Two weeks later

“So, my flight is leaving out of JFK at eleven tomorrow night, and I should be in LA by one o‘clock your time.”

Marcy snapped her gum into the phone. The sound grated annoyingly in Sheridan’s ears. “Sounds good,” she mumbled. She glanced at Justin. He was sitting by the window, toying with the guitar that his mother had sent him the previous week. At first, he had been bitter about the gift, stating that it was just a ploy to get him to forgive his mother for hanging up on him. He had even attempted to throw the instrument in the garbage, but her mother had taken it away from him before he could damage it. Justin had thrown a fit. He hadn’t wanted “that stupid shit in the same house as him”. That was when Sheridan had taken it upon herself to drag Justin out of that house for a long walk around the property.

They had started to do a lot of that over the past two weeks. Whenever Sheridan felt he was starting to get into one of his moods, she would drag him out of the house. They would circle the property once, twice…sometimes even more depending on how distraught he was. She found that Justin was easier to talk to this way, and often he rambled on about things that she never thought he would have wanted to talk about; how he felt about his handicap, what his insecurities were, what he missed about his old life. Sometimes, very rarely, he would bring up Trace…the person he loved to avoid talking about. He would never go into much detail about what had happened to him, although Sheridan had a pretty good idea. Mostly, he would just tell her a funny thing Trace had done or said, that would send them both into hysterics. She wouldn’t push the subject, she knew that when the time was right Justin would tell her everything. The important thing was that he was finally able to talk about what he was feeling.

The bond she and Justin had formed hadn’t gone unnoticed by her mother. She often found herself sitting in her mothers office with the door closed, discussing the pros and cons of being involved with somebody like Justin. Her mother worried that she would become too involved with him, and when the time came for her to go back to school, Justin wouldn’t be able to handle it. Sheridan thought she was crazy. She knew what Justin’s life was like. Hundreds, maybe even thousands of people had passed in and out of it. She was sure that when she left for school at the end of August, Justin would be just fine without her. Still, her mother made it a point that Sheridan was not to get more involved than necessary with Justin. She even offered to send Sheridan and her friend to Hawaii for a few days, so that Justin could get used to not always having her around.

Sheridan refused. And it scared her a little, because normally, when her mother dangled a trip like that in front of her face, she jumped at the chance. But something was stopping her. And she was sure it had to do with the kiss she had planted on Justin’s lips that day. Even though all was said and done…and it seemed that Justin had forgotten all about it, Sheridan couldn’t help but think about it. She still couldn’t figure out what had possessed her to do such a thing.

But she was sure she wouldn’t have minded doing it again.

It was a bad thing. Bad because he was the patient and she was the doctor in training. Being professional didn’t include dating your patient. The first rule they had taught her back at NYU actually was “Never become personally involved with the patient.”. But that was exactly what she was doing. And it was becoming more and more apparent to her everyday how much she was starting to like him. Not because of who he was…or what he possessed. But because of the person he was inside. The person that not many people had bothered to see.

He was beautiful.

“Sheridan, are you there?” Marcy asked.

She snapped out of her daze. “Yeah,” she said. “Sorry.”

“Sher.”

She fixed her gaze on Justin again. He was strumming the guitar softly, and smiling. “Let’s go shopping,” he said.

Her mouth gaped. Leave the house? Justin had never been this confident before.

“Sheridan, are you there?” Marcy grumbled.

“Sorry,” she managed. “Ju--I mean, the client was talking to me.” That was another thing. Marcy didn’t know “the client” was actually Justin Timberlake, and Justin had no idea that Marcy was coming to visit. Her mother had pointed this out too, which had only made Sheridan more nervous about the whole situation. Normally, having a friend come by wouldn’t have been so nerve wracking…but this was Marcy.

Marcy, who was known as a “boy band connoisseur” by half the students occupying NYU’s campus. Marcy, who had plastered their entire dorm room walls with pictures of Justin, and the rest of those blue eyed wonders, without letting Sheridan have a say. Marcy, who blasted Justified so often that Sheridan had to unplug the stereo and hide it so she could get some sleep. Marcy, who had somehow talked her way into the backstage meet and greet of an NSYNC concert, and wet herself after getting her picture taken with Justin. Yes…she had met him, strangely enough. Now she would meet him again, under different circumstances. Sheridan hoped that Marcy had matured enough not to act like a star struck teenager.

“The client?” Marcy giggled. “Does the client have a name?”

“Psst,” Justin hissed. “Sheridan. You wanna?”

“Hang on,” she covered the mouthpiece with her hand. “Do I want to what?”

He strummed the guitar strings again. “Go shopping.”

“Justin,” she said. “Do you really think you can handle that?”

“I’m Justin Timberlake aren’t I?,” he winked, strumming the syncopated opening of a song that Sheridan knew all to well, but didn’t know the name of. “Ain’t nobody love you like I love you,” he sang, continuing to strum.

“I can’t believe you!” Marcy exclaimed.

Sheridan removed her hand from the mouthpiece. “What happened?”

“You’re playing Justified, after you gave me so much crap about playing it all the time!”

“Oh…,” Sheridan blushed. She hadn’t realized that Marcy was able to hear all of that. “Well Marce, you kinda got me hooked.”

“See, I told you,” Marcy said. “It grows on you after awhile.”

“Sheridan!” Justin called out. “Get off the phone would ya.”

“I heard that. Tell your client that he’s going to have to wait until we’re through.” Marcy said. “This is our time dammit.”

Sheridan rolled her eyes. “I think my client’s needs are a little more important than our phone conversation, Marcy.”

“But I need to talk to you. I’m crawling up the wall at my parents house,” Marcy whined. “They’re so miserable, all they do is degrade each other. It’s disgusting. “

“Did the divorce papers come yet?” Sheridan asked.

“Mom’s came yesterday,” Marcy laughed. “That’s what their last argument was about. I’d get into details…but I might hurl. It seriously sucks here Sher, I can’t wait to get out there with you and party.”

Sheridan smiled. She was long overdue for a party herself. “You and me both.”

“Can we go Timberhunting? I heard he’s doing his physical therapy at home,” Marcy pointed out. “We could like…bake him a cake, and then knock on his door. He’d have to give in. Justin loves cake…I read that.”

Sheridan’s breath caught in her throat. This was bad. Marcy hadn’t even gotten to the airport yet, and she was already devising a plan to run into “Mr. Timberlake”. “Marcy,” she huffed. “I think I should tell you something.”

“If you’re going to say I’m crazy, you can save your breath. I already know I am.”

She looked at Justin. He looked so happy, so content. The happiest he had looked since he had arrived. Sheridan knew that if she told Marcy about him today…she was going to have to tell Justin. She didn’t want to do that. He wanted to go shopping. He wanted to leave the house. She wasn’t about to spoil his mood because of Marcy’s obsession. No, she would wait until she picked her up from the airport. “That’s what I was going to say,” she said finally. “Listen, I would love to stay on the phone with you, but unlike your spoiled ass, I have a job to do.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Marcy huffed. “Just be at the airport tomorrow. I ain’t paying for no cab in the middle of the night.”

“Yes ma’am,” Sheridan snickered. “See you then.” She clicked the phone off.

“Damn,” Justin said. “Who was that?”

Sheridan laughed out loud. “Marcy.”

“That’s your roommate,” he stated.

“Yes.”

“Oh…that’s cool. You must miss her,” he put the guitar down on the floor and rolled toward her.

She raised and lowered her eyebrows. “Yeah, a little.”

“You gonna see her at all?”

Sheridan was taken aback. “Well…uh…”

He shot her a confused look, and chuckled a little. “Sher?”

She wanted to lie to him. She wanted to tell him that Marcy was staying in New York, and she wasn’t going to bring her boy band loving self anywhere near his shattered form. She opened her mouth. She couldn’t lie to him. She just…couldn’t. “Yes,” she blurted out.

“Oh.” The confusion was still apparent on his face. Then he looked into her eyes, and Sheridan knew that it had just hit him. “She’s coming here isn’t she?”

Sheridan simply nodded.

“She’s a fan isn’t she?,” he whispered.

She was amazed how quickly he caught onto things. “Damn,” she said. “You don’t miss a beat do you.”

“You should have asked me,” he grumbled.

“I shouldn’t have to ask your permission to see my best friend, Justin. I mean, I need to have a life too.”

“Oh right!” he shouted. “So I guess the fact that you have a fuckin’ fan coming to this house to gawk at me is fine then!”

“Justin, it’s not like that.”

He rolled away from her.

“Justin!” she said, running after him Like so many times before, she grabbed onto his handle bars, stopping him mid-roll.

“Look,” he huffed. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay.“ Sheridan released her hold on the handle bars, and he turned to face her. “Maybe, I should have asked. I dunno…it’s just…Marcy’s having problems at home so I just…I said she could come stay for a few days…”

“Sher,” he cut her off. “You don’t have to make excuses. I don’t run your life.”

He was right. She laughed at herself. “I know. But Marcy…she’s just such a big fan.”

“It’s nothing I can’t handle. I mean, she’ll stare…everybody stares.” He looked down at his lap. “Maybe…it’ll be good for me.”

Sheridan smiled. It was the first time he had looked at the brighter side of a bad situation. It was another step forward. “I think it will. And I promise…I’ll give her a talking to.”

He looked into her eyes. “Thanks.”

She smiled. “You really wanna go shopping?”

His expression brightened. “Yeah. What kinda malls y’all got around here?”

Sheridan smirked. “We don’t have to stay around here.”

Justin’s eyes widened. “Your Mom would kill you.”

Sheridan nodded. “Yeah, but she doesn’t have to know.”

“Sheridan Williams,” Justin gasped. “I never thought you were so…daring.”

“I’m not,” she giggled. “This is all new to me.”

“You’ve come to the right person then,” he laughed.

Sheridan didn’t know what was provoking her to do this. She knew her mother would completely lose it if she found out where she was going. But her mother wasn’t home…and wouldn’t be home until that evening. That gave her the entire day to get back and forth without her mother noticing they had left, and even if they were late…she could just lie and say that she had taken Justin to the mini mall a few miles from here.

She would do this for him. She knew he needed it. He needed to be normal for a day.

Not that being Justin Timberlake could ever be normal.

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

“Where are you taking me?” Justin said, turning up the volume on the radio. “This is one hell of a long trip to the mall.”

“Just be quiet and enjoy the ride,” Sheridan told him, taking a sip out of her soda. “And the food.”

McDonalds. It had been so long since he had enjoyed the taste of a Quarter Pounder with cheese. After Trace’s death, he hadn’t felt like eating much of anything…and when he had eaten it had only been whatever momma had made for herself and Paul. Karen on the other hand, believed in good, wholesome meals that “got that energy level up”. Justin took another bite. He didn’t care about wholesome. “This is so fucking good,” he managed. “Jesus…how’d you know I needed this?”

“Because she likes you.”

He looked behind him. Trace was seated in the back seat of the car, and somehow…had managed to obtain his own burger and fries.

“Because everybody needs some junk food once in a while,” Sheridan said.

He barely heard her. Trace hadn’t been around for a week. It had started to scare him a little bit, and that surprised him…because he had thought Trace was a pain in the ass. The reality was that he really did want him there…so badly that it made him angry. “Does not,” he mumbled.

“Justin, who are you talking to?”

Trace smiled, and gave him a little wave. “Don’t talk too loud J. Bilbo might come back to haunt you.”

Realizing that Trace actually had a point this time, he looked back at Sheridan. “Myself.”

Sheridan laughed. “You’re silly, grumpy bear.”

“She likes you,” Trace whispered. “C’mon Justin, you used to be able to see these things right off.”

Justin sighed, and looked over at her. She was chewing her bottom lip, and was clutching the steering wheel so tightly that her knuckles had turned white. She seemed to be trying to hold something back…or in. She had all the major signs of being nervous…having a crush on him. But at the same time, he didn’t want to believe that she did. The kiss…it had just happened. It hadn’t meant anything. He had just been naked, and she had just been there. That was all.

“See…I told you.”

Justin glanced in the rearview mirror, and shook his head at him. Trace disappeared.

“So, what do people like you do on a normal day?” Sheridan asked him with an amused tone. “Wake up…have a gourmet breakfast,” she directed her gaze at him. “Go shopping…”

“Watch the road,” he said quickly, clenching his fists.

Sheridan frowned, and looked ahead. “Sorry.”

“No…don’t say your sorry…I just…you know.”

“I know.”

He was silent for a moment. Something inside of him was telling him it was time to talk about…everything. Trace…the drinking. He almost did…but then he stopped himself. He couldn‘t tell her. He couldn‘t tell her he had murdered Trace. She would never look at him the same way. “And…that’s not at all how my day goes,” he told her with a sigh. “Sometimes, I wish people could really see what goes on in this business. It’s not all fun and games. I mean, sure it’s nice to enjoy the fruits of your labor…when you get the time off to do it.”

“Alright…so what’s a normal day for you?”

He smiled a little. This was so normal. It was almost like he was in the car, with some reporter. It had been so long…and it felt so good. “Well alright. My alarm will go off about four. Then, I’ll take the quickest shower you’ve ever seen and pick out my clothes and junk. Most of the time I’m in some hotel, so my time is even shorter because I have to make time to meet with Tiny and get past all the press and fans outside the hotel…”

Sheridan laughed. “Tiny?”

“He’s my head of security,” Justin said. “He’s not really tiny. It’s just a nickname.”

“Like grumpy bear?”

He laughed. “Yes, like grumpy bear. So anyway…when I finally get into the limo, Trace hands me this bag with like…a muffin in it. Then comes the coffee, and he puts the sugar in, because if I do it…I end up getting it all over me, and we don’t’ have the time to clean it off of me…so he just does it. Then we get to our first stop…its usually some interview or shoot…whatever. If I’m touring, it’s usually radio…if not, then it’s either a magazine interview and shoot or just a shoot. By the time that’s all over, it’s around lunch time. So I end up eating this shit salad because my diet doesn’t allow for anything else besides that when I’m doing press. Then after that, I usually end up going to whatever gym is around, and I’ll meet with my trainer…he flies out. So that lasts for a little over an hour…then I usually have a few more things scheduled…interviews…studio time…whatever. Sometimes I get to have a quiet dinner, if I’m not touring. If I’m touring…I’m lucky if I get to eat anything. Then, after I get done with everything else…I either hit up the club or go to bed, depending on how tired I am.”

“Whoa,” Sheridan said. “That’s a lot to cram into one day.”

“That’s nothing. You should see how many things we crammed into a day when I was with the guys. I mean damn…in the beginning, we were doing two shows a day. It was nuts.” He shook his head.

“But you loved it.”

“You’re right.” He stared at the sign looming before him. LOS ANGELES 20 MILES. His mouth hung open. “Sheridan,” he gasped.

A small smile appeared on her face. “Yes.”

He grabbed onto her arm. “LA,” he said.

She nodded.

“You’re taking us to LA?” he said excitedly. “Sher…I could kiss you!”

She laughed. “Been there.”

He leaned over and kissed her cheek. “You don’t know how much this means to me.”

She glanced at him quickly and smoothed her hand over his cheek. “You deserve it.”

Home. It was the first thing that popped into his mind. His house…his things. He longed to see them. He knew nobody was there. Momma had long since gone back to Tennessee. “Bring me to my house,’ he said.

“Oh Justin…” she began. “I…I don’t know…”

“Come on Sher,” he pleaded with her. “Please…there’s nobody there.”

“But Justin, you know…Karen said that you aren’t supposed to--”

He cut her off. “Screw Karen,” he whispered. “She’s not here.”

“I can’t do it. Shopping is one thing…but that’s just…it would be wrong.”

“If the situation were reversed,” he told her. “I would do it for you.”

“But it’s not reversed.”

“Sheridan! I’m asking you to do this because you’re my friend. Friends do things for friends,” he pleaded.

She shook her head. “I can’t.”

“Whatever,“ he grunted, turning his gaze toward the window. The ride continued in silence. Justin sighed. She wasn’t going to do it. He couldn’t blame her. Sheridan wasn’t one to break the rules, and the fact that she was taking him this far from the ranch still surprised him. He figured he should drop the subject, before he said something he didn’t mean. Momma always said ‘be thankful for what you have’. He guessed a trip into LA for the day would have to be good enough.

Thirty minutes passed. Justin began to recognize the familiar surroundings of suburban Los Angeles. Finally, he was someplace he could relate to…someplace he knew better than most people…a place that held memories of his life…Trace…the guys. He smiled, and began to take in the scenery, nearly forgetting that Sheridan hadn’t said anything in quite awhile.

“I hate you. What exit is it?” Sheridan spoke up.

He looked at her, and smiled. “What?”

“How do I get to the house?”

“Sher! You mean it!” he said excitedly.

“I don’t know what makes me give into you so easily,” she grumbled. “It’s really not fair, Justin.”

“Just…take the next exit,” he smiled. “Sheridan, I--”

“Don’t Justin,” she said angrily. “I’m really not in the mood.”

“You’re mad,” he told her. “Sher…if you don’t want to go then--”

“I’ll go,” she nodded. “But that doesn’t mean it’s right. Jesus Justin, if my mom finds out about this…I don’t even wanna know what she’ll do.”

He grasped her hand, and felt her tense up as he did so. “I promise you,” he whispered. “She won’t find out.”

She looked at him just then, and flashed him a small smile. Justin sucked in a breath. A strange feeling came over him. A sort of numbness he could only describe as a sexual reaction to how he felt about her. Was this how your hormones reacted when you couldn’t feel anything down there? He wasn’t sure. All he knew, was that he really wanted to feel her lips on his again…and it was scaring the hell out of him. He quickly let go of her hand. She grabbed onto it again, and laced her fingers through his. He gasped. “What are you doing?”

“Let me,” she smiled. “You owe me now.”

He did. But he wasn’t sure if this was the way he wanted to repay her. She was a girl…who wanted to hold his hand. That would have been fine, if he was sure he wasn’t attracted to her. But he was…and he knew he couldn’t be. “We shouldn’t.”

“I know,” she said, squeezing his hand tighter. “But hell, we’ve already broken every rule in the book…what’s one more?” She drove off the exit, and stopped at the red light at the end of the ramp. “Look,” she let go of his hand. “If you don’t want me to, I understand.”

He chewed his bottom lip for a moment, and stared at her hand. He wanted it back where she had it. He took it, and assumed the same position as before. “I want you to, Sheridan.”

A new presence seemed to take over her. She was smiling, like a school girl who had just gotten a kiss from the boy sitting next to her. It was so…cute. If the situation had been different, Justin knew that he would have kissed her already. But this was how things were. He was crippled…he couldn‘t function properly. He almost frowned, but then the light changed colors and the car surged forward again.

Justin smiled. In a matter of minutes, he would be home.

***********

“This one.”

Sheridan pulled up to the gate. She stared at the monstrosity of a home that lied beyond the wrought iron bars. It was very modern looking, and very, very expensive looking. “This is your house?” she got out. She looked at him. Justin had an intense look in his eyes, as if a million things were running through his head at once. She knew this was a big thing for him. She also knew how much damage it could do to him if things went wrong. She wanted to turn around just then, but knew she couldn’t. They were here now, and she had said she would stay for as long as he wanted to. “Justin?” she whispered.

“Yes,” he said finally. “This is it.”

“It’s gigantic.”

“Your house isn’t so bad,” he told her. “Your mom is a doctor…she could probably afford something like this if she really wanted it.”

Sheridan laughed. “Mom is way too conservative for a mansion.”

He didn’t seem to hear her. “Lets go in.”

She gazed around. There was nobody here. She had no idea how they were supposed to get the gate open. “How?”

“There,” he pointed.

Sheridan looked. There was a small keypad. “You know the code?”

“Of course I know the code,” he said. “It’s my house.”

She smiled. “Right…how could I forget.” She surged the car forward a little, and pulled up beside the keypad.

“You’re gonna have to do it,” he said.

“You trust me?” Sheridan said.

A playful look entered his eyes. “Should I?”

“Just tell me the code,” she smiled.

He did. She punched the numbers in, and like magic, the gates parted. Sheridan drove onto the property, and gazed around. She was in awe of the place. It was a place you only saw on those shows about celebrity homes. Now she understood why Justin was so desperate to come back here…it was a whole other world. Sheridan knew that she could probably let those gates close behind her and stay here forever…never growing tired of the place. “Justin, this is…amazing.” She pulled up to the front of the house, and turned off the car. “I mean, if I had known it was going to be this great here, I wouldn’t have given you such a hard time about it.” She looked at him. Justin wasn’t smiling. He was looking straight past her, at the front of the house. He didn’t look happy about being here at all. He looked almost, sick. “What? Justin…what’s wrong?”

“The ramp,” he said after a moment. “Somebody took it down.”

“The ramp?” she whispered, directing her gaze toward the house. Then it hit her. A wheelchair ramp. There wasn’t one. There was just a giant staircase, leading up to the fancy looking French doors. There was no way he could get up those in that wheelchair. She certainly wasn’t strong enough to haul him up them. “Oh.”

“Dammit!” he yelled, punching the dashboard with his fist. “Why’d they do it!”

“Justin, it’s okay,” she said soothingly, placing a hand on his shoulder. “Just calm down.”

“It’s not okay Sheridan! That--that’s my fucking house alright! I worked for years, pleasing those damn people…to get it. And now…I can’t even go in! I can’t even fucking go in!” He buried his face in his hands.

“Look at me,” she told him.

“No.”

“Justin.”

With a sigh, he reluctantly glanced up at her. “What?”

“Maybe they did it, so when you are ready to come home you wont’ have to deal with it. We’re not supposed to be here, remember? If we were, they wouldn’t have taken the ramp out.”

He sniffled and remained silent for a moment. He stared at the house, with a faraway look in his eyes. “I just wanted to remember…I just wanted to touch and see things…I mean, Trace…sometimes I can’t remember stuff about him--” he sucked in a breath and shook his head.

“Its scary isn’t it?” Sheridan pointed out. She remembered, she had gone through the same thing after her father had died. She had started to forget the little things. The smell of his cologne, the little tune he used to whistle while he cooked breakfast, the tone of his voice. It had upset her so greatly that she had gone to ridiculous extremities to remember things about him. She remembered buying a bottle of the cologne her father had worn, and spraying it all over the house. Her mother hadn’t been thrilled with that, but hadn’t stopped her. She remembered, the entire house had stunk of the stuff…but it had been okay. With that scent in the air, she hadn’t felt so lost without him. It had made it seem like he was still there, in a small way.

“I don’t want to forget. If I forget…” he said, chocking back a sob. “It would make me a really bad friend.”

“What kind of cologne did he use?” she asked him.

He looked at her as if she were crazy. “What?”

“His cologne. It’s…a good way to remember somebody. To keep them around you, always.”

“Jesus, we weren’t a gay couple.”

Sheridan had to laugh. “No, but if somebody is that close to a person…the generally know everything about them. Come on Justin, it’s just cologne.”

“Abercrombie,” he grumbled.

“See,” she smiled. “I knew you would know.”

“What the hell does that have to do with anything?” he said. “It doesn’t excuse the fact that I’m forgetting about my best friend.”

“Hush,” she said. “You’ll see.” She started up the car again. “Do you want to stay?” she asked him.

“There’s no point,” he muttered. “Just go.”

She nodded, and began to turn the car around. “It really is a great house Justin. You should be proud to own it.”

He didn’t say anything. He turned his head toward the window. Sheridan was sure he was crying, but she didn’t say anything. She pulled away, leaving the luxurious world that was Justin’s home behind them.

“Sheridan?”

She flipped on the radio. “Yeah?”

“One day…I’d like to take you back here,” he said softly. “One day, when I can give you a proper tour. You know, I can have you meet Buckley and Brennan.”

“Buckley and Brennan?” She chuckled.

“My dogs.”

She looked at him. He was smiling at her this time. “I’d like that.”