door in front of him.

"Hold on!" A deep voice, which he could only place as his manager's, yelled groggily from the other side; before the door was opened, a couple of seconds later. "Justin..? Your early!"

After nonchalantly shrugging, Justin waited until Johnny--who was still in his night clothes--stepped to the side, before making his way past the older man and replying: "Yeah, I was up until around three last night and then Kay woke me up at six, so I figured after I gave her her breakfast and gave her a bath, I'd drop by to see you before heading back to sleep....I hope you don't mind."

After shaking his head, as if to say, "I don't mind", Johnny closed the door behind Justin and made his way back into his room. "Judging by the look on your face, I'm guessing you just want to get this over and done with--which I don't mind--so follow me."

Knowing this would be much easier if he was sitting down, caused Justin to follow Johnny further into his room; then after a second, take a seat across from the older man at the kitchen table.

"All right! Let's get down to business."

Easier said than done.

After letting out the deep sigh, which he hadn't even known he'd been holding in, Justin threw his idea out on the table for Johnny to play with. "After thinking about what you said, and talking about it over with the rest of the guys, I've come to the conclusion that--even though Kayla and Debra are no one else's business but mine--I will do what is asked, for the sake of you and the group, and let the TV station of your choice interview me."

A part of him having figured Justin would have told him to fuck off before ever agreeing to talk about his private life with the interviewer of his choice, caused Johnny to blink twice in disbelief, before saying with a slight smile on his face: "I can honestly say that I'm surprised you came up with that decision. It's a smart move."

Not knowing what to say to that comment, caused Justin to nod his head slightly, in agreement, before saying: "Thanks..but theirs one more thing. It's sort of like a compromise."

A compromise?

While furrowing his eyebrows in confusion, Johnny replied: "What is it?" And after licking his lips slightly in hesitation, Justin replied: "In return for talking about Kayla and Debra with the TV station of your choice, I want--at any given time--a one-on-one interview with the TV station of my choice...without any major or minor problems beforehand from you or any of the other guys."

Not really seeing anything wrong with that, caused Johnny to open his mouth to agree with the idea. But before he could do so, a thought struck him. "What TV station did you have in mind?"

Without bothering to pause for a second, Justin replied: "B.E.T"

A statement which caused Johnny to stare at the younger man, in disbelief for a second, before shaking his head, and saying:

"You've got yourself a deal...and a whole bunch of controversy coming your way."

 

~*~

 

(Nine thirty, AM)

"Yo-gee!"

Looking up from the book she was reading, Cathy couldn't help but smile at the excited look on Kayla's face. It was always amusing and slightly refreshing to see how happy the little girl became at the smallest things. I wonder if her father is the same way.

With that thought in mind, Cathy adverted her line of vision, from Kayla's small figure, to the digital clock beside the hotel bed. And when noticing the red lights flashing nine-thirty-two, she couldn't help but absentmindedly frown; realizing Justin had been in his manager's hotel room for the last hour and a half.

I hope everything's going okay.

As if reading her thoughts, not even two seconds later, the door to Justin's hotel room was heard being opened and a half a second later, the tall man was seen stepping through the main kitchen foyer.

"Hey! How'd it go?"

Smiling slightly, Justin waited until he had closed the distance between him and Kayla--picking up the reluctant girl afterwards--before replying: "Better than expected....I agreed to letting Johnny pick the interviewer of his choice and he reluctantly agreed to a couple of my terms as well."

His terms as well?

Even though she was curious as to what sort of terms Justin had, the sight of the man slightly yawning in front of her caused Cathy to reply: "Well, I guess I should say congratulations and then be on my way...I have to start repacking now if I want to be on the bus by three."

Shit.

Realizing he would have to do the same, caused Justin to inwardly curse at his forgetfulness, before replying: "Me too. But..hey! Thanks for watching Kay today. I know how much you value your sleep."

While slightly blushing, Cathy replied: "Don't mention it.....I'm sharing a room with Anna and I rather sit through hours of Yogi the bear with Kayla then have to hear another rendition of JC this and JC that by our very own Morticia Addams."

After chuckling at the guys--minus JC's--nickname for Anna, Justin outwardly replied, "Right on," before absentmindedly watching as the older woman made her way towards his hotel room's door.

Beauty, brains, and a sense of humor. I'm sure she'd make any guy a lucky man.

---

Monday, June 10, 2002 (Denver, Colorado)

"So, man you ready?"

Looking up at the guys--who had came by to support him--Justin nodded his head slightly, before saying: "As ready as I'm going to get."

I just wish they'd hurry it up already.

As if reading his thoughts, John Norris--the MTV correspondent, who Johnny had picked to do the interview--was heard over the telephone speaker saying: "Can you hear me, Justin?" And after nodding slightly and saying a quick prayer of strength, Justin replied: "Yeah, I can hear you."

"Good.....Now, first of all, before I start asking you questions, I just want to thank you for taking time out of your tour schedule to do this interview V.I.A satellite with us. Theirs no doubt in MTV's or my mind that--with what has just come up recently--surrounding your life, that millions of networks have asked for this interview. And it's a pleasure, that out of all those networks, you've chosen us to do it with."

Not really knowing what to say to that statement, caused Justin to inwardly will himself not to roll his eyes in annoyance as he politely said: "You're welcome."

"All right. Now, with that being said, let's start from the beginning." John began, a slight look of determination on his face. "Exactly two weeks ago, at eight thirty AM, an anonymous source from your camp sent us a letter claiming that you secretly had a one year old daughter. Then, not even two hours later after broadcasting the information, your manager, Mr. Johnny Wright, called our station saying that neither he--nor you--had any idea as to who had sent out the information. Then afterwards, he confirmed that until you wanted to speak up about the matter, him and the rest of your camp vowed to remain silent about the situation. Now, what we, at MTV, and the viewers at home want to know is: What's going on? I mean, do you really have a daughter? One that you just did not know about. Or is this just some celebrity rumor that is going around about you?"

After letting out the deep sigh, which he'd been holding in for a while, Justin reluctantly replied: "Fortunately and unfortunately enough, this is not just some celebrity rumor that's going around about me. I do, in fact, have a one year old daughter--one that I have known about since the time her mother was pregnant."

While absentmindedly watching the TV monitor in front of him, Justin could tell that his long time acquaintance was somewhat startled by this information.

And I bet when they broadcast this interview on TRL today, another four million viewers will become startled as well.

"Not to break away from the line of questioning, but what do you mean by fortunately and unfortunately enough?"

As if stating the obvious, Justin replied: "Even though I wouldn't give up my daughter for anything in this world, I would've preferred this new information on my life had been just some rumor that I could've shot down with a simple yes or no answer--instead of some scandal that possibly could get someone physically or mentally hurt."

While nodding his head, in understanding, John replied: "I understand. But speaking of someone being hurt....for a second, I'd like to address the events that took place two Monday nights ago, outside of your home in Orlando, Florida. Now, I'm sure what everyone--whose seen the footage--wants to know is: What are your thoughts on what happened and what actions are being made to make sure the bold cameramen can never do that again to someone else?"

Having had the last two weeks to think about this question, caused Justin to not even hesitate as he replied: "First of all: my thoughts on what happened are basically that it should never have happened. I mean, even if someone is hiding the most deadliest secret from someone else, that still does not give anyone else the right to smash into someone's car and scare a little girl just for a measly exclusive picture. I don't care what the reward is!"

"And to answer your other question--about what actions are being made--well, as of right now, the only thing I can tell you is that I personally have made a few phone calls to the bosses and networks of those six cameramen; telling them that they can expect a phone call from my lawyer--which I might add, they have gotten by now."

After a brief second's pause--where Justin noticed the other guy's giving him a thumbs up, from the corner of his eye--John replied, "I'd like to ask you a couple of questions which our viewers have wrote in wondering about. Is that okay with you?"

While licking his lower lip, slightly in hesitation, Justin replied: "Yeah, ask away."

"The first one is from Ellen, in Connecticut. She wants to know if, given the fact that you have a one year old daughter, does that mean you cheated on Britney--who we all know that you recently just had a split with after being involved for almost a year and a half."

After shaking his head No, Justin replied: "Through out my entire relationship with Britney, I was one hundred percent faithful to her...physically. But honestly, on an emotional level, I think that she was giving me one hundred and ten percent, while I was unfortunately only giving her a total of thirty percent."

"All right...question two comes from Sarah in Minnesota." John began, in his best television host voice, "She wants to know if--since the arrival of your first child--have you shared custody with the mother? And if so, now that the secret is out, will you be asking her for full custody?"

Feeling a slight wave of discomfort wash over him, Justin looked towards JC and Lance who were giving him their best encouraging smiles, before hesitantly replying: "Whereas before, my daughter lived solely with her mother...as of now, due to the unfortunate passing of my ex-girlfriend, I have full custody of my daughter...and if you don't mind, I rather not get into any question's involving her death or my relationship with her."

After staring at the slightly uncomfortable looking man in front of him, for a second, John nodded his head in agreement before saying: "With that being said, I think that wraps up this brief interview."

Letting out a sigh of relief, Justin made a move to stand up and diswire himself, but before he could even touch the microphone on his shirt, John called out: "Before I hang up, I have one more question to ask you...off-record."

Don't they always...

After taking a seat back in his chair, Justin raised a questioning eyebrow before saying: "Shoot."

"I didn't want to mention this before, but a couple of days ago, after I heard you wanted me to do this interview, I was sent a few pictures. And I was just wondering if you and your manager had sent them to me for today's taping of TRL or if it was just from a fan that was at one of your recent concerts."

Pictures?

Not knowing what pictures the older man was talking about, caused Justin to open his mouth in questioning, but before he could ask to see the pictures, the fax machine going off on the other side of his hotel room caused him to look up in confusion.

"One of the producers just faxed you a copy of one of them."

After absentmindedly nodding his head at John's words, Justin shot Lance--who had stood up to receive the fax--a questioning eyebrow; seeing as the older man looked to be in somewhat disbelief.

"What is it?"

Not bothering to answer his friend's question, Lance wordlessly closed the distance between him and Justin--before handing the younger man the picture.

The picture of an oblivious--to the cameras--Cathy heading to the girl's bus--after the guy's Houston show--holding a sleeping Kayla, in her arms.

"What the fuck!"

Without even bothering to knock first, Justin furiously barged into his manager's hotel room and hit the older man who was in the middle of a business meeting with an accusing glare. "Who the hell did this?"

Having not been present for the interview caused Johnny to first shoot the younger man, in front of him, a look of confusion. Then after Lance--who had raced into the room following Justin--handed him the fax that John had sent over, Johnny shot Justin a look of empathy. "I don't know, son...but believe me, we'll find out soon."

Soon?

Not accepting this answer, Justin made a move to take a step closer to Johnny--in an intimidating fashion--but before he could do so, Lance's hand on his chest caused him to stop. "I don't want you to find out soon, Johnny. I need you to find out now."

Even though Johnny knew Justin had every right to be angry at the moment, the tone in the younger man's voice caused the manager to stiffen up greatly. "First of all, let me remind you that I am your manager and not one of your little friends, who you can just get smart to at any time and not have to say sorry for it afterwards....unlike them, I do deserve a little bit of respect from time to time."

"And second of all, as I said before, we will find out soon who is sending all this information to the media...but until then, I suggest you tell your twenty-one year old behind to chill out and to never talk to me--like you just did--again. Got it?"

After continuing to angrily stare at the man in front of him for a second or two, Justin realized that everyone around him, including Lance and JC, was staring at him in concern--probably figuring that the younger man in front of them had finally lost it; which he somewhat had. So after letting out a sigh of frustration, Justin quickly replied: "Got it."

A comment which caused Johnny, after a brief seconds pause, to slightly smirk before saying: "Good...and now that you're little temper-tantrum is over, if you wouldn't mind taking Larry and Moe back to your room so I can finish my meeting with Mr. and Mrs. Westman; the grandparents of the little girl from make a wish foundation--that you guys will be surprising tomorrow, I'd be glad to talk to you about this situation later."

"Fine..." Justin started to begin. But as his manager's words caught up to him, he couldn't help but immediately stop; inwardly thinking to himself: Make a...? Oh shit.

After turning his full attention towards the kitchen table that was in the middle of Johnny's room, Justin couldn't help but slightly blush as he noticed--to his embarrassment--that the two people who were looking at him in concern weren't business promoters behind the guy's tour. But rather yet, a middle aged couple who had stopped by to talk to Johnny about their granddaughter's special surprise. "I-uh...just wanted to stop by and say that it's a pleasure doing business with the both of you."

"Yeah, me too." Lance and JC both agreed; causing Johnny to roll his eyes in amusement before saying: "All right, now that that was said, could you guys please go and embarrass yourselves somewhere else right now?"

A question which neither one of the three men bothered to answer as they simultaneously blushed once more before following their manager's silent orders and leaving the room; Johnny's amused eyes following behind them each step of the way.

"Those guys..I can't live with them and I fortunately enough can't kill them."

 

~*~

 

"Mom, I know I haven't been home in almost six months. I just have been really busy lately with-......no, mom, I'm not trying to make up excuses, I really have been busy lately with-.....you can even ask Lance....no, we're not dating.....no, I don't need you to play match-maker....mom....mom....you're not listening!...Mom!....For gods sake, Mother! Listen to yourself!.....okay, I'm sorry for yelling at you. You can set me up on a date with whoever you want to when I come see you in two weeks, all right?"

While absentmindedly adverting her attention from the bottom of the bed, where Kayla was busy playing with the Yogi the Bear that Justin had bought her over the weekend, Cathy couldn't help but slightly laugh as she noticed Rebecca mouthing the words: "Kill me now."

"All right mom, my battery is about to die, I'm going to have to go now....no, I probably wont get a chance to call you back tonight. I have to head to the venue in a couple of hours....yes, I do realize that family is more important than work, I just-....you're right mom, I'll call you as soon as I finish doing my last head for the night, all right?...Love you too, bye, bye."

After pressing end on her cellphone, Rebecca fell back on her bed and let out a muffled scream in her pillow. "I swear, as much as I love that woman, she will be the death of me."

While slightly laughing at her friend's overly dramatic words, Cathy replied: "Aww, I'm sure it's not that bad. She probably just misses you and is excited that you're coming home to visit her."

"Please! You don't know my mother.....believe me when I say that the only thing on her mind right now is getting me home so she can bomber me with questions like: Have you been eating lately?, Are you sure that you haven't gotten any plastic surgery done?, When are you finally going to settle down and get a boyfriend? And let's not forget her most infamous one, which she uses every time I invite her to come out on tour with us: Have you and Lance had sex yet?"

A question which I'm sure has been on everyone's mind atleast once or twice before. Cathy inwardly thought to herself, before replying outwardly: "I'm sure she's not that bad."

A comment which Rebecca would've jumped on had their not been a knock at the door.

"That's probably Justin."

"I figured as much!" Rebecca outwardly replied, before quickly standing up and making her way towards the main room's door; afterwards opening it to find Lance and a slightly blushing Justin behind it. "What in God's name happened to you two?"

Without bothering to answer the question, Justin quickly stepped past the older woman--making his way towards Kayla and leaving Lance to be the one open for interrogation.

"Care to explain?"

Waiting until after Rebecca had closed the door behind him, Lance slightly shrugged before replying: "Let's just say things didn't go too well."

While furrowing her eyebrows in confusion, Rebecca asked: "What happened?"

A question which caused Lance, who figured this was something Justin should answer, to turn his attention towards the younger male; giving him the floor.

Figures he couldn't just lie for me.

After sighing slightly, Justin placed Kayla gently on his lap and replied: "Nothing happened...John asked me a few brief questions, I answered them as honest as I could, and then JC, Lance, and I went to speak to Johnny in private....the end!"

Given the slight anger that was heard in the younger man's voice, Cathy--who had been quietly listening to Lance and Rebecca's conversation--figured their was probably more to the story than Justin was letting on. But since she could tell he didn't want to get into it right now, she figured this would be a good time to switch conversations.

"Well, while you were stuck in your interview, you missed a rather interesting conversation between mother and daughter."

Before Justin or Lance could ask what Cathy was talking about, Rebecca--realizing what the older woman was trying to do--replied: "My lovely mother just called informing me that she recently booked me a round-trip ticket to Mississippi; which leaves on the twenty-fourth and doesn't return until the sixth or seventh of July."

"Damn!" Lance replied; eager to get off of the Justin subject as well. "I guess that means JC and I will have to fend for ourselves in the hair department....feel free to stay in Clinton as long as you have to."

After rolling her eyes at the statement, Rebecca opened her mouth to let out a retort. But fortunately enough for Lance, Justin interrupted her.

"Speaking of mothers, that reminds me.." The younger man began; before turning his attention towards Cathy for the first time since he entered the room, "My mom called last night and said that she got a good deal on a flight out from Memphis tomorrow. But since the guys and I have a make a wish thing at twelve, I wont be able to pick her up from the airport.....so, do you mind taking Kayla and going with Lonnie to pick her up? Her flight doesn't land until about one..one thirty."

Without even bothering to think about it, Cathy quickly agreed to picking Lynn up; before asking how long the older woman planned on staying.

"Just for a couple of weeks." Justin replied, before moving his gaze downwards to watch Kayla play with the lone watch on his wrist. "She just wants to check in and make sure that Kayla and I are still doing okay...you know, with everything that has been going on lately."

While slightly nodding her head in understanding, Cathy couldn't help but inwardly ask herself while watching the father and daughter in front of her:

Who could blame her?

---

(Tuesday, June 11, 2002)

"If you two don't mind, I think it'd be a lot easier if I went in and got Mrs. Harless while you two stayed here and kept an eye on Miss. Kayla, okay?"

Figuring the bodyguard knew better than she did, Cathy waited until Rebecca silently shrugged her response before outwardly agreeing and watching as Lonnie made his way towards the entrance of the airport.

"You know, I can't even remember the last time I was in the same state as Lynn."

After turning her attention away from the window she was looking out of, Cathy threw a questioning eyebrow at Rebecca who was perched in the passenger seat. "She was just in Orlando visiting Justin a couple of weeks ago."

"I know.." Rebecca began; while flipping on the jeep's radio, "but thanks to my best friend and his need for me to join him out on the road, I was too busy trying to make sure I still had three months worth of hair supplies to even think about stopping by to say hello."

"I see." Cathy replied, while absentmindedly thinking to herself that it was odd hearing Rebecca refer to Lance as her best friend--even though everyone on tour knew that's what the two were to one another.

I guess it's just interesting hearing her say that since half the time she acts like he's nothing more than her own personal sparring partner while the rest of the time she acts as though he's her annoying older brother.

"Here they come..."

Snapping out of her thoughts, Cathy followed Rebecca's line of vision towards the sidewalk in front of the truck where Lonnie and Lynn were quickly heading towards them--two bags in each one of their hands.

"Whoever said women tend to pack too much stuff obviously had Lynn Harless in mind when coming up with that quote."

After smirking slightly at the comment, Cathy leaned past Kayla, who was sitting quietly in her car-seat, and opened the door on the other side of the truck.

"Thanks." Lynn replied, before telling Lonnie she could hold the bags she was carrying and sliding in on the other side of her granddaughter. "So, how are you two girls doing?"

"Good as can be." Cathy replied, while watching Lynn shut the door beside her and turn towards Kayla with a comical expression on her face. "How about you?"

"Couldn't be better..except for the fact that I'm so hungry I could eat a horse right now." The older woman joked, before turning her attention towards Lonnie--who had just stepped in the jeep--and saying: "Oh kind and most handsome bodyguard, please tell me that you know of a great restaurant or fast food spot near here...if so, I'll make sure that my son and his friends will forever be in your debt."

After sharing a small chuckle with Rebecca and Cathy, Lonnie jokingly replied: "That's okay, him and the rest of the guys already are in my debt. But don't worry I'll take you to a great place anyway....it's right up the street from here."

"Thank God!"

 

~*~

 

Trinity Grille (15 minutes later)

"Hmm, the all-you-can-eat Mississippi Catfish meal is only five dollars a plate...I guess it's a good thing the boys couldn't make it. They would've had a field day with this one."

"Who are you telling?" Rebecca chimed in agreement; after taking a short look at the large menu in front of her. "I'm still recovering from the last time the guys and I went out to an all-you-can-eat buffet...I swear I don't know who needs the bibs more: Kayla and Brianna or Joey and Chris."

After sharing a small laugh with both Rebecca and Lynn, Cathy turned her attention towards the little girl beside her who--after covering her mouth unsuccessfully, so that the other women at the table couldn't hear--told everyone that she had to go potty.

"Okay Kay...just hold on for a second." Cathy mockingly whispered back, before taking the small girl out of the booster seat that the waiter had seated her in and making her way towards the ladies restroom; throwing over her shoulder as an afterthought: "We'll be right back."

"All right...." Lynn replied, before turning her attention back towards Rebecca as soon as Cathy and her granddaughter were out of hearing distance: "So now that the misses is finally gone, how about you tell me how she's really coping with my overprotective son and his caffeine-addicted friends....? Any breakdowns yet?"

Knowing that Lynn could be just as nosey as she was caused Rebecca to slightly laugh to herself before responding back with: "Interestingly enough, not yet that I know of...she actually looks like she's enjoying herself here. The crew and I like her and I know all of the guys and Kayla do as well."

"And how about my son...does he like her?"

To anyone else that question might've sounded innocent enough, but after being around Mrs. Harless for more than a few months at a time, Rebecca knew exactly what the older woman was asking. "Sometimes I'm not really sure...they both try to act like nothings going on between the two of them besides a business relationship. But then their are times when I wake up in the middle of the night and catch Justin on our bus watching Cathy and Kayla sleeping on our couch. And that makes me wonder if theirs something there that neither one of them realizes yet, if you know what I mean?"

"I do." Lynn commented after a second of thinking about it. "But I also know that my son is a very attractive man and Cathy is a very attractive woman and when those two types of people cross one another anything can happen."

"Very true." Rebecca replied back, after taking a small sip out of her glass of water, "But until that something happens, what do you think we all should do about it?"

Spotting Cathy and Kayla coming from the ladies room in the corner of her eye caused Lynn to slightly smile at the pair before turning her attention back towards Rebecca and silently replying: "We do what we've been doing all along...we sit back and enjoy the show."

A comment which Rebecca responded back with:

"Hmph...that's easier said than done."

Thursday, July 3, 2002 (Pasadena, California)

 

To say that Justin's relationship with Kayla has grown immensely in the past two months would be a huge understatement. In my personal opinion, the relationship between Mr. Timberlake and his daughter Kayla Wellson has grown well past any expectations that I had set out for the real life pop-star. And fortunately enough for me, I was there to witness the entire thing.

After rereading the entire paragraph that she had just jotted down, Cathy couldn't help but slightly frown at her use of words. This sounds more like the opening of a bad romance novel than the closing of a case file.

With that thought in mind, she quickly scribbled over the last couple of sentences that she had just written down and then started over from the top; unfortunately not getting very far before she was interrupted by a familiar voice.

"Is this seat taken?"

After looking up to see who had asked the question, Cathy couldn't help but let a smile cross her face.

It had been almost three and a half weeks since Lynn had arrived on the tour and--besides the one time when her, Lynn, and Rebecca went out to lunch--Cathy couldn't remember getting more than two words out to the older woman before Lynn was rushed off by Chris and JC; who seemed to be vying more for the older woman's attention than Justin was.

Well, almost more...that boy sure does love his mama.

With that thought in mind, Cathy quickly snapped out of her thoughts and retorted: "It is now," causing Lynn to respond back with: "Thanks," before taking a seat in the empty stadium chair next to the younger woman.

"So, I haven't seen you around much today, what have you been up to?"

Besides tearing my hair out...? Nothing much. Cathy inwardly replied, before outwardly responding back with: "Kayla's last inspection is coming up soon so I've been trying to gather all my notes together for my closing statement."

"Oh..." Noticing that the entire paper on Cathy's lap had scribbling all over it caused Lynn to raise an eyebrow in amusement before asking: "And how is that one going?"

A question which Cathy couldn't help but sarcastically respond back with: "What..? You didn't see the trail of hair I left coming down this aisle?"

After sharing a small laugh with the younger woman, Lynn let her eyes drift towards the stage in front of her. And after a second of watching her son and his friends carefully play with her granddaughter onstage, she couldn't help but smirk slightly as a question popped into her head. "Do you ever think about having kids of your own one day?"

What..?

Not knowing exactly where that question had come from caused Cathy to stare at the woman beside her in confusion for a second. But after realizing that Lynn wasn't going to say anything else until she answered her question, Cathy reluctantly responded back with: "I used to...I mean, a long time ago before I started this job, I wanted to somewhat prove to my foster parents that I could do a better job of raising a child than they could. But right now, I think my mindset is more focused on helping the children out there--who need families--than on starting one of my own."

Seeing the look that Lynn was giving her from the corner of her eye caused Cathy to quickly continue with: "But don't get me wrong. If, I one day stumble across someone that I'm more than willing to spend the rest of my life with--and him and I decide to have kids--I'd be more than willing to welcome the child into my heart with open arms...especially if the child is anything like Kayla--and I'm not just saying that because she's your granddaughter."

"R-rright!" Lynn jokingly responded back, before deciding that she had enough information for now and could change the subject. "You know I sometimes still can't believe that my baby has a baby."

While following the older woman's gaze towards the stage where Justin was playing peek-a-boo with Kayla, Cathy couldn't help but inwardly admit to herself that Justin didn't look like any baby to her, while outwardly responding back with: "I'm sure most parents feel the same way whenever they see their children with their kids. It just takes some time getting used to, I guess."

After slightly nodding her head in agreement, Lynn jokingly replied that she figured it would take her a lifetime to get used to it, before letting out a small sigh and standing up from her seat with a somewhat forlorn expression on her face. "Well, I better go rescue my son from another round of peek-a-boo so he can get back to his sound-check and you can get back to Kayla's case file....talk to you later?"

"If you can get away from Chris and JC...sure, why not!" Cathy jokingly replied, causing Lynn to playfully roll her eyes in response, before turning around and heading towards the venue's stage area; throwing over her shoulder as an afterthought: "See you later."

"Not if I see you first."

---

Saturday, July 6, 2002 (Las Vegas, Nevada)

"So, when did you say you guys are heading back this way?"

As if she was a robot, Cathy let out a low sigh before sarcastically retorting: "For the forty-fifth time in the last ten minutes, we'll be back in Orlando next Sunday, got it?"

After sarcastically laughing at the comment, Robert--Cathy's younger brother--replied back with: "Ha, ha, very funny, smart-ass. But I meant what time are you guys heading back this way....Ryan told me to ask because he has a special surprise for you. And just between me and you, if any of your new little pop-star friends are even thinking about bringing you home, you better make sure that they don't easily get sick at the sight of bright colors. 'Cause knowing Ryan, I'm sure he's going to have this place filled to the brim with bright pink fluorescent birthday streamers."

Without even bothering to hold it in, Cathy let out a small giggle at that image. If she knew her brother's boyfriend as well as she thought she did, she figured she wouldn't put it pass him to do such a thing.

Unfortunately before she could tell Robert that said fact, the sound of a door opening behind her caused Cathy to turn around and inwardly groan at the sight of her roommate Anna entering their room. Just one more night of Miss--JC this and JC that--and I'll be back where I belong; bunking with Rebecca.

After throwing Anna a fake smile, Cathy quickly told her brother that she had to go. "But I'll try and call you back after tonight's concert, okay?"

"All right..I'll be here." Robert nonchalantly replied, before saying his good-byes and hanging up with the older woman; interestingly enough, just seconds before Anna could start in with her prying.

"Sorry if I interrupted your conversation..was that your boyfriend?"

Not wanting to get into that conversation with the older woman caused Cathy to quickly respond back with: "No, that was my younger brother. I was just calling to check up on him before I went to find Justin and Kayla....you didn't happen to see them in the lobby on your way up here, did you?"

If Cathy didn't know any better she could've sworn Anna had rolled her eyes at the question, but a second later the petite woman's--too sugary sweet for Cathy's taste--smile was back on her face. "No, but I did see Justin's bodyguard out in the hallway. So, I'm guessing if you're looking for those two you might want to try Justin's room first."

"All right, thanks." Cathy quickly responded back, before making her way towards the door of their room; calling over her shoulder, as an afterthought, "I'll see you later."

"All right...have fun!"

Without even bothering to wonder what Anna meant by that comment, Cathy continued to make her way outside of their room and down the hallway towards Justin's room; which, just like Anna had said, Mike--Justin's bodyguard--was standing in front of.

"Well, look who finally decided to show her face...I started to get a little worried when you didn't come with Justin and I to the airport to drop off Mrs. Harless."

Knowing that the older man was just teasing her caused Cathy to jokingly respond back with: "Well, I can't follow Justin and Kayla everywhere they go....that would be doing your job."

"And besides, I figured that Lynn had been around all of us too much already these last couple of weeks and should just have some much-needed time alone with her son and granddaughter, if that's okay with you."

While chuckling at the younger woman's comebacks, Mike jokingly responded back with: "That's defiantly okay with me," before throwing out that Kayla and Justin were inside and that he'd talk to her later.

"If you must." Cathy sarcastically commented, before playfully winking to tell Mike that she was just kidding and afterwards stepping inside Justin's room; finding Kayla seated on one of the beds, by herself, watching TV--while hugged up with her Yogi the Bear teddybear.

Justin must be in the bathroom.

With that thought in mind, Cathy closed the door behind her--getting Kayla's attention--and then spoke up with: "Whatcha' watching?"

"Deters lap-Tory." Kayla quickly responded back, before turning her attention back towards the TV screen in front of her; opting for Dexter and Dee-Dee over any conversation started by Cathy.

She reminds me so much of Robert sometimes.

"Who are you talking to, Kay?"

Snapping out of her thoughts at that comment, Cathy looked towards the right--where the voice had come from--just in time to see a dripping wet Justin coming out of the bathroom with nothing but a towel on.

Oh my god..

After noticing that Kayla wasn't the only one in the room with him, Justin couldn't help but absentmindedly pull his towel closer to his body while inwardly chuckling at the expression that was written on Cathy's face.

Bright reds an interesting color on her.

With that thought in mind, Justin nonchalantly asked: "Hey, I didn't hear you come in...you've been here long?"

A question which--a now, somewhat nervous--Cathy was about to respond back to. But fortunately enough, before she could do so, Kayla interrupted her with: "Bring lion?"

After meeting an oblivious Kayla's gaze, Cathy tried to piece together what the one year old had asked her. And after a second of thinking about it, she finally realized what the little girl had said: "No, sweetie, I forgot The Lion King back in my room...but I'll go get it and be back in a couple of minutes, okay?"

Knowing that the latter part of that conversation was directed more towards him than towards Kayla caused Justin to once again have to hold back his chuckles and then, even more so, as Cathy quickly turned around--not meeting his eye--and made her way out of their room; throwing over her shoulder before the door slammed shut: "Be back in five!"

I just bet you will!

 

~*~

 

After closing the door to Justin's room, Cathy took a second to try and shake the image of a half-naked Justin out of her head--to, interestingly enough, no avail. And then after finally getting herself slightly composed, she made her way back towards her hotel room; ignoring Mike's confused stare along the way.

God, if Anna's still in here, please just let me be able to find the movie and go..I can't take any of her questioning right now.

With a hopeful look on her face, Cathy slowly opened the door to her room and then inwardly cursed when she noticed that Anna was still there.

But atleast she's on the phone. So, their still may be a chance that I might be able to sneak in, get the movie and then sneak out without her being any of the wiser.

With that being her last thought, Cathy quietly placed the door up against the frame so it wouldn't shut behind her. And then--just as quietly--she quickly picked up The Lion King from the night stand that she had accidentally left it on and then turned to leave, but stopped as she realized she might be forgetting something else.

"Girl, you wouldn't believe how good of a kisser JC is. If I would've known that man could work his tongue like that, I would've hooked up with him a long time ago."

If their is, I can just come back for it later. Cathy inwardly told herself after hearing Anna's last comment.

"No, we haven't done it yet, but I know it wont be too long now. I've got JC wrapped around my little pinkie finger."

Someone's a little full of themselves.

Not wanting to hear anymore, Cathy made her way back towards the door but stopped in her tracks as Anna's next comment filled the room:

"I know! He doesn't even have a clue as to what I did to Justin...I mean, c'mon, even at one point I thought he had figured it out: one week he confesses to me about Justin's little biracial child and the next second it's all over the papers. You'd think he'd be smart enough to put two and two together. But it just goes to show you how stupid men can be."

What the..?

Turning back around, Cathy couldn't help but throw daggers at the woman in front of her.

Wait a minute...all this time everyone's been practically pulling their hair out trying to figure out who keeps giving undisclosed information to the media and all this time it's been her?

After listening to Anna brag to her friend about how stupid JC was for a couple more minutes, Cathy's mind went back to the night a couple months ago when Kayla was in her truck; screaming because she thought someone was trying to hurt her.

And with that thought in mind, she outwardly screamed: "You bitch!" Causing the woman in front of her to turn around startled and drop her cellphone in surprise.

"Cathy..! I didn't hear you come back, are you okay? You don't look so good....is Kayla all right?"

Going by what the woman had just said to her friend on the phone, Cathy didn't believe for one-second that Anna really cared about Kayla's well-being or the well-being of anyone else on the tour--besides herself. So, without thinking about the repercussions she'd receive for her actions, she quickly closed the distance between herself and the woman in front of her and--just as quickly--punched the petite brunette dead in her eye.

"Daddy, loud!"

After turning off his electric razor, Justin stepped out of the bathroom and looked towards the bed where Kayla was still seated--a slight frown on her face.

"I know it's loud, sweetie. But if I don't shave now, your daddy will be walking around tonight looking like Yogi the bear. And we don't want that, now do we?"

After thinking about it for a second and shrugging her shoulders slightly, Kayla replied: "Like Yo-gee," before turning back towards the television screen in front of her; opting for Cartoon Network over her daddy's brief conversation.

Kids...

Heading back towards the bathroom, Justin made a move to flip the razor back on but stopped when a piercing scream was heard through the room. "What the fuck?"

"Daddy!"

"I know, I know..! A no-no." Justin absentmindedly replied as he quickly threw on his clothes from before and hurriedly made his way to the room's door.

After opening it all the way, he furrowed his eyebrows in confusion as he noticed JC, Joey, and Lance--whose rooms were across from his--coming out of their rooms with identical looks of confusion on their faces, as well.

"What the heck was that?"

After simultaneously shrugging, the four men stayed where they were standing; waiting for some other sound to occur and two seconds later, they got what they wanted as a loud banging noise was heard two rooms down.

"Sounds like its coming from Cathy's room." Joey replied, causing Justin to immediately grow worried.

"Lance, watch Kayla for me?"

After nodding slightly, as if to say okay, Lance let his door close behind him--as he made his way towards Justin's room--while the other three men made their way towards Cathy's.

Finding the door to the girl's room slightly opened, Justin grew more concerned. So, without even bothering to wait for Mike, who was quickly making his way towards the guys--from the ice machine down the hall--Justin opened the door in front of him only to find Anna pinned to the floor with Cathy on top of her; looking to be practically strangling the life out of the other woman.

"What the hell?"

Not knowing exactly what to do, Justin watched on in shock as Anna reared her neck back and spit in Cathy's face; causing the younger woman to wince slightly before making a move to swing. Fortunately enough, for Anna's sake, JC and Joey--who had both quickly snapped out of their shock--pulled Cathy away from the somewhat bleeding woman before the punch could even graze their back-up dancer's face.

I don't believe this..

With that thought in mind, without even bothering to wait until Anna had fully stood up, Justin outwardly asked: "What the hell is going on?" And after not getting anything besides two out of breath pauses, the younger man turned to his left--meeting Cathy's eyes. "Cat...?"

Without turning her angry glare away from Anna, Cathy heatedly replied: "I came in here to get your movie and caught her on the phone telling one of her little girlfriends how she's the one whose been telling the press about Kayla."

At this comment, Justin quickly turned his now angry eyes on Anna and practically growled: "You did what," causing Anna to dramatically roll her eyes, before haughtily replying: "She's honestly lying. I mean.....you know I wouldn't do anything like that, right Josh?"

With all eyes on him, the oldest man in the room opened his mouth to tell Anna what he really thought. But interestingly enough, before he could do so, Anna interrupted him; knowing her boyfriend wouldn't give her any support at all. "Fuck it...I did it, okay...? Are you happy now?"

"I will be in a second." Cathy remarked, before lunging towards Anna once again. But fortunately being pulled back by JC and Joey before she could do any more heavy damage.

"That's enough, Cathy!" Justin yelled, before getting in between the two women and sternly asking the older woman to calm down; causing Anna to slightly smile and Cathy to look at him in disbelief.

"She puts me and your daughters life in danger and you're telling me to calm down...? Am I the only one seeing something wrong with this?"

Knowing exactly where the older woman was coming from, Justin took another step in front of Cathy--blocking her view from Anna. And then afterwards, calmly whispered: "I know she put yours and Kayla's life in danger and for that I will make it my mission to make her life a living hell. But if you don't hurry up and calm your temper down, you could end up doing something that will make your life a living hell as well. So, I suggest you just take a deep breath and go wait for me back in my room. Kayla's in there with Lance, so you can vent to him about your feelings until I get back there, okay?"

Even though a part of Cathy wanted to stay there and continue going at it with Anna some more, she knew Justin was right. So after a seconds pause, she reluctantly responded back with the word: "Fine..," and then afterwards--while ignoring the smug look on Anna's face--she quietly made her way out of the room; leaving JC, Joey, Justin, and--the now present--Mike to handle the situation, alone.

After waiting until Cathy had fully made her way out of the room, Justin turned his attention back towards the woman standing beside him and braced himself slightly before saying: "I'm not going to stand here and yell at you for what you did, because that wouldn't solve anything.....but can you please just explain to me one thing. And that's why you did what you did?"

Without even a seconds pause, Anna rolled her eyes once more before stating in a bored tone: "Isn't it obvious, Justin.. ? I don't like you. Hell, I can't even stomach you. You think people should just bow down to your ass because you're the Justin Timberlake. Mr. Nsync. But I've got news for you, the world doesn't revolve around you or your nigger 'lovin ass, so just grow up!"

This girl better be so glad that Cathy left because I would make her hit her for that one.

With that thought in mind, Justin tensely replied: "If that's the way you want it," before turning around--causing JC and Joey to look at him in confusion--and make his way out into the hallway; throwing over his shoulder, as an afterthought, to Mike. "I want her gone from this tour by the end of the night...I don't care how you do it or when you do it, just get her off of it by tonight. Got it?"

"With pleasure, J." Mike quickly responded back, before silently watching on as the younger male made his way back down the hallway and towards his hotel room with Anna's racist words still hanging in the air.

Something tells me this is going to be one very long night.

 

~*~

 

(Midnight)

After quickly changing out of his stage outfit and hopping onto the guy's tour bus--which would take him and the rest of the guys back to the MGM grand hotel, where they'd all be staying for the rest of the weekend--Justin found himself trying to fight sleep as Kenny--the guy's bus driver--carefully made his way down one of the many lit up streets of Vegas.

Must stay awake...

Any other night, Justin would've just let the smooth sounds of the bus's tires--hitting the gravel beneath him--lull him to sleep, but not tonight.

Earlier on after his conversation with Anna, he had been so busy trying to explain what was going on to a confused Lance, that by the time the older man got caught up to what was going on, it was already time for the guys to head to the venue for sound-check; which meant that the conversation that he just knew he was going to have to have with Cathy would have to wait until later on.

Much later on, Justin figured a half-n-hour later, after quickly stepping foot inside his hotel-room only to be greeted by the sight of Cathy lying fast asleep on one of the two queen sized beds; Kayla's small body halfway on top of hers.

I guess we can talk about it in the morning. Justin inwardly thought to himself, before heading towards the bathroom--quietly getting ready for bed--and then afterwards, just as quietly, making his way towards the other bed in the room; hoping not to wake the two women beside him.

"Hey...I didn't hear you come in."

Too late.

While bringing his line of vision back down towards Cathy's face, Justin had to fight with the little bit of light--that they had in the room--to meet the older woman's sleep-filled gaze. "Yeah...you and Kay looked to be knocked out, so I didn't want to disturb you."

Without even bothering to outwardly respond to the comment, Cathy silently watched on as Justin made his way towards the bed she was lying on; taking a seat beside her and Kayla after a small second of thinking about it.

"Rough day, huh?"

With a slight smirk on his face, Justin jokingly replied that she didn't even know the half of it. And then afterwards--while studying the scratch marks that were still on Cathy's cheek, from before--he hesitantly asked: "How's your face?"

A question which caused Cathy to quickly respond back with: "Looks worse than it feels," before absentmindedly turning her attention towards the little girl in her arms and reluctantly continuing with: "I was hoping I'd still be awake when you got back. I wanted to talk to you about before...."

Even though Justin wanted more than anything to just go to sleep right now, he knew that they needed to have this conversation. So, without another word, he mentally told Cathy that he was listening.

All right...here goes nothing.

"After Kayla fell asleep, I spent a couple of hours trying to figure out what I was going to say to you when I saw you again. And the only thing that I came up with is that: I know that I was in the wrong and that I shouldn't have interfered. But after hearing Anna go on and on about how easy it was to leak all the information to the press about Kayla, I just couldn't help but get angry; which, as you can tell, causes me to think irrationally at times...so, with that being said, I apologize for letting my anger get a hold of me."

That wasn't so hard.

Even though Justin knew--from Cathy's silence--that she was waiting for him to either yell at her or accept her apology, he knew he couldn't do either. Instead, after a couple of seconds, he replied: "Apology not accepted." A statement which caused Cathy to look at him in confusion and even more so when he continued with: "Cathy, I didn't want you to apologize....you have no reason to. Anna deserved more than what you did to her and I'm sure that if Rebecca was here, she would have gotten more than what you gave her."

Knowing that Justin was right caused Cathy to slightly smirk at the comment, but then after thinking about what she was smiling at, she quickly responded back with: "Justin, that still doesn't make it--"

"Right..? I know." Justin quietly interrupted, so as not to disturb Kayla. "It doesn't make it right--and I'm not trying to condone violence by saying this--but she deserved what she got. And if you didn't do it, I'm sure you-know-who would have, so don't beat yourself up over it....if anyone should be apologizing, it should be her and we both know that's not going to happen anytime soon, so don't feel bad about it. Hell, none of us, besides maybe JC, do."

Damn...I had almost forgotten about him.

"How's he holding up?"

While letting out a small yawn, Justin tiredly retorted: "C's hurt, but I think he sort of knew that Anna's turning over a new leaf wasn't going to last very long, so he'll live....unlike me, if I don't head to bed soon."

After glancing over at the clock on the night-stand table next to her, Cathy inwardly cursed when seeing that it was going on one in the morning. "Wow, I didn't realize it was that late...you guys have to be up in six hours. So, I better be heading back to my room."

That feat being easier said than done given the fact that Kayla was still lying on top of her.

"A little help here?"

Seeing the problem, Justin slightly chuckled to himself before playfully retorting: "Sorry, no can do! My daughter's gotten into this bad habit that whenever she's moved in her sleep, she wakes up and wont go back to bed until you watch atleast forty-five minutes of Yogi The Bear with her and I'm not up for it tonight; which means you'll be bunking with us."

Any other night, Cathy would've protested the idea and made Justin come up with a way to help get Kayla off of her. But given the fact that she had had a long day and was--at the moment--too tired to even move, she figured what the hell, and simply responded back with a sarcastic: "Thanks."

A comment which Justin was about to jokingly respond back with a sarcastic "Anytime." But interestingly enough before he could do so, he was quickly reminded of the last time that he had heard the woman in front of him thank him.

It had been when Kayla had hurt herself while playing with the other guys on stage and Justin had thanked the older woman for keeping him cool when he thought he was going to go crazy.

And that's not just the first time that she's stopped me from doing that.....she's practically been there for me every step of the way since Debra died.

With that thought in mind, Justin silently began remembering all of those times that Cathy had been there for him in the past.

She was there to give him pointers when he realized that he had no idea how to raise a child. She was there to listen to him vent when everyone in the world wanted to know more about Kayla--and he just wanted to take his baby and go run away and hide. And not only was she there to stop the media from taking pictures of Kayla a couple of months ago outside of his house in Orlando. But she was also there to stand up for him and Kayla when they had all found out that it was Anna who had been causing the media to want to know everything about his daughter these last couple of months.

If anyone should be getting any thanks around here, it should be her, not me.

With that thought in mind, Justin quickly snapped himself out of his thoughts and responded back with: "No...thank you."

A comment which caused Cathy to stare at him in confusion for a second. But then after noticing the genuine look of regard that Justin had in his eyes, she couldn't help but let a small smile take over her face while nonchalantly retorting: "Don't mention it."

---

The next day (July 7, 2002)

After receiving a phone call from Justin's manager--telling her that Anna wouldn't be filing a lawsuit against her, because of the fact that she was just as much in the wrong as Cathy was--Cathy met up with a very missed Rebecca; who had finally came back from her trip to Mississippi.

"It's so good to have you back."

"It's so good to finally be back."

After helping the younger woman get settled into the hotel room that they'd be sharing--and bringing her up to speed on what had been going on these last couple of days--the two semi-stressed out women made their way towards the hotel's private pool; hoping to get some sort of rest and relaxation before they had to head towards the venue in a few hours for the guy's sound-check.

Which I probably wont even be going to unless I finish Kayla's closing statement by three.

With that thought in mind, Cathy let out a small sigh; one which Rebecca immediately picked up on.

"So, what's up with the long face..? Don't tell me you're still upset about giving Anna a black eye?"

Like hell I am. Cathy inwardly responded back, before shaking her head no; an action which caused the younger woman beside her to ask: "Then what's wrong?"

Should I tell her?

Even though Cathy knew she could just lie and say that nothing was wrong and that she was just tired from not getting enough sleep the night before, the fact that she hoped to continue staying in touch with Rebecca after she left the tour caused Cathy to honestly respond back with: "Next Sunday's my birthday."

"O-kay....?" Not seeing any reason why the older woman should be depressed about that fact caused Rebecca to furrow her eyebrows in confusion while responding back with: "That's great....we'll all be in Orlando then, so we can all go out and celebrate."

Yeah, cause me being out of a job is a great thing to celebrate. Cathy sarcastically thought to herself, before outwardly stating: "It's not such a great thing since Sunday's also my last day working for my job....my boss told me two weeks before I got here that I might as well just clean out my office because once my time here is done, I'll unfortunately be unemployed."

"What...? Why?" Rebecca asked, while sitting up slightly; knowing there was no way she could become relaxed after hearing this.

Knowing that, for personal reasons alone, she couldn't tell the younger woman beside her the real reason he had fired her caused Cathy to hesitantly respond back with: "It's a long story...but all I know is that if I want to even think about getting another job in the same field as I am now, I'll need to find a lawyer to go over my closing contract by the end of this week."

Figuring that once Rebecca heard that information, she would probably say that that sucked and that she hoped Cathy could find a lawyer soon caused Cathy to brace herself for such. But interestingly enough, instead of hearing those words coming from the younger woman's mouth, she was surprised to see a small smile appear on Rebecca's face before hearing her quickly reply: "Well, why didn't you just say so in the beginning....? Follow me!"

Huh?

 

~*~

 

If anyone would've told her that a half-n-hour after grabbing Kayla's case file and her closing contract from her hotel room, Cathy would be sitting in Lance's hotel room watching on as the younger male went over the files--in question--with a fine toothed comb. She would've told them that they were crazy and should probably go see a shrink. But interestingly enough, that's exactly what her and Rebecca were doing at the moment; watching on as a confused Lance silently went over form after form with a nonchalant expression still on his face.

We're just wasting our time here..he probably can't even read contracts.

As if reading her thoughts, Lance quickly looked up from the page he was viewing and swiftly replied: "Well, after reading this, all I can say is that it was a good thing you didn't sign it."

Or maybe he can..

With that thought in mind, Cathy quickly asked: "Is it that bad?"

A question which caused Lance to let out a slow sigh before tiredly responding back with: "I'm not going to lie to you, Cat...it's worse than that."

Shit.

"Basically your boss has drawn up a contract stating that--because of your supposed inability to work in a professional manner--after you finish this last assignment that you're working on, you are not only fired from the position that you're in. But also prohibited from filling out any applications that the department of social services hands out to you for atleast another two to four years..."

Dammit, I just knew that sneaky bastard would do something like this.

Not wanting Rebecca or Lance to see the anger that was building up inside of her, Cathy calmly replied: "Well, besides not signing the contract, is there anything else I can do to stop this from happening?"

Figuring Cathy would ask that, Lance quickly replied: "There is one thing...you could go to court over it. But the only way you'd win the case--and get him to make another ending contract for you--would be if you could somehow turn the tables on him and make it look like he was the one who was being unprofessional in the workplace, not you....is there anyway you could do that?"

Hell yeah...and I wouldn't even have to lie about it.

With that thought in mind, Cathy quickly replied: "Would me filing a sexual harassment suit do the trick?"

Without even bothering to think about it, Lance slowly nodded his head, as if to say yes, and then afterwards replied: "But only if you have hard-core evidence of it happening--your word against his might not work. You're going to need something more, maybe like a videotape."

I don't even think Keith has video-camera's installed in his office--let alone in our companies building.

While thinking about all those times--after she had called it quits with him--that Keith had made inappropriate gestures to her, Cathy couldn't help but frown at the fact that only one of those gestures could ever hold up in court--and that was the one that no one besides her, Keith, and her brother knew about. Which would mean that I'd have to get up on a stand and talk about it, wouldn't it?

"Cathy?"

After snapping out of her thoughts--only to realize that both Rebecca and Lance were waiting for an answer to Lance's unasked question--Cathy inwardly told herself that she needed to stop hiding behind the truth and then quickly responded back to the younger man's question with: "Well, I don't have any videotapes...but I do happen to know of a good doctor that has a copy of my medical records."

"Huh?"

Seeing the confused looks on both Rebecca and Lance's face caused Cathy to first let out a slow sigh and then afterwards outwardly reply that she might as well start from the beginning.

"About a year and a half ago, after I started working for Mr. Murphy, we began a brief affair...I say brief, because once I found out he was married, I quickly cut it off."

Not wanting to see the shocked expression on Lance and Rebecca's faces caused Cathy to quickly move her line of vision down to the floor as she continued.

"Anyway, about four weeks later, I found out I was six weeks pregnant with his child and after a couple of days of thinking about it, I decided to keep it....unfortuantly though, about two months into my pregnancy, when I finally started showing, Keith--that's my boss--cornered me in my office and asked me if it was his. I told him that it was and he said that I knew what I had to do. I was confused at first, but then he said if I wanted, he would give me the name of the doctor that had performed all of his wife's abortions."

"What an asshole!"

Without even bothering to acknowledge Rebecca's comment, Cathy--as if it happened yesterday--absentmindedly continued with: "I told him that I had planned on keeping it--which lead to this huge argument; one which ended with him saying either I got rid of it or he would get rid of me...unfortunately, I miscarried two weeks later and ever since then he's been trying to find a way to fire me."

"That bastard."

After a couple minutes of silence between the three of them, Lance realized that Cathy wasn't going to go on any further, so he quickly cleared his throat and then hesitantly responded back with: "Well, I think that's more than enough to build a case around--if not one for sexual harassment, then one for wrongful termination...so, if you let me, I'd like to hold on to your contract until we get back to Orlando and then show it to my lawyer when we get back home. Is that all right with you?"

While quickly blinking back the couple of tears that wanted to come down her face--when discussing what happened a year ago--Cathy briefly nodded her head, as if to say yes, and then afterwards silently asked: "So, what should I do until then..? I mean, Keith wants the contract on his desk as soon as my inspections done--which will be as soon as we get to Orlando, Sunday morning."

Having known she'd also ask him that, Lance--without pausing for a second--quickly responded back with: "Going by your contract, it's going to take Steve--my lawyer--a little bit of time to go through it and then come up with a way to handle it. So, my advice for you is to just ask your boss for an extension on this inspection and then come back and tour with us until Steve has had a chance to do some investigative work--he'll probably want to do a criminal background check on your boss to see if anything like this has happened before---which should probably only take a few weeks tops."

"So, basically what you're saying is that she'll be here for the rest of the tour?"

Noticing more than a hint of hopefulness in Rebecca's voice caused Lance to throw a confused look her way while replying: "Probably...the tour ends in six weeks, so that should not only give Steve enough time to build a good case against Cathy's boss. But also give the three of us enough time to find Cathy another job before she steps off this tour."

What..?

Even though Cathy wanted to argue that they didn't have to do that for her; given the fact that Lance was already doing so much for her now--just by showing her contract to his lawyer. Going by the look on both Rebecca and Lance's face, she knew they wouldn't take no for an answer, so instead of protesting, she instead just quickly thanked the both of them for what they were doing for her and then afterwards, outwardly voiced her concern over what to tell Justin.

"I don't really want a lot of people knowing about this aspect of my life, but I think Justin has a right to know that my staying here--for a couple more weeks--is just a way to prolong me getting fired. So, how do you think I should tell him?"

Having known Justin for a long time, Lance knew that his younger tour mate would find someway to blame this one on himself--given the fact that Cathy's boss hadn't found a way to fire her yet until Justin had brought his idea to her. So, with that thought in mind, he quickly responded back with: "For now, don't tell him anything...just let Justin think that you are still inspecting Kayla and that your boss wants you to stay on till the end of the tour so he can get a better feel on the relationship between her and J. Then after Steve goes over everything and talks to you about it, Becca and I will both be more than willing to help you tell him."

Even though Cathy realized this would mean that she'd have to start lying to Justin--something that she really didn't want to do--she knew that the longer she kept this just between her, Rebecca and Lance, the longer it would be before she'd start receiving pity looks from others, besides the two of them. So, with that being her final thought, she reluctantly responded back with: "Okay." And then afterwards--while noticing the digital clock on the bedroom's nightstand--she quickly stood up from her seat and commented that it was already going on three and that she promised she'd watch Kayla for a couple of hours while Justin went and kept an upset JC company.

"But thanks again for helping me out here...it really means a lot to me."

Without even bothering to pause for a second, Lance threw Cathy a genuinely friendly smile while jokingly singing: "That's what friends are for."

An action which caused Rebecca to dramatically roll her eyes while sarcastically mumbling: "Now, you've gone an started an 80's flashback...I hope you're happy."

Even though Lance and Rebecca were now too involved in their usual sparring contest to notice anything else. After silently laughing at the two in front of her, Cathy honestly threw back, "Now, I think I will be, " before making her way out of the room--one last thought still in her head:

God, if those two aren't meant for one another, I don't know who else could be.

July 14, 2002 (Orlando, Florida)

After spending the majority of her week trying to come up with a good way to tell Justin that she'd be joining him once again on tour the following week, Cathy couldn't help but become surprised when the younger man beat her to the punch right before she could do so. "I talked to Lance this morning and he said that your boss wants you to stay on tour with us till the end of it."

I guess Rebecca's not the only one who hasn't realized yet that I like to wait until the last minute to do things.

With that thought in mind, Cathy quickly replied: "Yeah, I was going to talk to you about that last night when you got back from the venue, but you looked like you were about to die from exhaustion, so I let you."

After chuckling slightly at the comment, Justin made a right turn onto the street that Cathy's apartment complex was on and then afterwards replied: "I really appreciate that....but is there any reason why he said he wanted you to stay on the tour?"

All right, Cathy, just remember what Lance told you to say and we're home free.

"He mentioned something about wanting to get a better grasp on the relationship between you and Kayla. And also, wanting to make sure that you can really handle touring and raising a child at the same time...but I think he's just being overly cautious as usual. So, you don't really have anything to worry about."

While taking her big white lie as the truth, Justin commented that it seemed like her and her boss had the same ideas in mind when it came to kids and that he--like Cathy--probably wanted to make sure that every abandoned child had a good family to go home to at the end of the day.

Not wanting to even think that her and her boss had the same beliefs in mind when it came to kids caused Cathy to inwardly reply, If you say so, before turning her attention towards the passenger side window; raising both eyebrows in surprise when she noticed her apartment building up ahead. "Oh my god!"

"What...? What's wrong?" Justin asked, while pulling up to the curb outside of her apartment.

When not getting anything but a disbelieving "I can't believe he actually did it" comment in response, Justin followed the older woman's gaze outside his car--and up four stories--to where someone had placed a big pink banner on top of their balcony, with the words: "Welcome home, Miss. Jones...Happy twenty-fourth birthday," painted on it.

"Well, someone in your family is a little festive....why didn't you tell me it was your birthday?"

After quickly unbuckling her seat-belt and commenting that no one in her family was--as Justin called it--festive, Cathy absentmindedly replied: "I don't really like to make a big deal about it.....while growing up, Robert and I felt lucky if our foster parents remembered our names, let alone our ages, so neither one of us really takes our birthdays into consideration. We both just see it as another day on God's green earth--unlike my brother's boyfriend Ryan who sees it as a day for us to step outside of our little small box and do something wild and crazy just for fun."

Even though Justin wanted to ask Cathy what her idea of wild and crazy was, the feeling of a set of eyes on him caused him to instead respond back with: "Is it just me or do you get the feeling that we're being watched?"

Figuring he was probably right, Cathy quickly turned her head towards her apartment's balcony window just in time to see her brother and his boyfriend quickly ducking down to the floor. "I guess that's there silent way of telling me it's time to come inside."

"Very discreet." Justin jokingly commented, before making his way outside of the car--getting Cathy's bags out of the trunk--and then afterwards asking: "Do you need any help making your way up the stairs?"

Knowing that Kayla--who was back at Justin's with Mike--was probably almost awake now and Robert and Ryan were probably just waiting for her to bring Justin upstairs--so they could interrogate him--caused Cathy to quickly respond back that she was fine. "But thanks for the offer."

"Don't mention it." Justin commented, before saying that he'd see her later and getting back into his car; afterwards speeding off just as quickly as he had sped up to the place.

One day that boy is going to get pulled over by a cop. And knowing with his luck....they'll probably just ask him for an autograph instead of his license and registration number.

With that being her last thought, Cathy playfully rolled her eyes and then swiftly made her way towards her apartment building.

After opening the main door and taking the elevator up four floors, she was only somewhat surprised when--after opening the door to her apartment--she was met with Ryan and Robert lying on the sofa couch; pretending like they hadn't been spying on her a couple of minutes before.

"Cat, you're home early! I thought your plane didn't get in until eleven."

I don't even know why they bother lying...they both know there worse than me at it.

With that thought in mind, Cathy playfully rolled her eyes at the two men in front of her and then afterwards replied: "Nice try Ry, but Justin and I both saw you two spying on us outside."

After waiting until Cathy had put her bags down on the floor beside the couch to give her a welcome home hug, Ryan shot her a playful glare while replying: "I'll have you know, we weren't spying! We were just trying to see if Mr. thrustin-Justin is as cute in person as he is on TV.....well, atleast that's my excuse. We both know that your brother was just being nosey as usual."

While slightly laughing at the comment and at the way her brother replied that he was not being nosey--while scooting over slightly so her and Ryan could both have some room to sit down on the couch--Cathy couldn't help but inwardly think to herself: It's so good to finally be home.

A thought which she somewhat reconsidered when Robert spoke up again.

"So, what...? Your little friend thought he was too good to help you upstairs with your bags?"

Knowing that would be one of the first things out of her brother's mouth when she got home caused Cathy to open her mouth to tell him that Justin had offered to help her with her bags, but she'd turned him down. But unfortunately before she could do so, Ryan cut in with: "Don't pay him any mind, he's just a little bit bitter because I wouldn't let him help me make your welcome home sign."

Not wanting anyone to think that that was the reason why he was--as Ryan called him--bitter, Robert quickly replied: "No, I'm relieved about that...I don't want anybody giving me credit for that thing out there." A statement which caused Cathy to slightly laugh, but then quickly sober up as Ryan hit her with a small glare. "Sorry!"

"As you should be..." Ryan quickly responded back, before taking a small sip out of the sprite can in front of him and then afterwards--as if nothing had happened--genuinely smiling while saying: "So...don't keep us waiting. How was your trip?"

You mean: before or after I got into a fist-fight with the spawn of Satan?

Knowing that would cause more than a bit of confusion--given the fact that she hadn't told Robert or Ryan about the Anna situation, yet--caused Cathy to quickly reply: "It was interesting, to say the least. I met a lot of really nice people and got to visit a couple of very interesting places---and the guys were more than accepting of the fact that I was there; which made my job a whole lot easier, if you know what I mean."

Understanding exactly what she meant caused Ryan to say just that and then afterwards continue with: "We're just glad you had fun!"

A comment which Robert surprisingly enough agreed with. "But now that you're back home, everything can finally go back to normal again."

Figures their had to be a second part to that statement....I just wonder what he's going to think when I tell him the news.

With that thought in mind, Cathy--figuring their was no better time than the present to tell them--let out a low sigh before reluctantly saying: "Actually since you brought it up...there's something that I wanted to talk to the both of you about."

"Uh-Oh!"

Any other day, Cathy probably would've laughed at Ryan's comment, but given the fact that her brother was now hitting her with a raised eyebrow, she figured this wouldn't be a good time to even try and crack a smile.

"All right...we're listening. What's going on?"

Knowing that both Ryan and Robert were now expecting the worse to come out of her mouth, Cathy--decided to not even bother beating around the bush--and quickly replied: "I'm going back on tour with them Wednesday."

"What?"

Figuring that would be Robert's first response, Cathy quickly continued on before the younger man could say something that they both knew he'd regret later on: "Wait, before you get mad, just let me explain..."

With that being said, Cathy swiftly started the story from the beginning.

She told them about how she went to Keith's office asking him if she could just join Justin on tour for the next two months instead of flying out to see him every two weeks; causing Keith to give her his permission and also her ending contract, in return. Then she told them about how, after waiting a while, she told one of her close friends on the tour--who took her to see Lance; who had fortunately enough taught himself how to read contracts after getting a bum deal in the beginning of the guy's career. And then she finished the story by telling them about how she had told Justin that Keith wanted her to stay on the tour longer; just so she could prolong the inevitable of her getting fired, and hopefully, build a good wrongful termination case against the bastard (who they all knew as Mr. Murphy).

After she was finished, a good fifteen minutes later, Cathy wasn't that surprised when the first comment out of Robert's mouth was:

"Why didn't you tell me any of this before..? I could've already found you a lawyer, gotten you a court date, and all of those little friends that you made out on the tour wouldn't have been any of the wiser."

Even though Cathy knew that he was right and that she should have told her brother sooner, she couldn't help but defend herself: "I was going to tell you after Keith gave me the contract, but then you kept going on and on about how I shouldn't take the job--and how it was only going to hurt me in the long run--that I decided I wanted to prove you wrong. And then, I wasn't really even sure if Keith had put anything in my contract that would cause this to happen, so I didn't want to get you all upset over nothing."

After taking a second to ask if Cathy was actually serious or not, Robert angrily stood up and replied: "For God's sake Cathy, how oblivious can you be...? Of course Keith was going to put a clause in your contract. You said so yourself that he's been trying for months to find a way to get you fired. So, what made you think that he wouldn't try and find a way for you not to be able to get another job in social services.....? That's just the kind of guy he is!"

Very true...I should've known better.

Interestingly enough, before Cathy could tell Robert that said thought, Robert quickly threw his hands up in the air and continued with: "But you know what..? I honestly don't even know why I bother telling you all of this because as you just said: you do things just to prove me wrong....so, you know what I'm going to do from now on? I'm just not going to say another word about this or any other little mess that you get yourself into. That way, you wont find a need to go out and do something stupid--just to prove me wrong--and I wont have to spend another five minutes of my life arguing with you--just so you can see how stupid you're being. That's exactly what I'm going do...I'm done!"

Without even bothering to wait and see if Cathy was going to say anything in return, Robert angrily made his way out of the living room and towards the back of the apartment; slamming the door to his room as soon as he got to it.

Well, that went a lot better then I expected it to.

Feeling a set of eyes on her, Cathy slowly met Ryan's worried filled gaze and then--after a brief second of wondering if she really wanted to know the answer to it--she outwardly asked if Robert hated her or not; a question which Ryan immediately shot down.

"Of course not, Cat. He loves you.....! He's just worried that you don't need him around anymore."

What?

Not expecting that answer to come out of the younger man's mouth caused Cathy to furrow her eyebrows in confusion, before quickly asking: "What do you mean he's worried that I don't need him around anymore?"

Knowing that he had probably said too much already, Ryan let out a small sigh before checking to see if the door to Robert's room was still closed. Then after seeing that it was, he continued with: "All right, don't tell him I told you this, but....for the last couple of months, Robert's been sort of feeling a little down in the dumps. He thinks that because of what happened to you last year, you are starting to become a totally different person now and you and him are growing miles and miles apart--and he doesn't know how to stop it."

Huh?

Noticing the look of confusion on Cathy's face, Ryan continued with: "It's kind of hard to explain, but from what I've gathered: up until a year ago--when you had the miscarriage--Robert and you basically told one another everything that was going on in each other's lives. But then after the whole Keith thing, you didn't really want to talk about it, so you threw yourself into your work; which Robert was okay with, at first. That is, until recently, when he discovered that you might be moving on with your life but still not including him into any of it....you get what I'm saying?"

I think so.. Cathy inwardly replied, before outwardly saying everything that Ryan had just told her and then afterwards summing it up with: "And the reason why he just yelled at me now is because I told two people--that I have only known for a couple months--something, not only important, but something that I hadn't even tried to tell him yet; which makes him feel like we're just growing that much further apart that much faster?"

Even though it wasn't really something to get excited over, Ryan couldn't help but quickly clasp his hands together while replying: "Exactly! Now, you just have to go and talk to him about it."

A feat which was probably going to be easier said than done.

How can I talk to him about this when I never even knew I was doing it to him.....? I can't believe he didn't say anything about it to me--but knowing me, I probably wouldn't even have listened if he had.

Noticing the far away expression on the older woman's face caused Ryan to quickly snap his fingers in the air; getting her attention.

"Sorry." Cathy replied, before standing up--with a somewhat guilty expression on her face--and quickly replying: "I think I'm going to go unpack."

Hopefully by the time I'm done, Robert will be out of his room and ready to listen to about two-hundred of my apologizes.

Knowing that this was probably a lot to take in right now, Ryan quickly nodded his head in understanding before quietly watching on as the woman in front of him quickly picked up her luggage off the floor and hesitantly made her way towards her room--stopping only for a half a second outside Robert's door before continuing down the hallway again.

Afterwards, Ryan turned his attention back to the magazine he had been reading before his boyfriend's sister had came in. And after turning back to the page he had been previously viewing, he outwardly retorted:

"I knew I should've listened to my mother when she said those Jones kids were crazy."

 

~*~

 

(Three p.m.)

After spending the rest of the morning unpacking two months worth of clothing and then repacking two months worth of clothing, Cathy finally gave into her stomach's plea of food and made her way towards the kitchen; where interestingly enough Robert was, at the moment, making himself a sandwich.

Why am I not that surprised to find him in here?

She had pretty much been holing herself up in her room ever since she'd dropped the bomb on her brother that she'd be going back on tour Wednesday. And the fact that as soon as she left her room, she ran into Robert, caused a small smirk to play across Cathy's face. I guess it's true what they say....God does work in mysterious ways.

With that thought in mind, Cathy reluctantly made her way further into the room; hesitantly taking a seat at the kitchen bar just as Robert outwardly questioned if she'd like him to make her a sandwich or not.

"Yes, please." Cathy hesitantly retorted, before letting out a small sigh and then slowly delivering the speech that she had made up--in her head--a half-n-hour ago. "Look, before it gets to the point where I'm spending the entire weekend walking on eggshells around you, I just want to apologize for not telling you earlier about what was going on with me, Keith, and the tour. I know that you, more than anyone else, should've been the first one I told about being fired, but I guess a part of me was kind of embarrassed and didn't really know how to tell you about it without being scared that you'd give me one of your infamous I told you so speeches in return....I'm sorry."

After pausing in his motions to stare at Cathy for a second, Robert outwardly wondered how long did it take his sister to come up with that apology. And after watching her throw him a confused stare while hearing her admit that it had taken her a good thirty minutes, Robert couldn't help but sarcastically comment that he could've came up with a better one in ten; causing Cathy to dramatically roll her eyes while jokingly calling her brother a "Jerk."

Waiting until after he had finished chuckling, Robert let out a small sigh before saying, in absolute seriousness: "I'm sorry that you had to apologize to me and that you felt you couldn't tell me what happened between you and Keith...though, I really don't know if I can blame you."

Huh?

"I mean....I know that I react strongly at times and that I'm known for saying the wrong thing at the wrong time--especially when you're concerned. But I do it because I care about you and I can't stand to see you get hurt over and over again by the same person. It just breaks my heart...but I want you to feel that you can be able tell me things without fearing that I'm going to make you sit through one of my infamous I told you speeches. So from now on, if you can try and let me in a little on what's going on with your life, I'll try and work harder on not being so judgmental in the future--even if that means that I'll have to sign up for kickboxing classes at the gym to let out my frustrations about you, deal?"

Even though she found herself laughing at that last part, Cathy wasn't that surprised when she felt tears coming to her eyes as she agreed with her little brother's terms. "You know, you always did know how to make me cry."

After slightly laughing at the comment and playfully pointing out that even though his apology only took him a brief two minutes to come up with, his still got more of a reaction than hers had, Robert passed Cathy one of his infamous bologna and cheese sandwiches; afterwards proclaiming: "That'll be two dollars and fifty cents, please."

"Checks in the mail." Cathy outwardly replied while going in for a bite, but unfortunately having to stop as someone began knocking on their apartment's door. "Expecting someone?"

"No...that's probably just Ryan. He went to the store and forgot his key again."

I go away for a couple of months and he has a key now...? Cathy opened her mouth to ask, but seeing the dont-you-dare look on Robert's face caused her to only laugh to herself while getting up from the bar and making her way towards the door.

At this rate, by the time I come back next month, all of my stuff will probably be sitting on the front lawn while all of Ryan's belongings will be laid out across the apartment's floor.

With this thought in mind, Cathy quickly opened the door to her apartment, ready to give Ryan a telling off, but interestingly enough before she had a chance to do so, she had to stop herself as she realized that it wasn't Ryan standing in front of her, but someone else much younger than her. "What are you doing here, Justin?"

"I, uh....just stopped by to drop something off for you."

After a second of waiting for him to show her what he was dropping off, Cathy--realizing why the younger man was nervously looking down both ends of the hallway, as if someone was following him--swiftly invited Justin in, before any of her neighbors could come out of their apartment and see him standing there. "Sorry about that...I forgot who you were for a second."

"It's okay." Justin replied in semi-amusement, while stepping inside the medium-sized apartment. "I didn't interrupt anything, did I?"

Before Cathy could tell him that he hadn't, a familiar voice, from behind her, replied: "Only family bonding time," causing Cathy to dramatically roll her eyes while introducing Justin and Robert to one another. "Justin, this is my brother, Robert...Robert, meet Justin."

"Nice to meet you." The two men simultaneously responded back as they reluctantly shook hands with one another.

"So, Justin, what brings you around this neighborhood?"

Here we go again..

Even though Justin was nothing more than a client and somewhat of a friend to her, Cathy wasn't that surprised when Robert started giving the younger man the third degree. Her brother was known for doing it whenever a male would stop by looking for her.

You would think he was the older sibling in this relationship, not me.

"I just stopped by to drop this off for Cathy." Justin nervously replied, while looking at the older woman for some assistance. "It looks like JC and I were the only ones who weren't aware of the fact that it was your birthday today."

While reluctantly taking the pink bag that was in Justin's hand from him, Cathy slightly blushed while saying: "You guys didn't have to get me anything...I told you: I don't really like to make a big deal out of my birthday."

Figuring the faster he told Cathy why he was really there, the faster he could get out of her brother's line of vision caused Justin to quickly reply: "I know, but we were hoping you'd make an exception this year 'cause me, Rebecca and a couple of the guys want to treat you to an all expenses paid night of drinking, dancing, and clubbing at Roxy's night club."

All expenses paid...?

Even though that idea did sound tempting and she really didn't have any plans for the night--besides pretending not to notice when Robert and Ryan started cuddling on the sofa--Cathy couldn't help but say: "I don't know...I'm really not in the mood to go out tonight."

A statement which caused Justin to mockingly shrug while replying: "Okay, suit yourself. But Rebecca told me that if you didn't agree to come with us tonight, you'd officially be her new guinea pig come Wednesday morning, when she tries to come up with new hair styles for JC."

After wincing at the memory of the look on JC's face when he got his hair done the week before, Cathy quickly replied: "What time should I be ready?"

A question which caused Justin to slightly chuckle while replying: "I'll pick you up at ten."

That should give me enough time to eat, sleep, and shower. Cathy inwardly thought to herself before telling Justin that he had a deal and quickly showing him to the door so that he could finally get away from Robert's intimidating stare.

"All right, see you later, Cat."

"Not if I see you first, Justin." Cathy playfully replied back, before shutting the door between her and the younger man and turning back around; meeting her brother's emotion-void eyes. "What's wrong?"

Without even bothering to sugarcoat it, Robert nonchalantly replied: "I don't like him."

A comment which caused Cathy to dramatically roll her eyes, while playfully asking:

"And why am I not that surprised?"

---

(Later that Night)

Just as he had said, Cathy watched on from the curb outside as Justin pulled up in front of her apartment building at ten o'clock on the dot.

"Hey, you didn't have to meet me out here.....I would've came up."

While opening the passenger side door to Justin's somewhat new candy apple red Viper, Cathy quickly replied back that she figured that he would have. "But I also figured that you would rather meet me out here than have to go through another one of my brother's interrogations inside."

"You are correct." Justin half-jokingly responded back, before waiting until Cathy had closed the passenger side door next to her--and securely fastened her seat-belt--before putting his car back in drive and speeding down the road, towards the club; where they were scheduled to meet everyone else at in thirty-five minutes.

"So, did your brother give you a time that you had to be home tonight?" Justin half-jokingly asked after a couple of minutes of purely comfortable silence between the two of them.

Without even bothering to turn her attention away from the passenger side window, Cathy let a small smile grace her face as she sarcastically retorted: "No, but I'm pretty sure Kayla gave you one, smart-ass."

After chuckling slightly at the comment and reluctantly admitting that he had to atleast be back home by three-thirty to rid his manager of his baby-sitting duties, Justin flipped on his car's CD player; causing the smooth sounds of Brian McKnight to fill the car until they pulled up to the side entrance of Roxy a half-n-hour later.

It's going to take us forever and a day to get in there. Cathy inwardly thought to herself as she got out of the car and saw the huge line of people forming outside of the place. We probably wont even be able to make it inside until around midnight.

As if reading her thoughts, Justin waited until he had locked the doors of his car before quickly replying: "Don't worry, we're not taking that entrance. Mike's waiting for us in the back."

I guess that is what they mean by star treatment. Cathy inwardly thought to herself, before following Justin towards the back of the club; where, true to his word, Mike was waiting for them by the back door.

"Everyone here already?"

While opening the door to the club, Mike playfully retorted: "Everyone but you and the birthday girl." Causing Cathy to wonder exactly how many people knew it was her birthday.

Knowing Rebecca, she probably told everybody on the goddamn tour.

After letting out a small sigh and snapping herself out of her thoughts, Cathy figured she might as well make the most of the night and absentmindedly followed Justin through the back entrance of the club and then upstairs towards, what she guessed was, the V.I.P area.

As soon as she got there, Cathy was surprised to find herself in Rebecca's arms. "Hey, it's about time you got here! I thought I was going to have to dance by myself."

Knowing from previous conversations with Rebecca that she wasn't a big fan of night clubs and that she somewhat hated to dance caused Cathy to open her mouth to ask what had changed the woman's opinion on the fact. But before she could do so, the sight of Lance in the corner of the V.I.P room with his arms around, who she guessed, was his girlfriend Amber caused Cathy to instantly know what had happened.

I guess he forgot that he had a best friend tonight.

With that thought in mind, Cathy turned her attention towards Justin--who had also noticed the exchange--and playfully rolled her eyes at him as the younger man shouted the words: "Have fun!"

"Don't worry, we will!" Rebecca quickly responded back, before taking Cathy's hand in hers and dragging her back out of the V.I.P room and downstairs to the main dance floor; just as Happy by Ashanti started to play throughout the club's speaker-system.

"God, I hate this song." Rebecca commented before somewhat proving her previous words false by pulling Cathy closer to her and moving her hips to the beat.

Jealousy thy name is Becca. Cathy inwardly commented to herself while trying to keep up with Rebecca's determined hip movements; a feat that was much easier said than done she soon realized as another song came on and Rebecca moved, if possible, a little bit faster.

"Don't look now, but I think Justin's about to come over and join us." Rebecca stated four songs later--which in normal people time meant fifteen minutes later; causing Cathy to smile.

As soon as Justin joins us, I'll be able to slink away from the dancing machine and try and persuade Lance into sharing one dance with Rebecca so she can hopefully have somewhat of a good night tonight--or atleast act like herself, for a change.

Unfortunately though, a minute later, as Cathy turned around to see what was taking Justin so long to join them, a small frown had to cross her face as she noticed that Justin wasn't heading towards them anymore but was strangely enough in the middle of the dance floor, dancing with some miscellaneous leggy blonde.

Is that girl even allowed to be in here...? She looks like she's barely even a day over sixteen.

Noticing that Cathy was barely even moving right now caused Rebecca to follow the older woman's line of vision--towards where Cathy was staring at--and immediately forget that she was trying to make a certain Nsyncer jealous when she realized that it was Justin who the older woman was watching: Ha, I finally caught her.

Without even bothering to hide the smirk that was on her face, Rebecca nonchalantly replied: "Don't worry, that's just Becky, Kelly's younger sister. She sometimes watches Kayla for Justin when Kelly isn't able to."

"Oh." Cathy opened her mouth to respond back. But just as the word was about to slip past her lips, she realized what Rebecca had just said and turned her attention back towards the younger woman with a confused frown on her face. "What...? Why would I be worried?"

While dramatically rolling her eyes at the other woman's previous comment, Rebecca replied: "Come on, Cat..it's me Rebecca, you're talking to---the one who can read everyone's mind.....! It doesn't take a genius to realize that the word jealous is clearly written all over your forehead right now."

Jealous?

After taking a second to outwardly wonder if Rebecca had had too many Armoretto sours before she had arrived there, Cathy honestly responded back with: "Rebecca, I'm in no way, shape, or form jealous of that girl or any other girl that Justin chooses to date or dance with. That's his own business; which I'm not at all involved in."

But would you like to be involved in it? Rebecca silently wondered. But when remembering that Cathy was going through a lot right now and probably should take things slowly, she instead of asking that question, innocently responded back with: "If you say so."

A comment which Cathy quickly countered with:

"And I do."

 

~*~

 

Eleven PM

After another half-n-hour of keeping Rebecca company on the dance-floor, Cathy couldn't help but smile when a slow song came on; knowing that she could finally give her tired feet a couple minutes of rest. "I think I'm going to go back upstairs and get a bottle of water. You want one?"

Without even bothering to hide the small frown that was creeping across her face, Rebecca shouted--so she could be heard over the music--: "No, but I'll go with you...maybe JC will have finally stopped moping around long enough to come out here and dance with me!"

Remembering how upset JC had been earlier that morning when he was faced with the knowledge that he was now back in the same state as Anna, caused Cathy to inwardly tell herself that she highly doubted that. But before she could say that comment out loud, Rebecca was already making her way back towards the V.I.P area and someone was wrapping their arms around Cathy; stopping her from following.

What the hell..?

"You weren't going to leave before I got a chance to ask you to dance, were you?"

After taking a second to try and recognize the voice of the person who was behind her, Cathy relaxed a little as she realized who it was--and what that familiar smell was coming from him. "Your drunk."

"Not really. It was a two for one deal and I only had one shot...Chris just spilled the other one on me."

After slightly laughing at the comment, Cathy turned around so she was facing Justin and playfully rolled her eyes at the innocent grin that he had on his face: "You guys are crazy."

"I know! But you never answered my question: are you going to dance with me or not?"

Even though she had just spent an hour out on the dance floor with Rebecca and was more than ready to call it quits for the night, Cathy wasn't that surprised when she found herself asking: "Do I have a choice?" And rolling her eyes playfully when Justin said "No."

"Figures as much!" Cathy sarcastically responded back, before allowing Justin to drag her towards the middle of the dance-floor and pull her as close to him as he possibly could; without making either one of them the slightest bit uncomfortable in the process.

"Man, I haven't heard this song in a long time!"

After taking a second to figure out which song it was that was playing--and then outwardly agreeing that she hadn't heard it in awhile either--Cathy let herself somewhat relax in Justin's arms as she listened to the younger man softly sing along with the words.

I can let my life pass me by or I can get down and try...work it all out this lifetime, work it on out this time...I can let it all pass me by or I can get down and try, work it all out this lifetime, lifetime.

While listening to the next verse of the song, Cathy couldn't help but let out a little sigh as she inwardly told herself:I hope that's true, God. 'Cause I only have a couple of months to work this thing out..

July 17, 2002 (WEG Compound)

"So, you'll be back on the twenty-fourth, right?"

"Yes, Robert."

"And you'll call me as soon as you get to your hotel room tonight--even if it's a little late here, right?"

"Yes, Robert."

"And you'll--"

"Kill my brother if he asks me one more question...? Yes, Robert." Cathy sarcastically interrupted, causing the younger man to slightly chuckle for a second before throwing out a small apology. "Sorry grouch."

"It's okay, brat." Cathy outwardly replied, before turning her attention back towards the passenger side window; looking on as her and Rebecca's bus driver, Leon loaded her bags onto their bus. I must be getting used to living out on the road 'cause I can't wait to just get on my bus and crash.

With that thought in mind, Cathy let out a small sigh before outwardly replying: "There going to start loading the buses in a couple of minutes, so I better go...but I'll give you a call when we reach Missouri tonight, okay?"

"All right." Robert reluctantly replied, before leaning over and giving his older sister a small hug and a kiss on the cheek and then afterwards telling her to promise him that she'd be careful while out on the tour. "I'm going to need you to be in one piece when you help me and Ryan repaint the club next month."

"Oh, can I?" Cathy sarcastically replied back, before telling Robert that she'd be careful and that she'd see him in five weeks; afterwards cementing the fact by climbing out of her brother's Ford Explorer and waving good-bye to the younger man as he backed out of the compound. You know, I think I might actually miss him and Ryan while I'm out here.

With that being her last thought, Cathy turned around to make her way towards her bus. But unfortunately, just before she could reach the vehicle, someone calling out her name caused her to stop and inwardly curse in frustration. Shit...I was almost there.

After turning around to see who was calling her name, Cathy found her irritation quickly disappearing and a hopeful look appearing across her face as she saw that it was Lance. Maybe he has some good news for me.

Waiting until after he had gotten a few feet in front of her to offer him as much of a smile as she could muster, Cathy outwardly replied: "Hey you...! You almost missed me."

Knowing just how much Cathy valued her sleep, Lance slightly smiled at the statement before saying: "I figured as much, that's why I wanted to catch you before you got on your bus so I could tell you the news....I talked to my lawyer this morning."

Seeing the way that Cathy had slightly tensed up at that comment caused Lance to quickly retort that it wasn't bad news; which made the older woman relax a little. "So, what is it...? What did he say?"

Knowing that the suspense was probably killing her, Lance--without even bothering to pause for a second--quickly replied: "He said that after going over your closing contract, he's willing to not only take your case but also defend you in court, free of charge."

Which will really help me out when I lose my job in a couple of months. Cathy inwardly noted to herself, before outwardly saying: "But..?" when it looked like Lance had more to say but wasn't really sure how to say it.

"But..." Lance continued, after a second, "as of right now, Steve's not really sure how long it's going to take before he can come up with some hard evidence--besides your testimony and medical records--that proves that you were wrongfully fired."

A statement which caused Cathy to angrily wonder why that couldn't be enough?

It's probably because just like Robert said: to prove somebody wrong in the court of law, you have to make sure that you're not only telling the truth but also have several pieces of evidences to back up your side of the story; hopefully concluding that the other person did what they did with nothing but malicious intent at heart.

With that thought in mind, Cathy bit down on her lower lip--a new habit that she had just learned to do when she was frustrated--and quickly replied: "How long does he think it's going to take before he finds out more evidence?"

While shrugging his shoulders slightly, Lance retorted: "He says it all depends on how well your boss has covered his footsteps so far and if this is his first time in a sexual harassment battle...but just to warn you, I gave Steve your number so he'll be able to contact you with any information that he finds out without having to go through me first...I hope you don't mind."

Figuring that both Lance and his lawyer knew better than she did, Cathy quickly replied: "That's fine.." before absentmindedly noticing a somewhat late Justin and Kayla hopping on there bus and continuing with: "So, did he say what I should do until I hear anything from him?"

After waiting until Rebecca, who was standing in front of the guy's bus, to stop screaming that everyone needed to get on there buses so they could leave already, Lance replied: "Yeah, he told me that you should just continue doing what you've been doing since you got here and also: try and not to think about it too much."

Knowing that was going to be easier said than done, Cathy expressed that statement out loud while making her way towards the guy's bus; figuring that she might as well join the others until they got to their first stop--seeing as though sleep was now the furthest thing from her mind.

"You know..." Lance commented, once they were both a few feet in front of the guy's bus, "whatever happens with this, we've all got your back....even those of us who don't know about it yet."

After sharing a small smile with the younger man, Cathy outwardly thanked Lance for saying that statement. "It actually makes me feel a little bit better about this whole thing."

While flashing the brunette his award-winning smile, Lance chuckled slightly to himself before jokingly replying: "Well, that's what I'm here for."

A comment which made Cathy inwardly note to herself:

Good, because I might be needing you around me for awhile.

 

~*~

 

Later that night (Pontiac, Missouri)

"So, when did he say that this Steve guy would be calling you?"

Without even bothering to turn her gaze away from the television screen in front of her, Cathy absentmindedly replied that the younger man hadn't given her a set time. "But I'm guessing it'll be sometime soon since Lance gave him my number this morning."

"Well, just make sure you call me as soon as you get off the phone with him....I want to know everything that he's got on Keith--hopefully the sooner he finds out all that he can, the sooner this thing will be all over with."

From your lips to God's ears. Cathy inwardly thought to herself. But just before she could say that comment out loud, a knock on her door was heard.

Rebecca must've forgotten her key again.

After telling Robert to hold on for a second, Cathy quickly made her way to the other side of the room--and after opening the door in front of her, and discovering that it wasn't Rebecca, but Justin--she quickly told her brother that she'd have to call him back later.

"All right, but just remember what I said before....oh, and tell Mr. Timberlake I said that we'd love to have him over for dinner once you guys get back to Orlando, all right?"

Without even bothering to hold back her roll of the eyes, Cathy muttered a "Will do," before saying her good-byes and hanging up the phone. "Sorry about that...come on in."

After waiting until he had fully stepped inside and Cathy had closed the door behind him, Justin apologized for cutting into her conversation. "I didn't mean to interrupt."

"Don't worry, you weren't interrupting anything--that was just Robert...he wants you to stop by for dinner when we get back home."

After visibly shaking at the memory of Robert staring him down a few days earlier, Justin replied: "I'll keep that in mind."

I just bet you will, Cathy jokingly thought to herself, before taking a seat at the kitchen table beside the door and outwardly replying: "So, what did I do to deserve the pleasure of your company...? I thought you and Kayla were going to join everyone else downstairs at the pool."

While taking a seat at the table next to Cathy, Justin replied: "We were, but I wanted to finish this song I was working on earlier so Chris and Joey volunteered to take Kayla down there for me."

"Which would explain the reason why Lance and Rebecca went along as well."

"Exactly!" Justin replied, in a slightly amused tone, before opening the book in his hand--that Cathy hadn't noticed until now--and flipping through a couple sheets of paper until he got to the page he wanted: "And which would also explain why I'm here...I need your help on one of the songs that I'm writing."

"My help?" Cathy opened her mouth to ask, but noticing the look of confusion on her face, Justin quickly interrupted her with: "I don't really need your help on the lyrics or music. It's just like the last song I showed you. I feel like it's missing something, but I don't really know what it is. So, I was hoping you could take a look at it for me--maybe give me a second opinion."

Even though Cathy was sure that Kayla probably would've been a better choice to ask for help than she was at the moment--given the fact that she hadn't slept any on the bus ride to Missouri and was more than exhausted right now--the fact that Justin was asking her for her help caused Cathy to reluctantly take the book from his hands and start reading the first verse outloud: "You're sneaky, from the corner of my eye I saw you--"

"Not that one!"

Without even bothering to hide her confusion, Cathy raised an eyebrow at Justin's comment and then raised the other one as she noticed that the younger man was blushing.

That's a first..

After pausing for a second to move his hand towards another song that was on the page, Justin replied: "This is the one that I want you to look at. The other one is sort of....personal."

Having a feeling that there was more to the story than he was telling her--but guessing that Justin didn't want to get into it right now--caused Cathy to mockingly nod her head in understanding before reading to herself the words of the song that Justin had meant for her to view. Afterwards, she hesitantly replied: "I don't really see anything wrong with it....except for maybe one thing."

Having now calmed down somewhat, Justin gently took the book from Cathy's hands; trying to guess what she might have seen problems in. "What's that?"

As if it was obvious, Cathy nonchalantly replied: "Well, the song is called "And she said..take me now." But from the words alone, it looks like you're saying everything...maybe you could think about having a female say the words take me now, or maybe something else along those lines at the beginning or the end of the song."

"Like an intro?" Justin absentmindedly asked while writing down that thought at the top of the page.

"Yeah...." Cathy retorted while inwardly replying: What you just said.

After taking a couple of seconds to come up with something that he could maybe have as the intro, Justin let a small smile grace his face as he replied: "I think you just saved me from another hour of practically pulling my hair out."

While letting out a small yawn, Cathy half joked: "That's what I'm here for...and now that my work is done, I think I'm going to reward myself by turning in early. That is, if theirs not anything else you need my help with."

After getting up, ready to leave, Justin began to shake his head. But then after a second of thinking about it, he stopped himself: "Actually, there is one thing..."

Figuring that the faster he asked her the favor, the faster she could get to sleep, Cathy quickly asked: "What can I do for you?"

"Actually it's more of what I can do for you..."

Huh?

Seeing the look of confusion on her face, Justin quickly continued with: "Lately I've been thinking about how much you've been there for Kay and me ever since Debra's passing. And I was kind of wondering if you'd let me take you out to dinner--as sort of a way to say: Thank you."

Surprised by this gesture, Cathy blurted out, in a surprised tone: "Just the two of us?" Causing herself to slightly blush and Justin to slightly laugh. "Yeah, just the two of us--that is, if you don't mind."

Not really knowing what to say at the moment, Cathy absentmindedly replied: "I don't mind, I just...don't think there's really a reason for you to thank me. I've just been doing my--"

"Job..? I know." Justin interrupted, "But I still would like to do it...and you don't even have to consider it as me thanking you. We can just say it's me taking you out for your birthday since I forgot about it before...what do you say?"

Even though she wanted to remind him that he really didn't forget about her birthday--since she hadn't told him about it beforehand--Cathy could tell by the look in Justin's eyes that he had no intention of dropping the subject until she agreed to go with him. So, with that thought in mind, she reluctantly replied: "What day did you have in mind?"

A question that caused Justin to slightly grin before outwardly retorting:

"How about a week from today?"

---

July 24, 2002 (Foxboro, Massachusetts)

After staying in Justin's room with Kayla until the guys rolled in around one-thirty that morning, Cathy was awaken two hours later by a slightly grouchy Rebecca.

"So, how long were you going to wait before you told me?"

"Told you what?" Cathy tiredly moaned, while trying to shield her eyes from the bedside light that the younger woman had just turned on.

"Don't play dumb with me. You know exactly what I'm talking about!"

Not having any idea as to what the other woman was talking about caused Cathy to say just that while reluctantly sitting up on her bed. "What's going on?"

"You tell me..." Rebecca angrily replied, while sliding the covers off her body and turning around so she was completely facing the other woman. "I heard about your little date with Justin tonight."

Here we go...

It had been exactly one week since Justin had asked her to go out to dinner with him and even though she hadn't spoken to anyone besides him about the event, she was just waiting for Rebecca to ask her about it.

"First of all, it's not a date--it's just a dinner between two members of the opposite sex--and second of all, who told you about it?"

"No one did.." Rebecca retorted, with a hint of disgust in her voice. "I accidentally overheard Chris and Joey talking about it before the show last night--but that's besides the point--why didn't you tell me about it?"

Even though she was going on a little bit of sleep right now, Cathy didn't miss the look of hurt that quickly shot across Rebecca's face after that last statement.

She really thinks that I went out of my way to keep this a secret from her.

With that thought in mind, Cathy let out a small sigh, before honestly replying: "I didn't tell you about my dinner with Justin because I didn't think there was anything to tell. He asked me out to dinner to thank me for everything that I've done for him and Kayla these last couple of months and I accepted--only after I told him that he had nothing to thank me for, I was just doing my job."

"And another thing..." Cathy continued, before Rebecca could interrupt her: "I didn't tell you about it because I didn't want you to jump to any sort of conclusion about the two of us--like you're doing right now."

After a second of letting Cathy's words sink in, Rebecca outwardly replied: "Even if that's true--which I'm not saying it is--you still should've told me. You couldn't believe how stupid I felt after hearing about your dinner with Justin from Chris and Joey--I thought I was kicked out of the group for a second."

After slightly joking that she didn't know that the guys and her had added Rebecca to the group yet, Cathy outwardly replied, in all honesty: "Don't worry, next time I go out to dinner with anybody else I promise to tell you about it, before I tell anyone else, got it?"

After pretending to think about it for a second, Rebecca let a small smile grace her face as she outwardly replied: "Got it!"

"Good..." Cathy commented, before jokingly continuing with: "Now that that's settled, is there anything else that we need to discuss before I go back to bed?"

After taking a second to think about it, Rebecca opened her mouth to say that she didn't think so. But just before the words could get past her lips, a thought popped into her head causing her to say:

"There is one thing..."

 

~*~

 

Seven-thirty PM

"God, I swear you're worse than one of the guys...would you hold still for a second so I don't burn you?"

After letting out a small groan and inwardly telling herself that this would be all over with in a couple of minutes, Cathy outwardly asked the younger woman, who at the moment, had a death grip on her head: "Remind me again why I agreed to let you do this?"

Without taking her eyes off the small piece of hair that she was curling at the moment, Rebecca let a sly grin cross her face as she inwardly retorted: Because you have the hots for our friend Justin and are hoping that he'll be on the menu for dessert tonight, while outwardly replying: "Because out of all the females you know on this tour, I'm the only one you know who can do their own hair and makeup without making myself look like Beetlejuices' sister."

After slightly laughing at the comment and then loudly cursing when Rebecca accidentally stung the side of her face, Cathy replied: "Atleast Beetlejuices' sister never had a third degree burn on her forehead."

"Sorry, but I told you not to move." Rebecca commented before looking up as the person, whose room they were in right now, came out of the bathroom. "Lance, would you be a doll and unplug the curling iron for me?"

"And while you're at it.." Cathy chimed in, "would you be a doll and call nine one-one for me? I think your friend here just set my face on fire."

While chuckling slightly at the comment, Lance made his way over to where the curling iron was plugged into the wall socket--taking it out. Then afterwards he raised both eyebrows slightly as he got a good look at Cathy.

"I don't know about calling an ambulance for you. But I might have to call one for J when he sees you...you look gorgeous."

After blushing slightly at the compliment and giving Lance an embarrassed Thank you, Cathy turned towards the mirror that was behind her and had to do a double take as she stared at her reflection in the mirror. That doesn't even look like me.

Rebecca had taken Cathy's usually bone straight hair and placed it into a loose bun; afterwards, instead of just letting them hang loosely, she had curled all the falling pieces so they framed her face--causing her to look as Lance had just called her: gorgeous.

"So, what do you think?" Rebecca asked, after a second; snapping Cathy out of her thoughts.

Without even bothering to move her eyes from the mirror, Cathy hesitantly replied: "I like it...you did good."

"Thanks." Rebecca replied somewhat teasingly; even though more than part of her was relieved that Cathy approved. "Now, you're all set for your date with Mr. Timberlake."

Here we go again.

Turning her attention towards Lance, Cathy outwardly asked him to please tell his friend that it wasn't a date that she was going on but just a birthday dinner between two friends.

Turning towards Rebecca, Lance jokingly replied: "Friend, it is just a birthday dinner between two friends--not at all a date--so drop it."

Without even bothering to hide her roll of the eyes, Cathy opened her mouth to tell the two laughing hyenas in front of her that she was serious. But unfortunately before she could do so, a knock was heard at the door.

"I'll get it...that's probably Romeo now."

After rolling her eyes once again, Cathy turned her attention back towards the mirror one last time--making sure she hadn't missed anything--before turning her attention towards the front of the room just as Justin was entering the door with Kayla in his arms.

Wow...

Justin had told Cathy the night before that the place they were going to was not fancy but you still had to dress up to go to it. And judging by the two piece black suit he had on with a silk blue shirt underneath it--that matched his eyes--she could tell he understood the meaning of the words dressed up.

If I was a teenage female or a middle aged woman going through my mid-life crisis, I'd defiantly have to pick my jaw up from the floor right now.

"You know, in a minute we're going to have swim through your drool just to get out of here, right?" Lance commented causing Cathy to blush in embarrassment.

"Not you too!"

"Hey, just making an observation!" Lance chuckled, causing Justin to turn towards them--for the first time since he had stepped into the room--and widen his eyes at seeing Cathy's new look.

"Wow...! You look...amazing!"

Embarrassed by that statement and by the fact that Rebecca was giving her a huge smile from behind Justin's back caused Cathy to nervously reply: "Well, if you think I look like that now, you should've seen me thirty minutes ago when I had Rebecca in a headlock; threatening to kill her if she ever came near me again with a tube of mascara. I was stunning."

"Breathtaking, even." Lance chimed in, causing Justin to chuckle and Rebecca to slightly roll her eyes.

"Well, now that we have all concluded that Cathy looks good enough to eat, how about we let the two of them go so Justin can hurry up and go do that."

Seeing the blush that took over both Justin and Cathy's face after that comment caused Lance to shake his head in amusement. Something tells me that I better go and remove all the pillows from Cathy's room before Rebecca goes to sleep tonight.

"Our reservations are at eight, so we better get going."

Fortunately before Rebecca could add to that comment, Lance quickly replied "I agree," before taking Kayla from Justin's arms and motioning Cathy and Justin towards the door. "You two have a good time tonight--"

"And don't let Juliet stay out too long." Rebecca quickly chimed in, before Lance got a chance to shut the door behind them--separating the two couples from one another and causing Justin to shoot Cathy a confused look. "Do I even want to know...?"

After slightly rolling her eyes in response, Cathy retorted: "No, but since you asked....for some reason or another, they--Rebecca more than Lance--seem to have this idea that we're on a date."

Before Cathy could add that she knew the idea was ridiculous, Justin said: "That's because we are," causing Cathy to look up at him startled and Justin to chuckle slightly at the deer caught in head lights look that she was wearing.

"Don't worry, I'm not about to propose my undying love to you or anything. I just realized that I haven't been on a real date in a long time and you've basically crossed out your entire social calendar to come on tour with Kay and me, so, I guess we could in someways consider this to be a date...that is, if that's okay with you."

After staring at the man in front of her for a second--wondering what the appropriate response to something like that would be--Cathy strangely enough found herself saying: "That's fine by me."

Causing Justin to let out a small chuckle while jokingly replying:

"I figured you'd see things my way."

An hour and a half later (A room with a view)

"So, outside of sleeping, what else do you like to do for fun?"

While slightly laughing at the question, Cathy--without even bothering to think about it for a second--replied: "I like to dance...I actually used to want to become a professional dancer--that is, before I decided to go ahead and devote my entire life to children. Now, I only do it in front of the bathroom mirror when I know my brother isn't home to catch me."

"And you---? Besides secretly hiring bodyguards to spy on your child's social worker, what do you like to do for fun?"

After almost choking on the bite of chicken that he had in his mouth, Justin couldn't help but slightly blush and chuckle while taking a sip of the water that sit in front of him. "Becca told you about that, didn't she?"

Even though he was somewhat right, Rebecca had told her about it, Cathy wasn't going to let Justin get away that easily: "Maybe she did, and maybe she didn't, but you're ignoring the question, Mr. Timberlake--what do you like to do for fun?"

Without even bothering to hide the amused grin that was currently spreading across Justin's face, the younger man dramatically rolled his eyes at the woman in front of him before thinking about what she was asking him.

What do I like to do for fun?

Before Kayla had become a constant in his life, Justin probably would've said going to clubs with Britney or hanging out with the guys was his idea of a good time, but in the last couple of months, that old lifestyle of his had become nonexistent--so much to the point where he couldn't remember a day when Kayla hadn't been a part of his every day life causing him to say: "I guess I'd have to say playing basketball--I love shooting hoops with the guys and I actually can't wait until the day Kay learns how to dribble a ball. Hopefully by then, I'll be able to sit her down and teach her some of my other moves that don't require synchronized dance routines."

As the image of Justin trying to teach Kayla a simple lay-up shot, while the small girl jumped around screaming Sync to him, popped into her head, Cathy couldn't help but let out a small chuckle, but then after seeing the waiter making his way towards them with the check in his hand, she quickly regained her composure and waited until Justin had slipped the other man his credit card and the latter had walked away, before turning back to her date and truthfully replying: "You know, Justin, I have to be honest with you. When you said that you were going to treat tonight like it was a date, I almost turned around and went straight back to my room. But now I'm sort of glad I came out with you tonight. I don't think I've laughed this much in years."

After jokingly replying: "Thanks, I think," Justin honestly replied: "I'm glad you're having such a good time--I am as well. And if you're finished with your dinner, I'd like for us to go ahead and move onto the next part of the date, which I can guarantee will cause you to laugh some more 'cause you'll be getting a romantic ride and tour around the city from yours truly and since I have no idea where the hell anything is in this town, it should be an exciting journey for the both of us, what do you say?"

Without even bothering to hide the amused smile that was quickly popping up on her face once again, Cathy couldn't help but roll her eyes slightly before honestly replying:

"I'm ready whenever you are."

 

~*~

 

After leaving their waiter a very generous tip and telling Mike that they promised they'd be careful if he would just go and meet them back at the hotel--with no avail--Cathy and Justin drove around New York City just talking. Then after realizing it was almost going on midnight, they decided to retire to their separate hotel rooms for the night; where they would hopefully sleep off the large milkshakes which they'd bought from McDonalds--ones Cathy insisted on paying for, saying it was the least she could do.

"Well, it's been an interesting evening...I had a lot of fun tonight, Justin." Cathy commented as soon as she stepped foot in front of her hotel room.

"Me too...and just think, the nights not even over yet."

What?

Noticing the look of shock that was written on Cathy's face, Justin quickly replied: "I didn't mean it like that," causing the blushing female to let out a low sigh and Justin to chuckle slightly, before finally sobering up and continuing with: "I just meant that I usually end my dates with one of these."

With that being said, Cathy silently watched on as Justin leaned in; kissing the edge of her mouth very softly. And then after a second of watching him, she couldn't help but lick her lips in nervousness; an action which she could tell Justin noticed.

Uh-oh.

Before Cathy even knew what was going on, Justin had brought a hand up to the side of her face and was staring at her in--she didn't know exactly what it was, but she could've sworn it was--nervousness. "Tell me to stop."

Even if Cathy had wanted to tell the younger man to stop, she didn't have enough time to do so as Justin quickly leaned in; bringing their lips together almost instantly.

So, this is what it feels like to kiss a popstar.

As the small and tender kiss between her and Justin went on, Cathy couldn't help but find it not only surprising when it began to grow heated. But she also found it very surprising when she realized that she was the one leading the kiss. A kiss that not only chilled her down to the bone but one that was currently making her wonder if this was what she had been missing all along by being with Keith.

Keith!

With that thought in mind, Cathy quickly regained all her senses and pulled back from the man in front of her.

"Wow...I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me."

Knowing that it wasn't his fault and that she wasn't mad at him for anything that he did caused Cathy to quickly reply: "No, it's okay...you don't have to apologize. You didn't do anything wrong."

"Well, then..." Justin began, with an amused look slowly spreading across his face, "why'd you pull away from me...? Besides maybe for lack of oxygen."

Even though Cathy figured she should just laugh at that comment and then tell Justin goodnight, she couldn't.

She knew she had to tell him the truth.

So, with that being her last thought, Cathy quickly replied: "I pulled away from you because...I don't want to lie to you anymore."

There! That wasn't so bad! I can do this...

Noticing the look of confusion that was quickly taking over Justin's face, Cathy opened her mouth to speak before the younger man had a chance to do so: "For the last week, I've been out here under false pretenses. I haven't really been supervising you and Kayla's father-daughter relationship or working on Kayla's case-file--that was finished the day we stepped foot back inside Orlando. But if you let me explain, I'll tell you why I had to lie to you."

After taking a second to wait for Justin to say something--anything really--Cathy opened her mouth to continue on. But unfortunately Justin wasn't having any of it. "I can't believe this."

"I know, but just let me explain."

"Explain?" Justin angrily interrupted. "What is there to explain...? I understand fully. You're saying that for the past three months, you've been out on tour with me and the rest of the guys, hanging out with me and my daughter and making us all believe that we could trust you because you had my daughter's good intentions at heart. And now, you're telling me that you've been lying to everyone for the last couple of weeks and that you've been finished my daughter's inspection for almost 'two' weeks now...that pretty much covers it. There's nothing else left for you to explain. I understand it all."

"Justin, I-"

"No! Justin began, once again: "Don't! I don't want to hear it...I don't want to hear another word you have to say, I don't even want to look at you for another second. I just want you to be gone from my sight and from this tour by tomorrow morning, got it?"

Without even waiting for Cathy to respond back to the question, Justin quickly turned around and made his way towards his room; not bothering to give the older woman one last look before opening and shutting the door to his hotel room quickly behind him.

Well, that didn't go as well as I had thought it would.

---

July 25, 2002 (New York, NY)

The next afternoon found two of the five Nsync guys watching on as an angry Justin tried to force feed Kayla her lunch.

"Come on Kay, you have to eat your food."

"No!"

"Come on...for me?"

"No. No want pea...dey yuck!"

Usually Justin would've laughed at that comment before trying a different approach, but the fact that he hadn't slept a wink in twenty-four hours and just wanted to get his daughter to eat her lunch so they both could go and take a nap already, caused him to snap.

"Fine! You don't want to eat your peas. Then don't eat them...see if I care! But don't think you're getting any dessert."

Before anyone could blink an eye, Kayla's lower lip started quivering and then she started crying causing Justin to outwardly curse. "Shit!"

"Here, let me help."

Justin opened his mouth to say that he didn't need Joey's help but as Kayla's crying grew louder, he let Joey take her and then walked out of the room; Lance quickly following behind, in tow.

"Something wrong, J?"

"Besides the fact that I just screamed at my one year old daughter for not eating something that she clearly doesn't like causing her to cry...? No! Not that I can think of...how about you? Anything wrong with you?"

Hearing the sarcasm in his friend's voice caused Lance to sigh. "I'm taking from the tone of your voice that your still angry about this whole Cathy situation--"

"Wouldn't you be?" Justin screamed, while turning around and staring at the man in front of him as if he had suddenly grown two heads. "She lied to me--hell, she lied to all of us!"

"That's not exactly true." Lance opened his mouth to say, but before he could get any of the words out, Justin cut him off with: "Look, I know you're just trying to help but I really would like it if you could just leave, so I can be alone right now."

"J--"

"No...!" Justin cut in, "I don't want to talk about it right now. I just want to be left alone so I can go lay down, go to sleep, and forget that this day ever happened, okay?"

Even though Lance wanted to tell the younger man that no, it was not okay, and make Justin listen to everything he had to say. Knowing just how stubborn his curly haired friend could be caused Lance to say: "I'll be outside if you need me."

"Thanks. I appreciate it."

With that being the last word, Lance turned around and made his way towards the door on the other side of the room--the one which led to the hallway; shutting the door behind him after he went through it.

"You talk to him?"

Startled by the voice, Lance quickly looked down the hallway, just in time to see Rebecca coming out of her and Cathy's room.

"I tried to, but you know how J is, he wouldn't let me get a word in edgewise...how's Cat doing?"

After taking a second to further close the space between her and Lance, Rebecca slightly sighed before replying: "She's still on my computer searching for flights back to Orlando but I got her to agree to stay on the tour as my guest for a couple more days--at least until we leave for Pennsylvania on Tuesday."

"Good...that should give me enough time to reach Steve and ask him if he's got any more news for us on her case, yet--"

"And it hopefully will give us enough time to shut Justin up for a second so we both can explain to him what's really going on around here."

That's easier said than done... Lance inwardly thought to himself before outwardly saying: "You know how he is when he gets angry. He wont let any of us near him--even just to explain why Cathy did what she did."

Knowing that was true, Rebecca outwardly cursed whoever gave Justin that stubborn gene. And then as if a light had just went off in her head, she suddenly pulled out her cellphone with a triumphant look on her face.

"Who are you calling?"

After dialing a familiar ten digit number, Rebecca waited until she had put the phone up to her ear and she could hear it ringing, before turning back to Lance and saying: "Justin wont listen to us when he's angry, but I know who he will listen to no matter what kind of mood he's in."

After furrowing his eyebrows in confusion for a second, Lance couldn't help but smile slightly to himself when he heard Rebecca say:

"Hey Lynn...? It's me, Rebecca. I need you to do me a favor."

 

~*~

 

(Thirty minutes later)

As the phone beside him began to go off, Justin tiredly groaned out loud.

After spending almost twenty minutes trying to get himself comfortable, he had finally been able to lull himself to sleep--only to be awaken a few minutes later by the persistent sound of his cellphone ringing.

This better be important.

Without even bothering to check the caller-id, he quickly picked up his phone and barked: "What?"

"I'm sorry. I must have the wrong number because I could've sworn I called my son's phone but I know this can't be him since I know I taught him better than to talk to me like that."

Shit.

"Sorry, mom. I didn't check my caller-id."

"Apology accepted." Lynn bristly retorted. "Now, do I need to ask what that was all about or should I just assume that it had something to do with what Cathy tried to tell you last night."

"What--how did you know?" Justin opened his mouth to ask. But at the last second he stopped himself, figuring that with how close his mom and Rebecca had become these last couple of months, he knew the older female had to have been the one to spill the beans. "Yes, that is the reason why I'm in this mood right now and no, I don't want to talk about it, mom. So, just let it go...I know enough already."

"Oh really?" Lynn asked, without even a seconds pause. "So, you know that she was fired from her job after taking on Kayla's case and that she only lied to you about working on it these last few weeks because Lance told her to. You knew all of that, Justin?"

"Yes, I.....what?" Justin opened his mouth once again to say, but unfortunately his confusion wouldn't allow any of the words out.

Taking her son's silence as a sign to go on, Lynn continued, after a second, with: "Before you told Cathy you didn't want to hear any more of what she had to say yesterday, Cathy told you that she actually hasn't been working on Kayla's case file these last couple of weeks. But what you didn't let her explain is: why? The reason is-is because her boss fired her. When she asked to go on tour with you guys in May, he gave her his permission and then said as soon as her time out on the road was done, so was she. He then proceeded to give her an ending contract which wouldn't allow her to get another job in social services again for up to four years."

Knowing just how much Cathy loved her job caused any amount of anger that he felt towards the woman to disappear, replaced by growing confusion: "Why? He can't do that."

"But he did! Turns out that a little over a year ago, Cathy and her boss had an affair but when she found out that he was married, she quickly ended it and ever since then he's been trying to find a way to fire her; he's even gone as far as making sexual advances on her in hopes that she'd quit. Interestingly enough, her decision to go with you guys out on tour gave him a reason just to fire her."

Damn.

"I don't understand why she didn't just tell me any of this before--I never would've suggested that she come out here if I had known."

"From what I understand, Lance knew you would see things like that and blame yourself, so when he found out, he suggested that Cathy not tell you anything until Steve had enough evidence to get Cathy's boss to change her contract. Cathy wanted to tell you everything from the beginning, but she promised Lance that she'd wait until they all could tell you--since he figured you'd listen if they all tried to tell you and not just her."

It doesn't matter, I still probably wouldn't have wanted to listen anyway. Justin inwardly commented to himself, suddenly feeling lower than dirt for the things he had said to Cathy the night before.

With that thought in mind, Justin quickly replied: "Hey, do you think I can call you back later on tonight, I suddenly don't feel like talking anymore."

Even though Lynn knew that their was more to the story than what she had told Justin, knowing that her son already had a lot to wrap his mind around 'caused Lynn to figure Cathy could fill the rest in better than she could and she quickly replied: "Sure, I'll call you back before you guys go out on stage tonight, okay...? Remember, I love you, Justin."

"I love you too, mom." Justin outwardly responded before saying his good-byes, hanging up his cellphone, and sitting up on the bed that he was laying down on; figuring with what he knew now, there was no way he'd be getting back to sleep anytime soon.

"Unfortunately."

July 26, 2002 (The next day)

"Hey, it's almost five-thirty--the guys should be done their interviews by now. Want to come help me torment Chris and Lance until it's time for us to leave for the venue?"

Even though Cathy had heard from Lance that most of the guys--sans Justin--knew that there was another side to the story and Cathy wasn't really trying to hurt Justin or Kayla in any way, Cathy still wasn't sure that she wanted to hang around the group--just in case Justin came back earlier than planned and started yelling over the fact that she was still on tour with them. So, with that thought in mind, she merely said that she would catch up with them later. "I want to try and take a quick nap before dinner."

Knowing that the older woman practically hadn't gotten any sleep since her and Justin's date the other night, caused Rebecca to buy the excuse--without even thinking about it--and tell the other woman that she'd check on her in a little bit.

"All right, see you later."

"Not if I see you first."

After watching the younger woman make her way out of their room, Cathy quickly got up and began to make her way towards Rebecca's laptop; figuring now was a better time than any to continue searching for a plane ticket to Orlando--one that would hopefully be leaving later that night; while everyone else was at the MGM venue waiting for Nsync's concert to start.

Interestingly enough, just as Cathy made a move to turn on Rebecca's computer, her cell-phone began to ring; causing her to jump slightly at the sound.

I've got to remember to lower that ringer.

With that being her last thought, Cathy quickly grabbed her cell-phone off the dresser room stand and without even bothering to glance down at the caller-id, she hurriedly answered the phone before it landed on it's third ring. "Hello?"

"Hello, Miss Jones?"

After taking a second to try and place the voice, but to no avail, Cathy outwardly replied: "This is she, who may I ask is calling?"

"This is Steve Caplan--I'm a friend of Lance's, who was asked to look over your case."

Finally! Cathy inwardly thought to herself before outwardly replying: "Oh, of course...sorry, I wasn't expecting to hear from you today."

"Yeah, sorry about that. I've been meaning to get in touch with you before-hand, but I've been a little bit pre-occupied. I hope you can forgive me."

"It's no problem..." Cathy absentmindedly replied, before quickly continuing on with: "Not to sound too eager, but I'm really hoping you're calling me with some good news."

After taking a second to laugh at the statement, the man on the other line replied: "How about I do you one better and give you some great news?"

Sounds good to me. Cathy inwardly thought to herself. But before she could say that comment out-loud, Steve was already in the midst of telling her what was going on.

"Miss. Jones, after taking another look at your closing contract and re-reading the notes that Lance sent me about your situation, I went and did a background check on your boss, Mr. Murphy and it turns out that you're not the only woman that he's done something like this to--do you know a Virginia Walker?"

After struggling to think about it for a second, Cathy outwardly replied: "I'm sorry--the name sounds familiar but I don't remember exactly where I heard it from."

"That's okay--she's Mr. Murphy's secretary, who is also the mother of a woman who worked there a couple years ago. You might've heard of her, Vanessa Owens....? Anyway, from what her mother told me, a few months after Vanessa started working for Mr. Murphy, he began pursuing her and then six months into their affair, she told him that she was falling in love with him and that she was leaving her husband and kids to be with him. Upon hearing this, Mr. Murphy told her that she had only been an easy lay to him and that he couldn't imagine leaving his wife for her--a woman who had just given birth to her third child just a few months before she started working for Family Services."

What an ass-hole...

"Anyway, to make a long story short, Mrs. Owens was apparently so heart broken that without saying anything to anyone, she skipped town and neither her mother nor her husband has heard from her in over two years--thus the reason why her mother took the job at Family Services to see if she could somehow get some information out of Mr. Murphy as to where her daughter has vanished off to."

While listening to what this woman's entire family was going through at the moment, Cathy couldn't help but thank God that her situation wasn't as severe.

I can only imagine what Robert would've done to Keith if any of this had ever happened to me.

With that thought in mind, Cathy outwardly replied: "So, what does this mean for our case? Do we have enough evidence to take Mr. Murphy to court...?"

Without even bothering to pause for a second, Steve quickly replied: "Not really, because in order to use this testimony we would need for the daughter to vouch for it, as well...but the good news is that, we don't have to worry about that anymore because there is no longer a need for us to go to court."

Even though that news was defiantly good news in her book, Cathy refused to get too excited just yet, just in case there was a but at the end of the older man's sentence.

Wherever Keith's concerned, there's always something.

As if reading her thoughts, Steve continued with: "I made an appointment with Mr. Murphy and his lawyer earlier this morning and after telling them who I was and what I knew about the situation, I told them that I had enough evidence to drag Mr. Murphy's name through-out the entire local media and after I got done telling your case, no one would want to work with him or his company ever again."

As if she was listening to one of Rebecca's many stories about one of the guy's most embarrassing moments, Cathy quickly asked: "And what happened next?" Causing Steve to quickly reply: "Just what I figured would happen....he got upset at first and said that anything you said was a complete and utter lie, but then when I told him that I had over fifteen statements from other co-workers saying that they had seen him making sexual advances towards, not only you, but also some of the other women that he worked with, Mr. Murphy's lawyer quickly asked if there was anyway to keep his client out of court and this incident out of the papers as well--which leads me to the best news yet."

I can't wait to hear this...

"Thanks to yours truly for dropping a hint about him spending some time in jail if he didn't agree to my terms, as of two o'clock this afternoon, Mr. Murphy has not only drawn up a completely new closing contract and a written reference for you, but he has also signed a written agreement that says that he will pay for his secretary to hire a private investigator to find her daughter--which is the only thing that Mrs. Wallace ever really wanted to happen."

I can't believe this...

Not believing that this nightmare of events was really over, Cathy outwardly replied: "So, let me get this straight, what you're telling me is that once I get back to Orlando, I shouldn't have any problems trying to find another job in Social Services?"

"Miss Jones, with the reference that Mr. Murphy gave you, not only will you not have any problems getting another job in social services, but you probably wouldn't even have a problem owning your own social services company. I made sure it was just that good."

Thank God!

After outwardly thanking Steve for all his help, which he replied don't mention it to, Cathy quickly questioned, as if an afterthought, what was going to happen to Keith. "Does he get to keep his job?"

"Unfortunately, he does..." Steve began, after a second's pause. "But I have assured both Mr. Murphy and his lawyer that they would defiantly be seeing me again if, even for a second, I thought that Mr. Murphy was doing this to someone else. You, too, have my word on that."

Even though a part of her felt that--compared to what he could've gotten--Keith was just getting a slap on the wrist, Cathy couldn't help but be satisfied with Steve's response; having a feeling that he wouldn't stop until Keith got what he deserved and knowing that after this conversation, she would finally be able to rest a little easier at night.

And that's all she ever really wanted to happen, anyway.

 

~*~

 

Six-thirty PM

After saying her goodbyes to Steve and quickly calling Robert to give him the good news, Cathy was just about to pick up the phone once again to dial room service when a knock at the door was heard; causing her to have to put her taste for chocolate fudge brownie ice cream on hold for a moment.

This better be important.

Upon opening the door, Cathy was surprised to see, not only, Lance and Rebecca standing in front of her but also Chris and JC as well; with the former appearing to be on the phone at the moment.

"Okay, everyone but Joey is here, so I'm hanging up now, all right...? What--? No, I don't know where he is--but I'm guessing he's probably still with Steve hanging out over his parent's house...no, I'm not going to call him to make sure he's watching. If he isn't, we'll just have to fill him in when we meet up with him and you later at the venue tonight....whatever, J. I have it, so go. Get off the phone and go have a good show, all right? Bye!"

After rolling his eyes and quickly hanging up the phone, Lance waited until him and the other three had entered Rebecca and Cathy's hotel room before replying, as an after-thought: "That was Justin...he wants all of us to watch his interview on 106th and park."

While rolling her eyes at the comment, Rebecca quickly replied with a hint of annoyance in her voice: "That is so typical Justin for you--when he doesn't want to talk, he wants all of us to stay the hell away from him. But as soon as he has something to say, you better believe that he's going to make sure that everyone is around to hear what he's got to say."

After slightly chuckling at the comment, Lance took a second to turn the TV on and then flip it to the right channel before replying: "Be that as it may, we might as well stick around to watch it 'cause J says it'll explain everything--whatever the hell that's supposed to mean."

"I don’t know what that means." Chris nonchalantly replied, while taking a seat beside Rebecca and JC on the formers bed. "But whatever it is...hopefully it'll explain why Justin has had such a stick up his ass as of late."

Even though she was trying to act as normal as possible at the moment, Cathy couldn't help but find herself tensing up a little at that comment.

I don't know why I'm so nervous. There's no way he'd go on national television just to talk about what happened between us...would he?

Before Cathy could quietly ask Lance--who had just taken a seat beside her on her hotel-bed--what he thought, she was unfortunately met with the sound of Rebecca saying "He's on," and everyone turning their attention towards the TV screen in front of them, where Justin was shown seated across from the TV show's two co-hosts, AJ and Free. I guess we'll soon find out.

"Everyone, Justin's on a tight schedule so we're just going to ask him a few questions before he has to leave, all right....? Okay, Justin, this year has been one of the most stressful years of your life. Just in the last six months, you ended a two year relationship with singer Britney Spears and your ex-girlfriend was killed in an automobile accident a couple of months ago; leaving you to raise your one year old daughter by yourself. How have you been dealing with all of this and the media getting all in your business?"

After taking a second to collect his thoughts, Justin simply replied: "I think I've been dealing with it the best I can. I mean, I've got my friends and my entire family behind me for moral support and that really helps me just to block everything else out."

"Okay..." Free replied after a second, before moving on to the next question. "How has it been adapting to your new role as a full time dad? Is it harder than some would think?"

After taking a second to think about it, Justin hesitantly replied: "I think in the beginning it was, because every time I've seen my daughter her mothers been with her, changing her diaper when she needed to be changed, feeding her when she needed to be fed and putting her down for her nap when she started becoming cranky. So, at first it was scary because I seriously had no clue as to what I was doing. But now, it's like everyday I look foreword to learning something new and different about her."

"That's good...we actually have a picture of you two that was taken before one of your shows, do you mind if we show it?"

"Go ahead."

As a picture popped up on the screen--one of Kayla sitting on Justin's lap giggling while he tickled her--Cathy couldn't help but slightly smile to herself as the audience began to aww. Looks like I'm not the only who thinks that she's the most adorable baby in the world.

"She's got a lot of hair."

"Yeah, now I've got to grow my hair back out now so we can have matching fros."

After slightly laughing at this response, Free outwardly wondered if Kayla was a fan of Nsync.

"More like a fan-ATIC. She loves to watch our shows and dance to our music. And as soon as she can learn how to talk in complete sentences, I'm thinking about making her the sixth member of our group or at least having her replace me so I can retire early."

After laughing once again at Justin's comments, Free outwardly replied: "I'm sure the question on everyone’s mind is: now that so much is being added to your plate, personal wise, what do you think is in the future for you, group wise? Is Nsync going to take a break so you can properly adapt to being a father or...?"

After taking a second to slightly lick his lips in nervousness, Justin hesitantly replied: "While we're not breaking up, there is talk about going on a break after we finish the tour next month--mostly so everyone can experience life outside of the group."

"Finally! It's about time you guys agreed to do that--I've been trying to get you guys to take a break for years now."

While slightly rolling his eyes at Rebecca's comment, Lance jokingly replied: "Believe me, we know...! If things went your way, we'd be taking breaks every other week."

"I wouldn't have a problem with that…" Chris butted in, interrupting the conversation, "At least then, it would keep Becca out of my hair for a week."

“What hair?”

As Rebecca and Chris playfully got into a bickering fight over Chris's hair--or lack of hair--Cathy couldn't help but find herself being drawn back into the conversation that was still being played out on the television screen.

"So, what are you guys going to be doing on your break? Any plans on doing something like a solo album?"

There was a brief second of pause before Justin slowly replied: "Maybe...I think we're all just going to try and do our own thing. Chris and Lance have been wanting to devote more time to their companies. Joey is on this acting bug and JC has been getting asked left and right to produce a bunch of upcoming artists cd’s...I think he's going to try and work on a solo album, as well."

"And how about you..? Any plans to work on a solo album?"

Cathy didn't even have to hear the answer to that question to know that Justin was going to say yes. With as many songs as he has in that book of his, I'm sure he'll have come out with two new albums by this time next year.

"Now Justin, I know you have to go so you can get ready for tonight's concert at the MGM, but before you leave, is there anything else you'd like to say to the audience--or to the people at home watching--about this situation or anything else that's been bothering you as of late?"

Without even bothering to pause for a second, Justin quickly replied that there was actually something that he wanted to get off his chest, but that it didn't have anything to do with the situation they'd been talking about before.

Here he goes... Cathy inwardly thought to herself, before preparing herself for the worst.

"I just want to apologize to someone who may or may not be watching this at the moment...I just want to say from the bottom of my heart that I'm sorry for all the drama and stress that I've put you through these last couple of days and if you can forgive me I promise I'll make it up to you the best way that I know how."

Oh my god...

As the two hosts on the show started to ask Justin what it was that he did, Cathy couldn't help but let her eyes widen at the fact that Justin had just apologized to her on national television. That beats one of Robert's apologizes any day.

After watching on as Free and AJ said their goodbyes to Justin and Lance turned off the television screen in front of them, Cathy slowly turned her attention back towards the four people beside her--who all appeared to be trying to hold back small grins on their faces.

"All right...so, which one of you big mouths finally told him the truth?"

---

Later that night

After jokingly telling off Rebecca, Lance and the other two members of Nsync for not being able to keep their noses out of other people’s business, Cathy reluctantly agreed to go have a drink with Rebecca—as sort of a victory treat for finally getting one over on Keith.

Afterwards while everyone else was at the MGM arena watching the guys perform tonight’s concert, she spent the rest of the evening online looking for cheap flights back to Orlando.

After not seeing anything that was remotely in her new budget, Cathy was just about to call it a night when a soft knock was heard at her door.

This girl is a trip. I wonder how she used to get back into her hotel room before I started rooming with her.

Figuring that Lance probably let Rebecca crash in his room when she left her key in her room caused Cathy to slightly roll her eyes in annoyance before making her way across the room and opening the door, to who she thought, was her current roommate, but it interestingly enough wasn’t.

“Justin?”

“Hey...” The younger man cautiously replied, before slightly biting his lip and then outwardly asking if he could come in.

Figuring that this conversation was bound to happen anyway, Cathy inwardly told Justin that he could come in before stepping to the side and letting Justin into the room.

Afterwards, she hesitantly closed the door behind him and then made a move to apologize once again for her previous actions; interestingly enough at the same time that Justin was going to apologize for his.

“Hey-"

“Listen-“

After sharing a small nervous laugh with him, Cathy told Justin he could go first.

“I know Lance had you watch my interview earlier, but I just wanted to come by and apologize once again for the things I said to you the other night. I shouldn’t have come at you like that without knowing all of the facts and I’m really sorry if anything I said hurt you. I apologize.”

After taking a second to process his apology, Cathy quickly replied, “Apology accepted,” and then afterwards apologized for not telling Justin sooner. “I wanted to from the beginning but I wasn’t exactly sure how to tell you.”

“It’s understandable. I’m told all the time that I’m not really an easy one to lay news on—for some reason people always think I can’t take things too well. I wonder where they get that idea from.”

Knowing Justin was just teasing to lighten the mood, Cathy forced out a small laugh before changing the subject and asking Justin how the guy’s show went.

“It went good.” Justin outwardly beamed, happy for the sudden topic change. “All of our shows at Madison Square Garden tend to go extremely well—but not as well as your day went, so I heard.”

Figuring that either Rebecca or one of the other guys had told Justin the good news concerning her case with Keith caused Cathy to playfully roll her eyes once again at their big mouths before saying: “Yeah, I talked to Lance’s lawyer earlier and he said that he has things worked out so that not only will my closing contract be changed so I’ll be able to get another job in social services. But also, he’s seen to it that my boss Mr. Murphy has to write me an impressive letter of recommendation, that way it wont be too long after I arrive back in Orlando that I’ll be working again.”

Having not got that much information from the guys earlier caused Justin to quickly ask: “You already got your plane ticket back to Orlando,” a question which Cathy quickly denied.

"No, I haven't found any ones with good prices yet. I was hoping to stumble on one going from N.Y back to there tonight, while you guys were at the concert. But I guess I’ll just have to wait until we get to our next destination to look again.”

"Or..." Justin commented after a second, "you could not do that and just go back to Orlando with us in a couple weeks."

What…?

Not seeing any reason for her being there since everyone knew she wasn't Kayla's social worker anymore caused Cathy to open her mouth to tell Justin that she didn't think that was a good idea.

But before she could do so, Justin—seeing this--interrupted her with: "Before you say no, just think about it for a second...once you get back to Orlando, you'll probably be spending every minute of your day sending out resumes to every social services company in Orlando and going on tons of interviews and never having one moment to yourself—which I can almost guarantee you will probably make your life for the next couples weeks a living hell.”

“But If you stay out here with us, not only will you get to spend another couple of weeks hanging out with Rebecca by the pool while me and the rest of the guys are going from one nauseating interview to another but you'll also get to spend another couple of weeks spoiling my daughter rotten while I will be too busy on stage to be able to do anything about it, how's that sound?"

After slightly laughing at his last comment and then letting Justin’s words sink in a little, Cathy thought about how good that idea sounded for a second--especially the part about getting to spend her days hanging out by the pool.

After what I’ve been through this last year alone, I could defiantly use a vacation.

After thinking it over for a few more seconds, Cathy outwardly replied: "I don't know....you sure no one would mind?"

"Trust me. If anyone has any objections, they can see me about it...” Justin commented, even though he knew that no one on their tour would have a problem with her staying, especially if that meant a happier Justin would also be on the tour. “And besides, maybe this will give me an opportunity to make up for that poor ending of our last date..."

After staring at the man in front of her for a second, Cathy inwardly asked herself if he was saying what she thought he was saying. "Are you saying that you want to go out with me again?"

Noticing the slow blush that was starting to come across Cathy’s face caused Justin to slightly laugh before saying if it was okay with her, he did.

Not sure what to say to this, Cathy asked: "I...you still want to, even after all that's happened?”

Why wouldn’t I? Justin inwardly asked himself, before taking a step closer to Cathy and outwardly replying: "Especially after all that's happened...you are an incredible woman, Miss. Jones. And if you don't mind, I'd like to take you out again to find out just how incredible you are."

Now, Cathy figured in her twenty-four years of living, she'd had a lot of men ask her out in different ways, but this was the first time that someone had asked her to go on a date with them so they could find out how just incredible she was--this caused her to be left a little bit speechless.

But just a little bit.

"So, do you mind?"

After shaking out of her thoughts, the older woman stared at the man in front of her for a second before slowly replying: "No....I don't mind at all."

"Good." Justin replied, before outwardly replying that he should probably get going and rescue the sleeping Kayla from his bodyguard.

"All right, So, I'll see you tomorrow…?" Cathy asked, while making her way back across the room and opening the door for Justin to leave.

"Bright and early." Justin commented before making his way out of the room and then at the last second stopping, as if he had forgotten something. "Oh, wait."

Before Cathy knew what was happening, Justin had turned around and taken his arm and slinked it behind her waist. Then afterwards, he pulled her closer, connecting the two of them with a kiss.

After a second of feeling like she had just about died and gone to heaven, Justin quickly pulled away and replied: "Okay, now I'll see you in the morning," and then turned around and continued to walk away causing Cathy to be somewhat lost for words as she watched the fleeting Justin walk away for a second and then afterwards closed the door behind her.

One thought in her head as she rested her body against the door to her and Rebecca’s room; hoping it would somehow help her catch her breath.

"What did I just get myself into?"

August 21, 2002 (Atlanta, Georgia)

To say that Justin had made up for the poor ending to his and Cathy's last date would be an understatement. In Cathy and everyone else's mind around them, Justin had more than made up for the horrible ending to their previous date.

In fact, he had probably exceeded their date--if that was at all possible--by, during the guy's free time, taking her and sometimes Kayla to the movies, to the park and to the zoo to see the baby Gorillas.

It was just a shame that the tour was going to end in a couple of days 'cause Cathy could've really gotten used to all of the pampering.

Oh well, I guess it's time for one of us to stop playing make believe.

With that thought in mind, Cathy turned towards the left of her where Justin was lying across from her, a sleeping Kayla in between the both of them and smiled slightly as she caught him wide awake watching her. "Whatcha' looking at?"

"Nothin'..." Justin replied back, with a small smile tugging at the corner of his lips. "Just wondering what thoughts were swirling around in that pretty little head of yours."

Now, if someone else would've said that comment to Cathy a few months ago, she probably would've rolled her eyes or even chuckled at them a little bit, but because it was Justin who said it, she couldn't help but blush while smiling a little bit deeper.

"Nothing really. I was just thinking about how crazy it is that the tour is going to end in a couple days. I mean, it seems like just yesterday I was helping Leon put my bags under the bus."

"That's because it was just yesterday, silly-willy!" Justin interjected, causing Cathy to playfully hit the laughing man beside her, before outwardly commenting, "You know what I mean. It's just not going to be the same after Friday."

"I mean...Rebecca and Lance are going home to Mississippi for a while, Joey's taking his family to New York to visit his folks and Lance and Chris will probably be up to their ears in business ventures. I don't know how you guys do it--being together every single day and then away from each other for months at a time. I couldn't do it--I don't know how I'm going to do it."

After smiling once again, this time at how attached Cathy had become to both him and the rest of his group-mates, Justin took a second to brush back the hair that was threatening to fall in the older woman's face before replying, "I don't know, I guess it's just something that we all just got used to doing after a while. I mean, it's not like we don't see each other whenever we go back home, we're usually at one another's house every day for some reason or another--if not just because of boredom."

"And the last time I checked, you had nothing to worry about 'cause me and Kayla aren't going anywhere for a while and you have my full permission to come and visit us anytime you like--'cause lord knows, if you don't, me and her will."

After slightly laughing at that comment, Cathy took a second to look down at the little girl between her and Justin; taking a mental picture of the sleeping angel beside them.

I sure am going to miss her, the most, when I'm gone....

With that thought in mind, Cathy figured this would be a better time than any to drop her news to Justin, so she nonchalantly replied: "That's good to hear 'cause that will at least keep me occupied until I move to New York."

"New York....?"

To say you could've heard a pin drop in the room after that last comment was made would've been an understatement. As soon as the words left Cathy and then Justin's mouth, the room was filled with an eerie sort of silence that Cathy quickly opened her mouth to dismiss. "Yeah...New York--I was going to wait and tell you about it after the tour ended, but I might as well get it over with now."

"Remember how I told you while I was out here Robert was going to try and send my resume to a couple of social service agencies around the Orlando area; that way I'd hopefully have a job waiting for me when I got back home?"

After waiting until Justin nodded his head in agreement, Cathy outwardly replied, with a small smile on her face, "Well, one of the companies that I used to do business with, while working for Keith, saw my resume online and said that I'd be perfect for one of their management positions in one of their new offices they just built up in New York. I start next month."

If any part of Cathy had thought that Justin would've been happy for her at this news, that part of her was soon let down as Justin sat up on the bed that they were lying in and hit her with an are you serious look. "So that's it? You're just going to pack up and move to New York without even thinking about it first? You're not even going to consider any of the other offers that you've gotten while you were out here?"

What the hell......?

Not understanding exactly where that had came from and why Justin was getting angry at her all of a sudden caused Cathy to sit up on the bed as well, and while trying not to disturb the sleeping Kayla beside them, she whispered, "I have considered all of the other offers that I received, but this is a managerial position, Justin. Do you know how hard it is to get a job like that in Orlando? I thought you, more than anyone else out here, would be happy for me."

Justin knew she was right, he should have been happy for her, but instead he found himself saying: "How can I be happy for someone who, instead of being patient and waiting for something to come to them, decides to hop on the first thing out of here and run from their problems again. You're just being selfish."

Selfish.....?

Now Cathy had been called a lot of things in her lifetime, but selfish had never been one of them.

"Selfish? If anyone around here is being selfish, it's you, Justin. All my life I've had to fight for everything I've gotten and for the first time in God knows how long, I was offered something because of how hard I worked for it and you wont even let me enjoy it. That's not fair!"

"Well, who said life was fair?" Justin opened his mouth to ask, but knowing that would start another argument, he instead replied: "And you're sure there were no other manger positions you could've taken in Orlando? New York was the only one that was going to hire you for that job?"

Feeling herself start to grow angrier caused Cathy to quickly reply, "Yes! Why is that so hard to believe?"

It's not..Justin inwardly thought to himself, knowing that it wasn't hard to believe at all.

He knew Cathy was great at her job and any agency, including one in New York, would be lucky enough to have her, but if they got her, what would that mean for him?

I've tried the long distance thing once before and that didn't work...what makes me think it'll work this time around?

With that thought in mind, Justin let out a small sigh before saying, "I'm sorry. You're right. I'm not being fair. If this is what you want to do, who am I to stand in your way? I'm happy for you."

What the.....?

Surprised by Justin's quick change in emotion, Cathy opened her mouth to ask him what had changed his mind in the span of two seconds, but before she could get the words out, Justin stood up; causing her to quickly ask where he was going.

"I'll be back. I just need to go clear my head for a second. Can you watch Kayla for me?"

Still not understanding exactly what was going on with Justin caused Cathy to first nod her head, inwardly saying that she would watch the sleeping girl, before looking on as Justin made a move to grab his shoes off the floor and then make his way out the door; leaving her alone, in the room, to sit in confusion.

What the hell just happened here.......?

---

(Later that night)

"So, then he left? Just like that--and you didn't even try and stop him?"

While tightening her hold around Kayla as she maneuvered her and the little girl into their seats at the guy's show, Cathy sarcastically replied, "What was I supposed to say? No! Don't go, Justin. Stay so we can get in another fight about why you really don't want me going to New York. I don't think that would've helped matters, do you?"

Seeing the older woman's point of view, Rebecca waited until she had slid into her own seat, before continuing with: "Well, I kind of get where he's coming from. I mean, you two have been spending an awful lot of time with one another lately, and whereas New York's not that far away to you, it is when you're raising a baby mostly by yourself. He's probably just afraid of losing you."

"But I'm not going anywhere!" Cathy wanted to scream, but already knowing what the other woman's response was going to be 'caused her not to.

Mentally: no, but physically: yes.

It was a lose-lose situation. Any way you flipped it, someone wasn't going to get what they wanted.

"So, did you two talk about it after he came back?"

"No, by the time he came back from where ever he had gone, it was already time for the guys to get ready for their sound-check so I guess we'll just have to talk about it later on after the show."

"I still don't understand why he became as angry as he did, though. I mean, it's not like we're anything more than friends. I mean, besides during that one date we had a few weeks ago, he hasn't showed me anything else that says he has any other feelings for me, besides friendship."

"True..." Rebecca commented, as the lights above them flickered on and off, telling them that the show was about to start, "But all I know is that I've seen the way he looks at you and I've only ever seen him look at one other person that way before."

"Oh yeah," Cathy absentmindedly replied, while readjusting the headphones on Kayla's ears so that the piercing screams around them wouldn't hurt the child's ear-drums, "And what happened to her?"

"She had Kayla." The younger woman replied, before abruptly ending the conversation just as the lights went down; giving Cathy one more thing to think about in a very short amount of time.

 

~*~

 

An hour later

"I don't know how she did it, but Kayla managed to fall asleep during that last song, you ready to go?"

Turning away from the guy's performance of Celebrity, Rebecca widened her eyes in surprise as she noticed for the first time that the small girl beside her had indeed fallen asleep even though she was surrounded by a bunch of high pitched adolescents running around her. It must be the head phones. I'm going to have to remember to get me a set of those to wear when I have to sleep on the guy's bus--or at least a pair to wear whenever my mom's around.

With that thought in mind, Rebecca inwardly smiled to herself before asking Cathy if they could stay a few extra minutes, just so she could hear Chris sing Fallen. "He only gets one song to sing lead for. We might as well stay for it, if you don't mind, that is."

Not having anywhere else to go at the moment caused Cathy to outwardly reply that that was fine with her before watching the older male take the stage to sing the one song he had gotten solo for--and that was only because he had written it. Then afterwards she was about to make a move to get up from her seat, along with Rebecca, when something on stage caught her attention.

"This last letter says, "Hey Nsync, I'm a 21 year old single father from Orlando, Florida and I just recently found out that the woman I've fallen in love with is heading to New York next month. And because of selfish reasons of my own, we had a big fight and I pretty much told her I didn't want her to go, so if you could please dedicate this next song to her, I'd really appreciate it, thanks."

"Did he just say what I think he just said?" Cathy outwardly asked no one in particular before moving her eyes towards Justin, who seemed to be looking every where but in the direction of the V.I.P box. "No! Did he really just say what I think he just said?"

 

I just don't understand why you're running from a good man, baby
Why you want to turn your back on love, why you've already given up
See, I know you've been hurt before, but I swear I'll give you so much more
I swear I'll never let you down, 'cause I swear it's you that I adore
And I can't help myself baby, 'cause I think about you constantly
And my heart gets no rest over you.......

 

You can call me selfish, but all I want is your love
You can call me hopeless, baby, 'cause I'm hopelessly in love
You can call me unperfect, but whose perfect
tell me, what do I gotta do...to prove that I'm the only one for you..

As JC started singing his verse, Cathy couldn't help but continue looking down at Justin and interestingly enough, she soon realized he was looking right back at her; a fact which Rebecca picked up on.

Guess that answers my question...! Looks like someone's in love--and someone else is just too stubborn to admit it yet.

The next day

"Not that I'm not having a blast sitting here watching our lives pass us by, but just out of curiosity, are we ever going to talk about what happened last night or are we just going to keep avoiding the subject until one of our legs falls off?"

Knowing that Rebecca was right and that she couldn't keep running from her problems forever caused Cathy to turn away from the window she was absentmindedly staring out of and shrug her shoulders at her friend's blunt question.

"There's nothing to talk about, really...Justin said what he needed to say and now I just have to deal with it."

Deal with it?

Not understanding exactly how Cathy could be so cold-hearted about the topic caused Rebecca to ask what that was supposed to mean. "A man, that could probably get about any girl that he wants, tells you that he's in love with you and you say you just have to deal with it? Am I missing something?"

Realizing that she did sound a bit cold-hearted and callous caused Cathy to retrace her steps. "I'm sorry, I'm just having a hard time believing that he could actually feel that strongly for me. I mean, he's only known me for what--three months? And he's already in love with me? That seems pretty far-fetched, don't you think?"

Well, when you put it like that...... Even Rebecca had to admit it did seem pretty strange, but her friend was forgetting one thing. "True...., it has only been three months, but in those three months, you two have been around each other almost twenty-four seven. And not only that, but in these last couple months, you two have experienced more with one another than some people have experienced with their loved ones in three years."

"So, keeping that in mind, no, I don't think it's that far-fetched that Justin could possibly be in love with you. I just think it's far-fetched that you don't have the same feelings for him that he does for you--do you?"

Not wanting to get into that right now caused Cathy to turn her attention back towards the window beside her, and then a second later, she moved her line of vision right back to Rebecca. "I don't know...I mean, I'm not going to say that I don't have any feelings for him because we both know that's not true, but love........? I don't know about that. I mean, I don't even know if I know what love is anymore. Does that make any sense?"

Knowing everything that her friend had been through these last couple of months, involving her ex-boss Keith, caused Rebecca to know exactly what she meant. But then after thinking about it for a second, she outwardly responded:

"I'm not saying that you have to have the exact same feelings for him as he does for you, but if there's even a small chance that you could possibly see this thing between you two developing into something more than just a friendship, don't you think you at least owe it to yourself and him to give it a try? I mean, you never know--he could be just the person to make you remember what love is, again. What do you think?"

Not knowing exactly how to respond to that question caused Cathy to throw out a nonchalant, "We'll see," before ending the conversation by turning her attention back towards the window she had been looking out of before; welcoming the one thought that had been in her head for the last couple of hours.

Could he really be in love with me?

 

~*~

 

Later that night

After spending the majority of the day holed up on the tour bus with Rebecca and then holed up in the hotel room that she would be sharing with the younger woman that night, Cathy decided that it was time that she stopped acting like a little child and come out of hiding.

"I'll be right back....don't wait up for me."

Already knowing exactly where the older woman was headed off to 'caused Rebecca to just nod her head in understanding before turning her attention back towards the person on the other end of her cell-phone, replying: "No mom, me and Lance haven't had sex yet, but if we ever do I promise you'll be the first person I'll tell."

Without even bothering to hold back her small laughter, Cathy playfully rolled her eyes at the look of annoyance on the younger woman's face before grabbing her key card off the night stand beside her and then making her way towards the hotel's hallway; not surprised when she saw a bored looking Mike standing outside of Justin and Kayla's room, newspaper in hand.

"Well-well-well, look who finally decided to grace us with her presence today. How long has it been now? Months...days...weeks?"

Knowing that Mike was just playing with her since he was the one to bring her the pizza, that Rebecca had ordered for them earlier, caused Cathy to playfully roll her eyes, before saying, "More like hours maybe....?Anyway, I was just stopping by to talk to Justin for a second, you know if he's up?"

While letting an all knowing look slip across his face, Mike honestly replied that Justin should be. "Last time I checked he was just about to put Kayla to bed, but you can go in and check for yourself, if you want to, that is."

With that being his last word, Mike moved out of the way so Cathy could slide past him and then after unlocking the door so she could walk in, he outwardly told her to holler if she needed anything.

"Will do." Cathy absentmindedly replied, before walking inside the room and raising both eyebrows in surprise when she recognized the familiar song that was coming from the room's CD player. He remembered....

 

When we are together, the moments I cherish with every beat of my heart...
To touch you..to hold you...to feel you..to breathe you...
there's nothing to keep us apart.......

 

As if knowing someone was watching him, Justin looked up from the notebook he was writing in and couldn't help but bite his lip slightly when he noticed who was standing in front of him. "Cat..."

Even though she knew she had just spent the majority of the day thinking about what she was going to say to Justin when she first saw him, the only thing that could come out of her mouth now was, "Hey J...you busy?"

Wow, great opener, Cat, you really know just how to get someone's attention.

Noticing the blush that was starting to take over the older woman's face caused Justin to somewhat relax a little as he offered Cathy a small smile. "No, I was just sitting here working on a couple of song ideas..why, what's up?"

Well, here goes nothing...Cathy inwardly thought to herself before letting out a small sigh and saying, "I didn't mean to disturb you, I just wanted to stop by so we could talk.....about last night."

Having already figured out that that was exactly why Cathy had come into his room a couple of minutes ago and also why this was the first time he had seen her all day long 'caused Justin to inwardly think to himself, Here we go...., before laying the notebook he was writing in on top of his bed and giving the woman in front of him his undivided attention. "I'm listening. What about it?"

Where do I begin...?

After adverting her eyes from Justin's probing stare to Kayla's sleeping figure, Cathy couldn't help but smile slightly to herself before saying, "I know that you think that I've pretty much been avoiding you all day long--which I admit, that I have been--but it's not because of the reasons that you think I've been."

"So, it's not because you've been busy trying to figure out exactly how you feel about me, then?" Justin knowingly interrupted, causing Cathy to, once again, raise both eyebrows in surprise while inwardly thinking to herself: I guess he does know me a little bit more than I thought he did..

"Okay, then it was exactly 'cause of the reasons you thought I had been." Cathy outwardly admitted to the both of them, causing Justin to slightly laugh for a second before asking the older woman, "And what exactly are your feelings for me, if you don't mind me asking?"

Do I mind....? Hell, that seems to be the question of the day...

With that thought in mind, after taking a second to brace herself for whatever was to happen after she made her confession, Cathy hesitantly replied, "I'm not going to lie to you, I'm not in love with you, but I do like you...a lot. And I'm not sure when or why exactly it happened, but all I know is that lately you are the first person I think about when I wake up in the morning and the last person I think about before I go to bed. And I know that's probably not what you want to hear right now, seeing as how you just confessed in front of tons of people that you had fallen in love with me, but at the moment that's all I can offer you. I'm sorry."

After a couple of seconds of not getting any response from the younger male, Cathy forced herself to move her eyes away from the floor--which she had been staring at while giving her speech--to Justin's face. And after doing so, she couldn't help but furrow her eyebrows in confusion as she noticed that he was currently smiling at her.

"What's so funny?"

While slowly standing up from where he was seated and making his way towards Cathy, Justin couldn't help but chuckle while saying, "I just realized you were right--you suck at giving apologies."

What the...?

Realizing that Justin was now laughing harder at her caused Cathy to make a move to swat the younger man playfully on his arm, but before she could do so, Justin caught her right hand in his and pulled her to him; making it almost impossible for her to move at all.

"Hey, there's no reason to hit me. You know you suck at apologies--you even told me so once before." Justin retorted, while continuing to chuckle at the look of annoyance that was written across Cathy's face. Then after another second of doing so, he let his laughter die down to a small smile, before continuing with: "And that's one of the things that I love about you....you're not afraid to tell the truth, even though you know sometimes it might not be what the other person really wants to hear."

Okay, so he has been picking up on some things about me since I've been out here. Cathy inwardly noted to herself, but before she could say those words out loud, Justin interrupted her by saying: "It's just too bad that you messed up this time, cause you actually told me what I wanted to hear from you all along."

Huh?

Seeing the look of confusion on Cathy's face caused Justin to wait until after he had wrapped his other arm around her waist--so now she was completely against him--before continuing with: "I know my feelings for you are stronger than what yours are for me right now, and I also know that you're scared of getting hurt again. And that's why I'm happy that you didn't come in here and tell me that you were in love with me, as well. This way, it'll make me want to work that much harder to prove myself to you--that is, if you allow me to."

Wow..

Not knowing exactly how to respond to that comment caused Cathy to stay quiet for a second--while staring into Justin's eyes to see if he was lying or not. And after seeing that he wasn't, she hesitantly asked if he really thought it could work between the two of them; a question which Justin didn't even have to think about before saying, "Honestly...? I do."

"I mean, with you moving to New York and us doing the whole long distance thing for a while, it might be a little bit rocky in the beginning. But who knows......further down the line, if things start to get a little bit more serious between the two of us, me and Kayla might just have to pack up our bags and go looking for a little house for the three of us up in Manhattan. Pretend like we're part of the Fatone brood for a minute--that is, only if you promise that I don't have to cook lasagna for you every night and talk in a Brooklyn accent 'cause that is so not me."

"Or me either..." Cathy absentmindedly joked, while continuing to take in everything that Justin was saying to her, word by word. "So, you'd really do that for me...? You'd pack up all of yours and Kayla's things and move to New York just to be with me?"

Once again, without even thinking about it, Justin outwardly replied, "Of course I would. In a heartbeat. That's just how much I love you--now, do you believe me?"

After slightly laughing at the man in front of her--while blushing as well, cause she knew that she had just been caught--Cathy outwardly admitted that yes, she did believe him.

He really does love me...

With that thought in mind, Cathy copied the younger man's movements and wrapped her arms around Justin's neck. And then afterwards she replied, "So, does this now mean what I think it means--that I'm officially your girlfriend?"

While slightly chuckling at the innocence of that question, Justin bent down so that his and Cathy's lips could meet. And then afterwards he replied, "Yes, but only if you want to be my girlfriend..."

A comment which Cathy only had one reply to:

"I thought you'd never ask."

**

EPILOGUE

October 2, 2002 (Mt. Vernon, New York)

Ladies and Gentleman, huh, it's my pleasure to introduce to you--he's a friend of mine. Yes, I--yes, I am. And he goes by the name...Justin. Whoa...all the way from Memphis, Tennessee and he's got something special for ya'll tonight, he's going to sing a song to ya'll about this girl...come in right here? Yeah, come on.

Opening the front door to her apartment, Cathy couldn't help but smile to herself as the beginning words to Senorita were heard coming from her kitchen.

It looks like somebodies in a good mood....

With that thought in mind, without even bothering to remover her jacket or her gloves from her hands, Cathy set her shopping bags down on the ground beside the door and made her way towards the direction in which the music was coming from; finding her boyfriend of two months standing in front of her stove cooking, what smelt like, Spaghetti and Meatballs.

Mm, my favorite.

Senorita, I feel for you...you deal with things that you don't have to. He doesn't love you, I can tell by his charm, but you can feel this real love if you just lay in my--

Waiting until Justin had turned around, during one of his dance moves, to get his attention, Cathy couldn't help but laugh a little as Justin jumped slightly after being caught. "Jesus, Cat, you scared the hell out of me...I didn't hear you come in."

While turning the CD player that was situated on the kitchen counter down a little, Cathy replied, "I'm not surprised. You were in your own little world there for a minute..show me that move you just did again. I haven't seen that one before."

"Hardy, har, har..." Justin sarcastically replied back, before closing the distance between himself and Cathy; giving the older woman a kiss on the lips before after wards asking her how her day went.

"Same ole, same ole...but we'll talk about that later. Right now, I just want to taste what you're cooking." Cathy replied, before side stepping Justin and grabbing the mixing spoon that was sitting beside the stove; after wards moaning in pleasure as she taste-tested her favorite meal. "Perfect...but what's the special occasion? You never cook."

Waiting until after he had successfully wrapped his arms around his girlfriend's stomach, Justin let a small smile drift across his face while replying: "Oh nothing...I just thought we could celebrate the fact that I got my review back from Jive today and come November second, Justified will be in stores everywhere."

Oh my God.

Turning around, Cathy couldn't help but throw her arms around Justin's neck--pulling him into a tight embrace. "Are you serious? I'm so happy for you. Why didn't you call me earlier? I would've taken off early and we could have gone out to dinner. My treat."

After chuckling slightly at his girlfriend's enthusiasm, Justin replied: "I figured I'd surprise you here with dinner after my meeting with Johnny. I even dropped Kayla off at Joey's mom's house so we could have the whole house to ourselves tonight--I hope you don't mind."

Having no idea why she would mind the least bit caused Cathy to furrow her eyebrows in confusion for a second, but then not wanting to spoil the evening by questioning his words, Cathy instead replied that she wanted to hear all about his meeting at Jive, but only after she took a shower first. "I've been running around all day and I just want to relax for a second."

"Mind if I join you?" Justin half-joked, causing Cathy to think to herself that's how we got in this predicament in the first place. But knowing she'd have to wait before exposing that bit of information to the younger man, she playfully swatted him on his arm before telling Justin that she'd be out in a second.

"All right..don't take too long."

~*~


"God, I feel full."

"As you should be." Justin commented almost an hour after Cathy and him had sit down at the dinner table to enjoy a romantic dinner of Spaghetti and Meatballs, Garlic bread and red wine--none for Cathy, who said she had to get up early in the morning for work--with strawberry cheesecake for dessert. "That's the first time I've ever seen you kill two servings in one setting. If I didn't know any better, I'd swear you were eating for two."

As Justin chuckled at that statement while making his way back into the kitchen to load up the dish washer, Cathy couldn't help but tense up slightly while casting a look at the shopping bags that were still seated by the front door.

I guess now would be a better time than any to bring up my news.

With that thought in mind, Cathy yelled out: "Hey J, why don't you just put the dishes in the sink for right now. I want to show you something."

"Does this have anything to do with the bags that are seated by the door?" Justin yelled back, from in the kitchen; causing Cathy to roll her eyes in amusement, knowing the younger man never missed a beat.

"Just come back here." Cathy replied; a second later smiling slightly when Justin re-appeared with a paper towel in his hands, cleaning out the little bit of spaghetti sauce that he had somehow got stuck in between his finger nails.

Now I see why Kayla is such a messy eater...her father is too.

"So, what did you want to show me?"

After absentmindedly telling Justin to take a seat on the couch in the living room, Cathy picked up the small bags that were by the front door before joining her boyfriend in the other room.

"Please let it be lingerie."

"You wish." Cathy jokingly replied, before handing Justin the first bag--after wards telling him she hoped he liked it.

"Damn, I've been looking for this everywhere. Where did you find this?" Justin asked, after reaching into the bag and pulling out a framed photo of the picture that had been shown of him and Kayla during his BET interview a few months ago.

"A friend of a friend of mine pulled a couple of strings for me--I figured that now since the cat's out of the bag you should definitely start putting up more pictures of you and Kay around the house--this one first since it's your favorite."

After nodding his head in response, as if to say will do, Justin read out loud the inscription that was on top of the photograph: "Daddy's Lil Angel...I like it."

Figuring he would, Cathy took a deep breath in before reaching for the other bag that was sitting on the floor beside her and handing this article to Justin.

Now, for the big surprise of the evening..

"More gifts for me...? You shouldn't have!" Justin joked, even though Cathy could tell by the way he excitedly reached inside the bag that he was amused at the thought of someone spoiling him for a change.

"Mommy's Lil angel...?" Justin asked, after pulling out another small frame from the second bag Cathy had handed him, this one holding--instead of a picture of Kayla--a digital image from the doctor's office. "Are you serious?"

Not really sure by the tone of his voice or the expression on Justin's face if this was a happy are you serious or an angry are you serious caused Cathy to slightly bite her lip in worry while replying: "Yes...I'm pregnant. I found out this morning."

After almost a full minute of silence between the two of them--silence in which Justin continued to study the image in his hand during--Cathy wasn't surprised when fear began to take over her entire body.

This can't be happening again...

Fortunately for her...it wasn't.

"I'm going to be a father again." Justin commented, while adverting his now teary-eyed gaze towards Cathy; a hint of a smile playing across his face. "I'm going to be a father again."

Before Cathy knew what was happening, Justin had dropped the picture that he was holding onto the couch and stood up--bringing her with him; after wards quickly wrapping his arms around the older woman, bringing their lips together in an excited fashion; one which left Cathy breathless after only a couple of seconds.

"So, I take it you're okay with this?" Cathy asked, in amusement, after Justin had finally let her breathe for a second; only to drop down to his knees in a dramatic fashion to study Cathy's hidden belly.

"What? Don't get me wrong, I'm still in shock over this...but I'm more than okay with this...we're going to be a family."

A family?

Until Justin had said the world out-loud, Cathy hadn't realized that by having Justin's child this would really make her part of a family.

The only family I've ever known is Robert...

Now feeling tears start to come to her eyes caused Cathy to have to suck in a small breath at this information; a fact which Justin picked up on.

"Aw, don't cry, Cat...everything's going to be fine. We're going to get through this together, and you wont even have to worry about a commute...me and Kayla will just move here to be near you, if that's okay with you."

Having not even thought that far ahead yet caused Cathy to shake her head at Justin's response, before replying: "I don't want you to have to do that..I want to go back to Orlando. I want to be near you, Robert and the rest of the guys. I want to come home."

Not believing what she was saying caused Justin to slowly stand up from where he was kneeling down in front of her, and then after taking Cathy's hands in his, he hesistantly asked her if she was sure or not.

Without even bothering to think about it for a second, Cathy replied that she had never been more sure about anything in her life. "I want our baby to be raised near family, and all of you are my family. I love you and I want to be with you--that is, if you'll have me."

After slightly chuckling at this comment, Justin replied that he wouldn't have it any other way. And then after another brief second, in which his excitement came back to him full throttle, Justin picked up Cathy and spun her around; causing the older woman to squeal in surprise.

"Justin, put me down before I throw up."

Quickly putting her down at this comment, Justin had to roll his eyes as he realized his girlfriend was just kidding. "Sorry, I'm just so excited..I have to call my mom, and the rest of the guys. They don't know yet, do they?"

After shaking her head in response, Cathy watched on as Justin quickly pulled his phone out of his pocket and then began dialing a random number.

"Hey C, guess what...?"

While watching Justin tell friend after friend his good news--all of them wishing both him and Cathy congratulations and good luck in response--Cathy couldn't help but think to herself that this was the complete opposite of how Keith had reacted a year ago.

It just goes to show you that when you find someone who loves you for you, anything can happen--you might even find the one.

*****
What did you think? Sequel coming soon!!