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?"