The first thing JC saw as he logged onto his Zoom call was Joey wearing the green *NSYNC Santa sweater and dancing to “Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays” as Kloey cheered him on. The second thing he saw was Lance, Justin & Chris all shaking their heads.

“Oh thank God,” Lance exclaimed. “Joey! JC is here, you can stop now.”

“Dad, stop,” Kloey giggled.

Joey looked at the screen then at an imaginary watch on his wrist. “Only 8 minutes late this time,” Joey taunted him. “Where’s Colleen?”

“She had to work,” JC informed the crowd. The fact of the matter was JC didn’t know if she was working or not. He hadn’t heard from her since their fight, though he hadn’t reached out either. It felt like every thing she had said hit a different nerve with him and he still wasn’t sure how to deal with any of it.

Lance & Michael exchanged looks. “Guess Joey won,” Lance said sadly, taking a sip of his drink.

“Silas!” Nash yelled, waving at the computer screen. “I miss you!”

“You don’t have to yell, buddy,” Chris told his son. “Just sit with me and Mommy and don’t touch anything.” Nash looked at his father and blew a raspberry at him. Chris did the same in return.

“Sorry, last minute diaper change,” Jess said as she slid into view with Phinn in her arms. 

“Briahna!” Joey yelled. “Come say hi!”

“She’s home?” Lance asked.

“Got home yesterday for break,” Joey confirmed.

Briahna popped her head into view. “Hi,” she quickly said and started to leave. “Oh, it’s actually important people. I thought it was going to be Matt or someone stupid.”

“Hey! All of my friends are important just not all of my friends are famous,” Joey countered.

“Yeah, they just wish they were,” Briahna rolled her eyes then smiled at the screen. “Hi Justin,” she waved.

“Hi Briahna,” Justin waved back with a laugh.

“Gross,” Joey deadpanned at his eldest daughter. “Don’t flirt with my friends. He changed your diapers.”

Briahna walked away and shouted from off screen, “I’m gonna tell everyone at school Justin Timberlake saw my vagina!”

“Well Joey, you were worried you didn’t spend enough time with her growing up but there is no doubt she is your daughter,” Lance pointed out as all the adults laughed hysterically.

“Dad, what’s a…” Silas started.

“Not right now, Si,” Justin told him while he tried to quell his laughter. “Glad we still have a few years before we get to teenage smart ass comebacks.”

“Oh, we passed that. She turned twenty this year. That’s pure Fatone sass,” Joey reminded them.

“Twenty?!” All four other members exclaimed.

“Hey, I’m glad I had her early. You guys are screwed when you have to pay for college a decade from now. Chris will be an actual senior citizen at that point,” Joey joked.

“Yeah, thanks for the AARP subscription for my birthday, Joe,” Chris said, covering Nash’s eyes and giving the camera the middle finger.

“Dad, what’s that mean?” Silas asked.

“It means I love you but only to this group. Don’t go flashing that around at school,” Justin tried to explain away quickly to his son.

“Alright children,” Lance announced. “Can we get on with the proceedings?”

“You got somewhere more important to be?” Chris asked him.

“No but I want my present,” Lance laughed.

“He’s so greedy,” Michael chimed in.

“Ok, who went first last year?” Joey asked.

“Joey, I don’t remember what I did two hours ago. How am I supposed to remember last year?” Lance stated.

“You don’t remember what we did two hours ago?” Michael acted shocked. “I guess it wasn’t as good for you as you claimed it was.”

“Jesus guys,” Justin laughed, putting his head in his hands.

“I kept that vague enough the kids shouldn’t get it,” Michael reassured him.

“I got it,” Kloey piped up.

“Oh, did you? Come here, whisper it and let me see,” Joey urged his daughter. Kloey leaned over and spoke into Joey’s ear and a look of surprise showed on his face. “Oh no, she got that,” Joey confirmed before turning back to his daughter. “What does your Mother let you watch over there?”

“JC, did you want to add any words of depravity to the young minds in attendance?” Lance joked.

“I think you all have that covered,” JC stated. “I’m just enjoying watching the four ring circus.”

“Did we figure out who goes first or should we just pick out of a hat?” Chris asked.

“JC went first last year,” Karly confirmed, “so it’s Justin’s turn this year.” When the guys decided to go Pollyanna style with their gifts a few years back, they agreed to go in *NSYNC order, believing it would be easier for them to remember who was next each year. Not a one of them ever remembered though.

“Sweet! I got Justin this year,” Chris proclaimed.

“Phinn, can you hand this to Daddy?” Jess asked her youngest son as she handed him a thick envelope. Phinn grabbed hold and after a few minutes of cajoling, finally handed it over to Justin.

“I feel like I need to ask if this is going to be child appropriate after the way this call has been going,” Justin joked as he opened the envelope. “Ok…” Justin smiled as he viewed the contents, clearly confused.

“Well, show us,” Lance prodded.

Justin held up a stack of rectangular paper stapled together at one end, with a cover that said “Justin & Chris’s Weekend Getaways” in crayon. “You made me a coupon book?” Justin laughed as he flipped through it. “Where’s the foot rub one cuz I’m cashing that in immediately when I see you next.”

“Gift one and it’s already not kid friendly. These children don’t need to be exposed to your so called “weekend getaways”. Look how much it traumatized JC from sharing a bus with the two of you?” Joey offered.

“Kloey, hit him,” Chris instructed, which she gladly did so with a giggle. “Nash had to make one for school and I thought this would be the best way to give you this present. Plus, I got to play with crayons. Just actually read it.”

“Ah, no way!” Justin’s smile grew as he read each page. “This is awesome!”

“Are you going to share or do I have to start guessing?” Joey threatened, making a blow job motion with his fist and tongue.

Justin held up the book to the camera. “It’s vouchers for us to go golfing at different clubs. Are these all U.S. Open courses?”

“The ones for the past ten years, yeah. Except Pebble cuz you play that all the time. Hoping we could get in a long weekend or three this year and hit up a couple and relax and be stupid.”

“We don’t need golf to be stupid,” Justin chuckled. “Thanks man, this is really cool. I promise when I’m done shooting, we’ll set up something.”

“Also, I know you’ve been looking for a new putter so if you find one you like, let me know and I’ll handle it,” Chris continued. “I was going to just buy you one but you get so much free shit as it is, I didn’t know if Callaway already sent you like five to test out.”

Justin smiled back at Chris then moved on. “Ok, I have Lance this year.” Michael also handed Lance an envelope.

“If this is a coupon book, I swear…” Lance laughed. He opened the envelope and showed everyone the picture inside. “Apparently Justin wants us to downsize?” Lance questioned as everyone viewed the picture of a tiny grey house he had received.

“The opposite actually,” Justin explained. “You guys are trying to freshen up the house for some future babies and I know Michael uses the dining room to paint. So, I got Michael his own art studio. It’s not much but it’s space and has a generator for electricity and a water supply enough for a sink and storage for supplies. It’ll be delivered after the holidays and if it doesn’t fit in the backyard, blame Lisa cuz she did the measuring.”

“Wow, Justin…that’s incredibly thoughtful, thank you,” Lance stated, getting a little misty eyed.

“I just want to point out this is technically a gift for me,” Michael teased.

“Oh no, it’s definitely a gift for me so I don’t have to be stuck in my office to take calls anymore,” Lance laughed.

“Seriously, Justin. This is truly amazing, thank you so much,” Michael beamed.

“Alright Fatone, you’re up next!” Lance announced..

“Another freaking envelope?!” Joey exclaimed as Kloey handed it over to him. “God, we’re boring.”

“Hey, I got a house in mine,” Lance stated back.

“Is it a house?!” Joey asked excitedly.

“It’s not a house,” Lance told him. Joey made an exaggerated frown before opening the envelope.

“Ohhh….Senses!” Joey showed off the plastic card with pink curly script and an image of lit candles behind it. “Is this so I can get in touch with my inner self?”

“Pretty sure you don’t need any help touching yourself, Joe,” Chris quipped. Justin put his head down again to hide his laughter.

Lance rolled his eyes. “You’re always bitching about Mulvi’s jacuzzi and you’re at Disney all the time anyway so I got you an annual pass to their spa so you can use their jacuzzi any time you want.”

“No shit! This is awesome, thanks Lance,” Joey said appreciatively. “Don’t tell Mulvi though, I like busting his chops about it.”

“As long as I don’t have to hear about it anymore, I’ll keep my mouth shut,” Lance confirmed.

“Ok, my turn,” Joey announced. “I got JC this year.”

“I do not have an envelope but a large Fed-Ex box,” JC said, lifting up the package to sit on his lap. “Something tells me I should already be worried.”

“You and Colleen will love it,” Joey told him.

“Now I’m definitely worried,” JC chuckled. He got the box open and stared, then turned to the screen to give Joey a sarcastic look before going back to the box. “What the hell is wrong with you?” JC shook his head.

“I realize some things you probably already have but a fresh set never hurt anyone,” Joey grinned.

JC looked down at the assortment of sex toys and implements Joey put in the box. There was a set of restraints, a cross bar, a ball gag, a butt plug, a flogger, a cock ring, nipple clamps and a sizable bottle of lube, and that’s just what JC could see without digging in the box further. “Did Adam & Eve have a sale going on?”

“Joey, no you didn’t!” Lance yelled as the other adults once again broke into a fit of laughter.

“I didn’t know what you’d need and I certainly wasn’t going to ask so I figured a variety would do the trick,” Joey explained.

“Let me point out he just threw things in a box,” JC laughed. “Nothing’s wrapped or anything, it’s just a box of, you know…stuff.”

“No, one thing is labeled for Colleen in there,” Joey pointed out with a smile. JC gave him another look before searching the box, finding a tag with Colleen’s name on it.

“To Colleen,” JC read out loud, “Figured you’d need this to keep him in line.” Attached to the tag, JC pulled out a leather collar and leash. “Really Joey?” JC asked, attempting to hide the humor in his voice.

“Tell me I’m wrong!” Joey challenged.

“Daddy! Is JC getting a puppy?!” Nash asked excitedly. Justin was laughing so hard by this point, he was crying and about to fall out of his chair.

“No, actually JC’s girlfriend Colleen got an old rescue dog that has some really bad habits so she’s got to train him super hard,” Chris explained. Karly swiftly hit Chris in the back of the head. “Tell me I’m wrong!” he echoed Joey’s earlier statement back to her.

“Well, thanks Joey,” JC shook his head, setting the box back down on the ground.

“No wait, there’s one thing in there you can show everybody,” Joey prompted him.

JC reluctantly pulled the box back up and sifted through. “I got an envelope!” JC said triumphantly as everyone cheered. “Are you sure I can show this to everyone?”

“Positive,” Joey claimed.

JC opened the envelope to find a handwritten note, which he read out loud. “JC & Colleen, your hotel reservations are shit for your New Years’ trip to Miami. I upgraded you to a suite at the Fontainebleau. Ring in the year with several bangs. Love Joey. P.S. I already ran this through Eric, don’t get your panties in a wad about the change.” JC laughed and tucked the note back in the envelope. “Thanks Joey, I appreciate it,” he said with a small smile.

“Uh, you two are still going, right?” Joey asked carefully.

“Yeah, absolutely, looking forward to it,” JC forced a smile on his face which all of the guys immediately saw through.

“My turn! My turn!” Chris announced, intentionally drawing the attention away from JC. He jumped up and brought over a large box that looked heavy from the way Chris was carrying it.

“Sorry Chris, I missed the memo about the envelopes this year,” JC stated.

“You always miss the memo,” Chris teased him as he opened the box to find several wrapped items. He picked one up and showed it to the camera. “See Joey, mature adults actually wrap the presents.”

“Oh, you want to talk about wrapping presents?” Karly scoffed.

“That’s why I said mature adults,” Chris smiled and gave his wife a quick kiss.

“Daddy, can I help?” Nash asked.

“Sure,” Chris told him, lifting up a few objects and handing Nash one that felt light. He pulled out the heaviest object for himself and unwrapped it. “No way!” he exclaimed, quickly tearing off the rest of the paper to reveal a mixing board.

“Is that a Solid State?” Justin asked then whistled.

“I got paper!” Nash jumped up and down, holding a few packets of blank sheet music. Chris was still staring at the board so Nash decided to help himself to the next item, Karly quickly running over to keep him from tipping anything over. Nash tore open the wrapping on the next present and looked at it with confusion. “I don’t know what this is.”

Chris pulled himself away from the mixing board to see what was in Nash’s hand. “That’s called a windscreen. You set it up in front of a…” Chris stopped himself as he saw the last package in the box. He was almost scared to open it as he knew what it had to be.

“I got you one with the pop filter already on it but it’s removable,” JC said as Chris revealed the new microphone JC had gifted him.

“C, this is incredible. I seriously don’t know how to thank you,” Chris said clearly overwhelmed.

“It’s no problem,” JC brushed off. “I just thought your setup could use an upgrade. I figured maybe after I get back from Miami, maybe I could come by and help you get it up and running. You know, test it all out, maybe work on some stuff.”

“Wait…what do you mean by work on some stuff?” Chris asked, hurrying back to sit in front of the computer.

“I mean, I don’t know. Maybe sketch out some tunes and just jam and see what happens,” JC explained, scratching the back of his neck.

The other four members all stared at him in disbelief.

“Oh no, the screen froze,” Silas noted.

“No Silas, it didn’t….” Justin tried to get out before Silas hit a button on their computer which caused their screen to go away.

“JC, you know you’re welcome any time,” Chris told him. “I mean, I’m going to keep all this stuff but getting to spend some time with you is the real present.”

A collective “Awwwww” came from Michael, Lance and Joey. 

“Yeah, I know I’ve been kind of…distant for a while and I just, I don’t know, it’s probably just a selfish gift I’m pretending is altruistic,” JC tried to explain. 

“Can you bring Colleen’s dog with you?” Nash asked.

“That won’t be a problem,” JC laughed.

The screen moved as Justin reconnected to the call. “Sorry about that. Did we miss anything?”

“Just Chris and JC making doe eyes at each other,” Joey informed him.

“Ah, now you know which of us actually got traumatized on the tour bus,” Justin said with a grin.

As their call continued on, JC watched as all his friends and their families interacted with each other. It made him smile but it hurt just the same. He always wished things could go back to the way they were before with the five of them but seeing how far they’d come, in that moment, he wouldn’t have changed a thing. The band would always be important to each of them but it wasn’t the priority anymore and JC had to accept that even if they tried, their families and other obligations weren’t going to go away. They’d all grown up; he was the one who hadn’t.

Colleen was right, if it was going to work at all, there had to be a balance. Colleen. JC turned slightly to where Colleen would have been seated for this call and desperately wished she was there with him. She would have loved seeing them all act like idiots and laugh together. He wouldn’t have to explain to her about Joey and the jacuzzi, as a fan she probably already knew the joke and she would have appreciated it more than just some girl laughing along for the sake of fitting in. He realized in that instant she already fit in. 

“Alright, it’s nap time,” Justin announced as Phinn let out a small cranky cry. “Think we need to wrap this up.”

“Yeah, we actually should have been at the neighbors twenty minutes ago,” Chris said. “This was really great though, let’s try to do this more than just at Christmas.”

“I love you guys,” Lance said, raising his glass.

“Love you morons as well,” Joey smiled.

“Bye Silas!” Nash yelled, waving at the screen.

“Bye Nash, love you,” Silas replied, extending his middle finger.

“Look what you did!” Jess yelled through a laugh at Justin. “This one’s on you, have fun unteaching him that.”

“Ok, now I really have to go. Love you guys,” Justin said as he gave them all the middle finger and a smile. The rest of the group caught Jess smacking his shoulder as he disconnected the call.

“Well, on that note, Merry Christmas,” Joey said with a two middle finger salute.

“Nope,” Karly said, grabbing Nash away from the screen. “Go potty before we have to leave.” She got up to follow him but turned back to give a smile and a middle finger to the group.

“Goodnight Karly!” Lance yelled as he and Michael returned the gesture in kind.

“Can I, Dad?” Kloey asked her father.

“Just this once. Don’t you dare tell your mother,” Joey told her.

Kloey grinned as she put up her middle finger, “I love you Uncle Lance, Uncle Michael, Uncle Chris and Uncle JC.”

“We love you, too,” Lance and Michael said, waving their middle fingers at her.

“Love you, Kloey, I love you guys,” Chris said, joining in the hand gesture.

“Come on, JC. You have to do it,” Lance pressured him.

JC covered his eyes and shot up his middle finger. “We’re all going to hell,” he laughed. “I love you all too.”

After another quick round of I love you’s and goodbye’s, the meeting disconnected and the laughter died off JC’s lips as he found himself alone once again.