Joey practically ran into the hospital out of the cab, leaving Rick to pay the man. He could care less who saw him or if he acted like a crazy man. He spotted his parents and rushed to them. “Where is my son? Is he okay? Kristen?” he asked with it all coming out in a jumbled mess as he looked expectantly at them. He frowned when they didn't answer right away, his heart beating faster at the thought that something was wrong.
“Joey...” his mother's voice was soft, not sure of what to say or do. The doctor had pulled her and her husband into his office. “The doctor wants to talk to you..He asked if you'd come when you got here.”
Joey swallowed and nodded, not sure what to think. No one had said anything about the baby and that scared him. His father knocked on the door and the older man let them in, looking very forlorn at Joey. “Joseph, sit please, son.”
“I'm fine,” Joey said, hearing his mother sniffle beside him. “I want to see my son, Doc. I'm late getting here...”
“Joey, I know you have a busy life and job that keeps you away from your home here. However, I am not about to let you live a life that is a lie.” Joey looked as a piece of paper was slid over in front of him. “This is your blood typing. It's on file. You are AB positive. The baby that I delivered a couple hours ago,” he paused, shaking his head, “had B negative blood.”
“I don't get...” Joey's words died on his tongue. He felt himself falter and fell into the chair ungracefully. “You're sure?” he croaked, his mind going full steam as he sat there in shock.
“Blood tests don't lie. However, when I finally got all of Mrs. Fatone's records, I can tell you that she was over a month farther along than what you'd been led to believe.”
Joey sat there, gripping the chair arms. His brain rushed to understand everything he had just said. Words jumbled in his head. Blood. Positive. Negavite. Early baby. On time baby. It was like his brain grasped the fragment. On time baby. The moment he had received the phone call Kristen was in labor, he had been beside himself in worry. Kristen wasn't due for another month. There had to be something wrong. There was something wrong with the baby, with his son. He went back over everything he could think or with the whole pregnancy wondering what he could have done differently. If he hadn't smoked so much. If he had been nicer to Kristen. There had to be something there that was his fault, something there that he could have prevented this from happening.
On time baby.
Anger slowly started to take over. He could feel it coursing through his blood. There was nothing wrong with his son. He swallowed hard. No. Not his son. And just like that he felt as if something had slammed into his chest and he fought to breathe.
"Are you okay, Son?" Joseph asked worriedly. He knew the anger he was feeling now at finding out he was not a grandfather was nothing compared to what his son was going through.
Joey laughed humorlessly. "Okay? No Pop, I'm not okay. I just found out the woman I married; the woman was told me she was pregnant with my child - a son - was lying to me." He clenched his jaw and looked at his father, his eyes blazing in anger. "Call my lawyer. I'm going to see my 'wife'." He stood up and shook the doctor's hand, thanking him for telling him. He took the results from the blood test and looked at his parents. "Just tell everyone to go to your house. I'll be along in a little while. Rick can hang out in the lobby. I might need him to drive me home. No one talks to the media."
The elation he had been feeling when he first ran into the hospital was gone. A weight of hurt still rested heavy on his heart. There was sadness when he thought about the baby he had felt kick, the baby he had talked to through Kristen's stomach wasn't his. When he remembered the completed nursery in his house the anger returned forcing the sadness and hurt to take a backseat.
He paused at the room hearing his wife's voice and then her sister's. She'd played him a fool the whole time. "Hey Kris," he said as he entered the room. A quick glance told him the baby wasn't there. For that he was thankful. He wasn't sure he wanted to see the baby whom he had called son. It was better this way. Better he didn't lay eyes on the baby. "Sorry my flight was delayed." His cheek twitched in anger as her sister hugged him, telling him she had pictures. "I need to talk with Kris alone."
Kristen watched her sister leave then looked at her husband. "I love you. He's just the most perfect little baby." She said, watching Joey pace in front of her. "I was worried because I was a month early, so scared. But the doctor said he was perfect."
"Funny you should mention that," Joey turned and nailed his wife with a hard stare. He felt little satisfaction when he saw her swallow and look away. "I just spoke with the doctor..."
Kristen gasped. "The baby, is he okay? Oh Joey..." she felt tears well in her eyes.
"Give it a rest Kristen. I know." He stared at her saying no more. He watched and noticed the exact moment she caught on to what he was talking about. "You must think I'm the most stupid fucking guido ever," Joey's New York accent came out heavily and he fought to stick with English instead of switching over into Italian which happened a lot when he was angry.
"What do you know?"
"Don't fucking play games with me!" Joey yelled. "I know that baby you just gave birth to is not mine! It's not possible! Our blood types don't fucking match! I also know that that baby was not born a month early. He was right on time. I know that you fucking lied to me! That is not my Goddamned kid, Kristen! Did you think you would get away with it? Did you think that I wouldn't find out?"
"I have gotten away with it so far," Kristen glared at Joey. She washed the look of 'love' and happiness off her face. The act was no longer needed. "I would have gotten away with for a lot longer if the doctor would have kept his mouth shut."
"Why the fuck would you do this to me? To my family!"
"Why? Because the stupid bastard that knocked me up bailed on me! I was pissed at you for dumping me for your best friend. Me for your precious Melissa! What the fuck were you thinking Joey? Why the hell would you want to be with someone like her?"
"Don't you dare say anything bad about Melissa or so help you God..." Joey broke off before his anger really went through the roof.
Kristen shrugged, not caring. "So I thought of a way to ruin her life and get what I wanted at the same time. " She gave him one of her perfect smiles. "I think it worked out perfectly. Melissa was just so devastated when you chose me over her. I must say it was great watching her little country bumpkin heart break. Like she would know what to do with someone of your fame and fortune. No one wants to see her on the red carpet. You have an image to uphold and she doesn't fit it."
"You stupid little whore," Joey bit off.
Kristen tsk-tsked give a small shake of her head. "Need I remind you of who was kissing a singer on stage? Oh the look on your face," she laughed. "Priceless!"
Joey was so angry he was shaking. He clenched his hands into fists for fear he'd reach out and strangle her. "Laugh while you can because you want to know what's really hilarious?"
"What's that?"
"All those papers you sighed that you didn't want to read before we got married, Dear?" His mouth curved into a predatory smile. "Pre-nup, my wife. You get nothing from me. No money. No car. No house. Nothing." He watched satisfied as the smile faltered on Kristen's face. "And before you think you can make any money by sell NSYNC secrets to any of those rag magazines, think again. Because one of those papers your so greedily signed your name to bans you from disclosing anything you learned about the group. If you think in your pretty little head that you can do it anonymously, we'll find out. We have people who live to search the Internet for people who post stuff about us. We'll have your ass thrown in jail so fast you won't know what hit you. Your parents will be raising your kid." He snuffed, looking down his nose at her. He wondered what he ever saw in this ugly woman in front of him. "Which might be a better option seeing what a piece of shit you are. My lawyer will have papers to you in the morning. I suggest you sign them. You don't want to fight me. I'm done playing stupid."
"You can't do that!" Kristen sputtered. She was slowly seeing her dream collapsed. She remembered signing her name to dozens of papers before the wedding. She signed them all quickly just wanting it to be over with so they could get on with the wedding.
"I can. And I will." With that, Joey turned and left. On his way down the hall, he twisted his wedding band around and off his finger, chucking it in the trash can in the hallway. He made his way back to the lobby and kicked Rick's foot. Joey gave his friend a small smile, shaking his head. “You ready to go to the house?”
“Sure, Joe. I'm just here for you man,” Rick said, knowing he'd go back to his own place with his family after he dropped Joey off. He had kids and couldn't imagine what the other man was going through. He pulled keys out to Steve's car. “Your brother left us his ride. You want me to drive?”
Joey nodded. “Stop by the smoke shop and the liquor store,” he told him as they got in his brother's vehicle. He leaned his head back on the headrest and sighed. He didn't want to get emotional about it now but he couldn't help it. “I was played, man. The whole fucking time...” Joey wiped his face with the palm of his hand, unable to stop the tears.
Rick drove and let Joey be upset, stopping at the two places he wanted. They drove the rest of the way to Rick's house in silence. “If you need me, give me a call. We're leaving on Saturday?” he asked, making sure, giving Joey a slap on the back.
“Yeah. See you then if not before,” Joey told him, getting in and driving to his parents house. He wasn't ready to go to his own place and deal with everything there. He knew he'd have to but right now he just wanted to go sit and smoke some cigarettes and get drunk. The guys were getting ready for the show and he hoped that no one would be too upset that he wasn't there. His excuse earlier in the day had been impending fatherhood. Now it was just Joey trying to keep a handle on his life.
*^*^*^**^*^
“I'm fine, Pop. I promise,” Joey said, not meaning to sound as harsh as he did. He knew his family meant well, but he could only stand so much hovering and asking if he was alright. His lawyer had come over and laid out all the paperwork, as well as to get the ball rolling to get Kristen's name removed from things it was on like bank accounts and other legal documents as well as insurance and things like that. It was taxing and by the time Skip had left, Joey had a headache. Of course that could also be due to the half carton of cigarettes he'd smoked as well. “Sorry,” he apologized, watching his father sit down in the lounge chair beside him in the backyard. He inhaled on a cigarette and sighed, looking up at the stars beginning to come out. “I'm a failure, Pop.”
“No you're not, Joe. What makes you think that?” Joe Senior asked, looking at his youngest son.
“I mean, I had a marriage and was gonna have a kid. Now what do I have? She fuckin' ripped my heart out. And I didn't even see it coming. I was stupid,” Joey replied, flicking ashes and sniffling as tears came again. “I failed at this whole marriage thing.”
“You were tricked. Lied to. You didn't fail at anything. You just had the rug pulled out from under you. Did she even say why she did it?”
Joey took a long pull off of his beer and sighed once more. “Revenge. Getting back at me for dumping her for Mel. She told me that she wanted to ruin her life and in turn ruin mine. Now I'm not sure how to fix anything.”
The phone skittered across the table and Joey picked it up. He saw Lance's name come up and gave a snort. “I guess I'm gonna talk to Lance. Might as well tell them the ugly truth.”
“I'll be inside. Your mom left food in the fridge if you get hungry,” Joe Senior squeezed his son's shoulder affectionately as he got up and went inside the house to give Joey some privacy.
Joey hit send on his phone and said hello, hearing four other voices. He rolled his eyes and lit a cigarette.
“What's up, big pimpin? We got some awesome cigars, dude,” Justin said loudly as the other three yelled congratulations.
“Please tell me that baby doesn't have your ugly mug, Joe,” Chris yelled. “Kid prolly came out with red tips and a goatee.”
He listened to them all laugh and shook his head. “Guys...”
“No don't tell us, you got peed on already,” JC said, a grin on his face as they sat on the tour bus, riding to the next venue.
The jabs went on for a few more minutes before they realized Joey wasn't saying anything back. There were no details of any kind, of the proudest moment of their friend's life. “You okay over there, Joey?” Lance asked, looking at the other three men as they got quiet.
“Not really,” Joey told them. “Flight got delayed in Atlanta with storms, so I missed the birth and all that. I get there and the doctor pulls me into the office before I can go back to there-”
“And he tells you that the milkman did it!” Chris says, causing the rest of the guys to groan.
Joey had to hand it to Chris, lighting a cigarette. “Yep, Christopher. It was the fucking milkman with a spoon in the basement. She played me. Kid's not mine.”
There was a long pause, as if the guys were thinking he was going to say he was kidding. It never came and Joey knew how they felt. What do you say to the fucker who had been sucker punched in the stomach like that.
“Fucking cunt ass bitch motherfucker!” Justin yelled, “That lousy piece of shit walking two faced whore! Skank...” he growled. “I'm fucking sorry, dawg. You want us to come help bury her body like in mafia movies?”
“I thought about it, but first I want her to have to watch all her shit being tossed out into the yard. She gets nothing. Cause my stupid ass ain't that stupid when it comes to paperwork,” he told them.
“What about the kid?” JC asked, curious. “I mean, I know it's not yours but is she even gonna take care of it?”
“Don't know, don't really give a shit at this point and time. I told her that her parents should take care of it since she's a piece of dogshit.”
“Did she say why?” Lance asked and they got quiet again. His heart hurt for Joey. He had been excited for his friend, that in their crazy life and jobs, he was going to have a family.
“Because I was in love with your sister. That's why.” Joey didn't want to get into that and he was thankful they didn't ask anymore questions; but they all gave very detailed suggestions of what he could do to his soon to be ex. All of which were very tempting, even if he ended up in jail.
He did listen to the guys tell him about the show and how weird it was to figure out since he wasn't there to sing. That they had to rehearse the whole show again to make sure they didn't run into one another while dancing. His arm was slung over his eyes and he let them talk for a while.
“You know we're here for you, Joey,” Justin said. “And I know it's shitty to ask, but you are coming back right?”
“I'll be back Saturday. What else was I going to do? Ain't got shit here, Timberlake...but thanks for asking. My life's in the proverbial toilet and you're worried about me performing.”
“Dude, you know I didn't mean it like that,” Justin shot back. “Damn.”
Joey sighed, sitting up a little. “I'll be fine to sing. We only got a week before we have a few weeks off, right? I'll handle my shit and be back.”
“We'll be sure to get you a stripper or something. Cheer you up,” Chris told him, smiling when Joey gave a chuckle.
“I could give a shit less about a woman right now. All of them save for a few can all go jump into the Hudson and drown for all I care.”
“You know you can call us if you need us,” JC told him, watching Justin sit over there and pout. “Even Justin, who's sitting over here pouting like you kicked him.”
“He'll be alright. I promise to give him a swirly in the toilet backstage when I get back.”
“Fuck you, dawg!” Justin yelled, giving the phone the middle finger. “And for the record, I wasn't pouting. I just hate it when you aren't yourself. I know you got a good reason, but dude,” he smiled. “We want our Joey back,” he sang, mimicking the famous Chili's commercial.
“I love you too, sweetcheeks,” Joey told Justin, making him cuss. “I'm gonna get off here and go see if I can relax a little.”
“Talk to you later, Joe,” Lance said, hating that he couldn't have talked to his friend by himself but he didn't mind they'd all heard the news at the same time. He hung up the phone and looked at the other four men.
“I told you we should have kidnapped Joey,” Justin said, shaking his head. “Poor fucker.”
“All I wanna know is who's telling Mel. Not it!” Chris said quickly as JC and Justin said the same thing and they looked at Lance. “She'll go postal.”
“Rachel's there with her, thank God,” Lance said, giving a big sigh. “You realize how fucked up this is right? That all this time we could have had my sister and Joey together and now they don't even talk.”
“It won't take them long, Bass. It's Mel and Joey..Moey. The dynamic duo,” Chris pointed out as Lance walked towards the back of the bus. Part of him prayed his sister wouldn't answer the phone, but he heard her voice answer. “Hey,” he said, trying to sound cheerful.
“Hi,” Melissa said, mouthing Lance's name to Holly and Rachel. “Have you heard from Joey?” she asked, thinking it was odd no one had texted her about anything. “The last thing I heard was Kristen's sister was taking her to the hospital.”
“We just talked to him, actually,” Lance told her, pausing. “The baby's not Joey's. The blood type doesn't match.”
Melissa sat there in shock. She swallowed hard, but wasn't able to stop the tears that came as she blinked. “Not his? What's he doing? Is he okay?” she fired off questions, feeling Rachel put her arms around her and Holly come to sit by her.
“He's...dealing with it all. From what we could understand, he's going to extract himself from that situation as quickly as possible. Joey sounded alright, Mel.”
“He'd tell you he was alright, Lance! Why...why did she do that to him? Made him marry her...” Melissa's voice trailed off as Rachel pulled the phone from her hand gently.
Lance took a staggered breath and closed his eyes, listening to Rachel tell him she was going to the kitchen. “I was the one voted to tell her,” he said lamely, hating the whole scenario.
“You're her brother, of course you get the hard stuff,” Rachel said with a small smile. “I want to know why that fucking bitch did that...”
“Kristen did it out of spite. She was determined to ruin my sister's life and Joey's. Although I can say that Joey got the last laugh. She didn't read the pre-nup she signed and gets nothing.”
Rachel's stomach clenched up and she closed her eyes, listening to Lance elaborate on how the guys reacted to the news. She didn't blame them for being angry, she was pissed off herself. The emotional roller coaster that they'd all been on since New Year's Eve had taken its toll. And now she was going to be on one with being pregnant. One long drawn out piece of drama. This wasn't what she wanted as a backdrop for telling JC the news of his impending fatherhood. “Mel will be alright. She'll be ready to go to Florida and kill Kristen for hurting Joey like that.”
“I am sure there will be a line, but she should get to go first,” Lance replied. “Joey's going to fly back Saturday and finish out the shows before we go on break. I'll get off here, I just wanted Melissa to hear it from me and not someone else.”
“I'll make sure she's alright. I mean, your life can only go spiraling out of control once, right? That's already happened so now we have to put the pieces back together,” Rachel bit her lip when she heard her friend sob. “I'm going to go, Lance. Love you.”
“Love you too, Rachel. I am more than ready to be off this insane merry go round for a little while,” he admitted, saying good bye. He felt emotionally drained after he'd talked to Joey and then his sister. He laid his head back and closed his eyes, saying a prayer for his best friend that everything would work out. It had to work out and have something better.
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*
“How is she?” JC asked Rachel softly, stretched out on the couch in the front of the bus. He couldn't sleep and wanted to talk to his girlfriend. Rachel had called after they'd texted back and forth most of the night. From what he could gather, Melissa was asleep finally after Rachel and Holly had taken away her car keys and hidden her purse. “How are you?” he asked before she could answer.
“I'm fine, Josh. Just shocked...And Mel's distraught. I think she'd resigned herself to what was happening and then all of a sudden it changed again. I'm going to have gray hair before I come back on tour,” she teased, listening to him chuckle. She curled up around the pillow beside her and sighed. Her mind was on the pregnancy and Rachel wanted it to go alright. “I miss you,” she half whispered, trying not to get emotional. It just felt like everything was piling on her and she knew she couldn't keep the information of her being pregnant a secret. It wouldn't be fair to JC or Lance.
“I miss you too, baby. The bus is lonely without you,” JC replied, groaning as he stretched. “We have two more shows and a few interviews before Joey comes back. I can't wait to see how that goes. Let's hope Justin doesn't get down on women like he did earlier. I think he would have almost thrown his mother under the bus if it had helped.”
“How do you feel about it?” Rachel inquired, pulling the covers up to her chin, trying to get comfortable.
“I think a woman that traps a man like that should be taken out and horsewhipped. I'm not saying shit can't happen, but when they are underhanded like Kristen was and lie about it... She's the reason most men don't want to get married. They're afraid of getting trapped.”
Rachel had to remind herself to breathe, that she'd asked JC how he felt with no idea that she was carrying his child. And he was angry at his friend being hurt. “You just mean that with women who are like Kristen, right?” she fished for something to reassure herself without letting Josh know something was wrong.
JC sat up and walked back towards the bunks. “Yes, baby. You're perfect. Nothing like Kristen...why would you even ask that?” he questioned, pulling the curtain back on his bunk, listening to the snores of three other men. “It sounds like a chorus of chainsaws,” he told her before she could answer.
The break in subject matter made her smile and momentarily made her nerves calm. “Just worrying you'll swear off women,” she lied, blinking back tears hard.
JC laughed and got into his bunk, getting comfortable. “I love Lance, but I don't go that way. You don't have to worry about that.”
They talked a little while longer about different things. Music, work, and plans for the break that was coming up. JC had planned on just having Rachel stay at his house so they could have some alone time they so desperately wanted. “Just think, it will be just you and me.”
Rachel smiled slightly to herself, knowing by that time he would know she was carrying his child. “It will be wonderful, C. I can't wait.” Later she heard him yawn and sighed. “You need beauty sleep and so do I. Well, not as much as you.”
“Hey now, if anyone needs it, Chris would be sleeping all the time.”
“That's not nice, C,” Rachel admonished him. “I love you.”
“I love you too, baby. I'll call you later today,” he told her, hanging up his cell phone. He stared at the picture with her name underneath and smiled. JC couldn't wait until they were done touring for a little while. He was ready to be home for once and not on the road.
Rachel laid there, watching the clock. It was long past time she should be asleep. Her flannel sleep pants were itchy and she rolled over, her stomach flipping a bit and she groaned, throwing her arm over her face. “I know JC will freak out, but I really wish when I told him I could choke him too. Charming asshole,” she muttered, sighing. She still had the rest of the week to think about what she was going to say and how she was going to say it. And it still seemed like it was coming too fast.
Author's Chapter Notes:
The end of this chapter. Hope you liked it. I am going to try updating more frequently to get you all caught up. It means so much to me that you are reading this story.
Story Tags: joey
