“Quit being such a baby,” sighed Chris, wheeling Joey into the clinic.

“You aren’t the one who has to put up with this, man,” said Joey. “Mel… she gets evil, I’m telling you!”

Chris rolled his eyes. “You’re really lucky I like Madison and I promised to take you to these appointments,” he said. “Otherwise, I wouldn’t be putting up with your whiny ass.”

“You’ve put up with me for eight years of your life already, why stop now?” asked Joey innocently.

Chris chuckled and rolled Joey’s wheelchair into the physical therapy gym. He stopped, looking around for a moment and glancing down at his watch. “That’s strange…” he said. “She’s usually here by now.”

“Oh well, Mel’s gone, no use waiting,” said Joey, turning his wheelchair around and heading for the door. Chris promptly placed his foot against the rubber wheel, halting the chair from rolling. “You’re not going anywhere. I’ll go look for her.”

With that, Chris walked out of the gym into the tiled hallway. He looked up and down the corridor, furrowing his brow in confusion. Then he heard it.

Soft at first, as he moved down the hallway, the muffled sound of crying called to him, pulling him towards the source of the sound. He turned the corner and stopped, surprised to see Melanie leaning against the wall, her face buried in her hands, sobbing. His heart immediately shattered at the sight of the beautiful woman crying.

“Melanie?” he said softly.

Melanie jumped, dropping her hands. “Chris?” she whispered. She spun around, turning away from him to hide her tears. “I’ll be right in.”

“There’s no hurry,” he said, taking a step towards Melanie. “Are you ok?”

“I’m fine,” she said, roughly wiping away the moisture on her cheeks, her eyes never meeting his. “I’m fine. Don’t worry. I’m fine.”

“Come on Mel,” said Chris, reaching out to touch her arm. “Tell me what’s wrong. You’re not fine… emotionally, anyway.”

A small smile crossed Melanie’s lips. “That’s what I want to see,” said Chris, leaning down to meet her eyes. “Now come on, what’s wrong? You can tell me.”

“It’s… it’s nothing,” she said, shaking her head. “Thank you Chris, but it’s nothing. Really,” she said, offering Chris a fake smile.

“Melanie, I’ve known you for the past six months already… you can’t hide,” he smiled.

“Chris, you’ve only known me as Joey’s physical therapist. That’s it,” she sniffled.

“Yeah, well, we can change that, can’t we?” he smiled.

Melanie chuckled softly and shook her head. “I just… my boyfriend and I just had a little argument is all,” she shrugged. “See, no big deal.”

“Well,” said Chris, wiping away a tear on her cheek. “The way I see it, if you’re standing here, sobbing your beautiful eyes out, then it was a big deal.” Melanie smiled weakly at Chris’s compliments. “What was the argument about, anyway?”

“It’s stupid, really,” said Melanie. “Jason wrecked his car the other day and wanted to borrow mine. I said I’d give him a ride to work, but I couldn’t let him use the car all day because I have those patients at the hospital I have to go see later today.” Chris nodded, listening intently. “And he got really upset and everything and took the car anyway.”

“Wait, he took your car?” said Chris. Melanie nodded, sniffling. “Did he at least give you a ride to work?”

Melanie paused, staring down at the ground. She shook her head slowly. “The bus goes right by where I live anyway,” she shrugged.

Chris took a deep breath to calm the surges of anger flowing through him. “Listen, Mel, what time do you have to be at the hospital?”

“By 2:00, right after Joey’s appointment,” she answered. “Why?”

“I’ll give you a ride there and back,” he said firmly. “And I’ll give you a ride home.”

Melanie’s jaw dropped. “Oh, no, Chris… it’s ok, really.”

“Mel, I’m not changing my mind,” said Chris sternly. “I’m giving you a ride and that’s that.”

Melanie smiled weakly. “Thank you Chris. I owe you big.”

“It’s nothing,” said Chris. “It’s not like I have an extraordinarily busy day today or anything,” he smiled.

“Oh yeah,” smiled Melanie. “I forgot… all you pop stars do is lounge by the pool all day long.”

“And go to strip clubs,” he grinned. Melanie rolled her eyes and opened her arms to Chris, hugging him.

“Thank you,” she whispered. “For everything.”

“Don’t mention it,” said Chris. His entire constitution melted at her touch. He never wanted to let her go, but as all good things must, the hug ended and Melanie pulled away. “You better get in there. Joey’s probably knocking down equipment.”

“Ok,” smiled Melanie. “I’ll see you later,” she said, jogging away. “Thanks again!”

“You’re welcome… again,” said Chris, watching as Melanie scrambled into the gym where Joey was waiting. It was then that Chris allowed himself to breathe again.

Melanie had stolen his heart from the moment he laid eyes on her six months earlier. With Madison going to school, she had asked Chris if he would be willing to take Joey to his physical therapy appointments. Considering Joey was his best friend, he immediately agreed. But the fact that Melanie was Joey’s physical therapist made the request all that more tempting.

Despite their constant contact, they’d never really spoken more than a few sentences to each other, usually when Chris dropped Joey off or picked him up. This was the first time they’d had a conversation… and what a way to begin.

Chris wanted to pulverize Jason, Melanie’s boyfriend. Not only is it just plain wrong to take someone else’s car and leave them alone to find their own way, but it was Melanie, making Chris slightly more sensitive to the situation.

But, there was nothing else Chris could do. He’d offered to help Melanie out, and he was going to do just that. Anything else concerning Melanie and Jason was off limits to Chris. Sure, he liked Melanie… a lot… but he couldn’t come between a relationship.

He let out a sigh and stuffed his hands in his pockets, heading out to the parking lot, ready to return in a few hours.

Jen took a sip of her soda and plopped herself down on her couch, sighing loudly. She had just spent the entire day at the theater, doing hair for the latest theatrical production there. It was tiring, to say the least. She leaned back against the soft cushion of her couch and picked up the remote beside her.

She turned on the TV and flipped it to MTV just in time to see Justin flashing his signature heart-melting smile. The picture faded back to one of the MTV VJs, but the image stayed in Jen’s mind.

Jen smiled at the thought of Justin her Justin. Things in the past six months had been, well, perfect. Since their reunion in the corridor of the hospital where Joey was staying, everything had been like a fairy tale.

Of course, being with one of the best looking guys in the United States that she’d been in love with for years, it was a fairy tale.

But, like reality, there was a downside to being with Justin… the publicity.

The public was very unforgiving of the fact that Jen had stolen their “Golden Boy”. Young, single, and handsome Justin Timberlake was not meant to be spoken for; in the public’s eyes, at least. Unfortunately for them, he was, and Jen was proud of it. She loved Justin with all her being and had years of heartache behind her to prove it. He loved her too, as he reminded her daily. But numerous interviews, photo sessions, and the like demanded his attention, tearing it unwillingly away from Jen.

The public had excused JC from the limelight. Married and with a child on the way, he was allowed to slip out of the public’s eye with very good reason. The same was true for Joey. The accident had left him dependant on a wheelchair, and despite his miraculous progress thus far, he was still getting over his injuries, and the public was giving him time to do so. Chris and Lance had altogether disappeared from the spotlight, Lance spending much of his free time with Jessie and their families. But then again, Lance had always been the one to avoid the limelight as much as possible, so it wasn’t at all surprising. The same was true for Chris. He’d spent most of his time with Joey, helping him on the path to recovery.

With the rest of the members of N’Sync involved with other aspects of their lives, it seemed that double the attention was placed on Justin. Work kept him away often, but when they were together, it made it all that more worth it.

The ringing telephone tore Jen out of her daydreams of Justin. She jumped and rushed over, quickly lifting the receiver of her white cordless phone.

“Hello? Justin?” she said excitedly.

Nothing but silence filled the phone line. The sound of heavy breathing came through the line, haunting Jen. “Hello?” she repeated. “Who is this?”

A simple click ended the one sided conversation, leaving Jen confused and bewildered. She stared at the receiver, as if the answer to her questions would magically be answered. Instead, she turned the phone on again and dialed a familiar number.

“Hello?” came Justin’s husky voice through the phone line.

“Hi sweetheart,” said Jen.

“Oh hey baby,” he smiled. “What’s up?”

“Listen, I know you’re busy and everything-“

“I always have time for you, even if Johnny doesn’t like it,” said Justin. Jen smiled instinctively.

“Did you just call?” she asked.

“No… I’ve been in a meeting with Johnny all afternoon. Why?” said Justin.

“Oh, I just got a weird phone call is all,” said Jen. “It was probably the wrong number or something.”

“Are you ok, baby?” he asked, his voice filled with concern.

“I’m fine Justin, really,” said Jen. “I was just checking to see if it was you playing a prank on me or something… it wasn’t, was it?” she asked slowly.

“Leanne, I’ll give the phone to Johnny here and you can ask him yourself,” said Justin.

Jen giggled softly. “I believe you,” she said. “Justin… when are you going to come back home?” she asked, her voice bordering on that of a whine.

Justin let out a sigh. “I’m sorry baby. I want more than anything to be home in your arms.”

“Then make it happen,” said Jen teasingly. “Forget that career of yours. Come home to me.”

“I’ll be on the next flight,” said Justin.

Jen rolled her eyes. “I wish, honey,” she sighed. “No, you go and take care of that superstar status of yours and come home as soon as you can.”

“Can’t I just forget it all? Would you still love me if I ended my entire career for you?” whined Justin.

“Of course I would Justin,” said Jen, smirking. “But I’m afraid that millions of pre-teen girls would want me dead after that.”

“Forget them all,” said Justin. “Let’s move to Cancun or something.”

“Justin… I wish,” sighed Jen. “Now go before I make you drag your ass home. Sorry for having bothered you and your meeting.”

“It was no bother, baby. It was welcome. You know there’s nothing in the world I love more than hearing your voice,” said Justin. “I’ll see you tonight, ok?”

“Of course. Have a safe flight,” she smiled. “I love you Justin.”

“I love you too, Jen.”

They hung up, each returning to their reality… the same reality that had been forgotten in the simple moments they’d spent speaking. Justin returned to his meeting, and Jen returned to furrowing her brow in confusion, trying to figure out who, exactly, had called.

Finally, when Jen was too tired to think any further, she headed into the bathroom to take a shower, preparing herself for dinner that night with Justin.

Lance gently squeezed Jessie’s hand, smiling comfortingly at her. She smiled in return, leaning over and kissing his cheek. They sighed and returned to scanning the large electronic board in front of them, changing every minute or so with arriving flights. Jessie let out a sigh and reached for Lance, wrapping her arms around him and leaning her head against his chest.

“Do we have to?” she whimpered.

“Yes, honey, we do,” said Lance. “Besides, this is your mother… shouldn’t you be happy to see her?”

“I am, Lance, I am,” she said, looking up at him. “It’s just that… with your mom here planning our wedding, then my mom’s coming, and she’s sure to want to take over… I don’t know. I just feel like this wedding isn’t even going to involve us, you know what I mean?”

“I know what you mean, Jess,” he said, kissing her forehead. “But what can we do? They are our mothers…”

“Jessica! Honey! There you are!!” called Mrs. Landers, rushing through the airport, promptly throwing her arms around her daughter and squeezing her tightly. Jessie, who had barely turned around stared up at Lance helplessly.

“Hey Lance,” came a voice. Lance turned and smiled at the familiar man approaching.

“Hi Jack,” he said, holding out his hand to shake. “I didn’t know you were coming…”

Jack shrugged. “Well, I had to come to save Jess from our mom here.”

“Oh nonsense,” said Mrs. Landers, disregarding her son, and moving her tight grip to Lance. Jessie smiled at Jack gratefully, leaning forward to hug her brother.

“Thanks for coming, Jack,” she whispered into his ear.

“You’re welcome,” he smiled. “Anything for my little sister.”

“Well, Jessica, Jackson, Lance… we can’t stand here all day, now can we?” said Mrs. Landers. “We have a wedding to plan!”

“Yeah, mom,” said Jessie, smiling wanly. “But you see-“

“Now, I was thinking that we could have the wedding in that beautiful cathedral you told me about and there could be irises in beautiful bouquets everywhere, and- Jessie? Have you ordered your dress yet?” drawled Mrs. Landers.

“Yes, mom, I have,” said Jessie, suddenly extremely grateful that Lance was always so insistent in planning ahead.

“Oh,” said Mrs. Landers, downfallen. “Well, I would’ve thought you would’ve waited for your mother to pick your wedding dress, but the mother doesn’t really matter in these things, does she?” she said. Jack shook his head, recognizing his mother’s famous guilt-seeking ways. Jack patted Jessie on the back, winking at her to cheer her up. Jessie’s somber expression turned happier as she smiled at her brother gratefully.

Lance squeezed her hand once more, sighing as they made the long walk to the car, Mrs. Landers planning all the way.

JC made his way up the sidewalk, whistling a familiar tune happily. In the back of his car, parked in the driveway, sat the set for the crib Alex and JC were to put in the baby’s room. Alex had admired the crib a week ago, and JC had found the set for building it. He was determined to use his own two hands to build the crib his child would sleep in. He could barely contain his excitement, and he couldn’t wait for Alex to come out and see it.

He slipped his key into the lock and quickly turned it, entering the house, not bothering to close the door behind him. “Alex?” he called, looking around. Hearing nothing, he jogged up the stairs, still whistling happily. “Alex, sweetheart, where are you?” he called. He stepped into their bedroom, surprised to see the bed unmade and not a single light turned on. Not even the blinds were open. The room was in pitch black. The only light was that streaming onto the hardwood floor from the open bathroom door. Then he heard it… the distinct sound of retching.

He rushed into the bathroom, seeing Alex kneeling on the ground in front of the toilet. She looked up in surprise at her husband. She flushed the toilet and wobbly began pulling herself to her feet. JC immediately leapt into action, helping her stand. She washed up and a moment later returned to look at JC’s concerned face. “Hi,” she said softly.

“Alex, honey,” said JC, placing a hand on her cheek. “What’s wrong? Are you feeling ok? Should I take you to the doctor? I have his phone number just in the-“

“Josh,” said Alex, placing a finger on his lips, silencing him. “I’m fine.”

“Don’t lie to me Alex,” he said firmly. “Now what was all that about?”

“Nothing, Josh, really,” said Alex, shaking her head. “I was just a little nauseous is all. Probably a little morning sickness or something.”

“Alex, morning sickness only happens in your first trimester… you’re in your third,” said JC, helping her sit down on the bed, immediately propping pillows up behind her.

“You’ve been reading those pregnancy books again, haven’t you?” said Alex, with a smirk. JC shrugged.

“I have to be prepared,” he said. “Why is it so dark in here?” he asked, looking around at the darkened room.

“I have a bad headache,” she said. “I just didn’t want it so bright in here.”

JC sat down on the bed beside Alex, looking over her in concern. “Alex, this isn’t normal.”

“How would you know what’s normal or not?” snapped Alex. “It’s not like you’ve been pregnant before!”

“I’m fully aware of that fact, Alex,” said JC slowly. “But throwing up and headaches… any little thing is something that needs to be checked out, Alex, if not for you, then for our child.”

“I don’t need you telling me what to do, Josh,” said Alex. “I’m the mother of this child and how I see it, I know what’s best, so back off.”

“I won’t back off until you go to the doctor and he tells me that everything’s fine,” said JC firmly.

“Josh-“

“No excuses, Alex,” said JC. He turned to walk out of the room, annoyance fresh on his mind at Alex’s stubbornness, when he heard her sniffle. He turned around to see Alex laying down on the bed on her side, her body vibrating with silent sobs. His heart broke and he slowly walked back to the bed, carefully crawling on it. He pulled his body behind hers and wrapped his arms around her swollen stomach, kissing the back of her neck. “I’m sorry baby,” he whispered.

“I’m sorry too,” sniffled Alex. She slowly, with much effort, rolled her body onto her other side, facing JC, tears streaming down her cheeks.

“The truth is I’ve been feeling this way for about a week now,” she said softly.

“Why didn’t you say anything?” asked JC, stroking her hair and kissing her forehead.

“At first I didn’t think anything of it,” she sniffled. “Then, when it continued, I got scared.”

“Scared of what?” he asked.

“Scared that there’s something wrong with me,” she said softly. “That I’m not well enough to carry our child.”

“Alex, baby,” he whispered, kissing her lightly on the cheeks. “I’m sure there’s nothing wrong except for a little reaction to a certain food or something,” he smiled. “But just to be safe, will you go to the doctor tomorrow?”

“I suppose,” she sighed, snuggling up to her husband’s warm body. “Will you come with me?”

“Of course,” he smiled, picking up her hand and kissing her fingers gently, just above where her wedding band sat. She smiled and leaned her head against his chest, sighing contentedly.

“What would I ever do without you?” she sighed.

“Live a very boring life, probably,” said JC, smiling. “Hey, there isn’t anything else you’re hiding from me, is there?” he asked, looking down at her.

“Oh, you mean besides the fact that this is Joey’s baby?” she said innocently, a playful grin playing on her lips.

“Besides that,” said JC.

“Then no, there’s nothing else,” she giggled.

Madison walked into the large lecture hall, purposely ignoring the clearly annoyed looks Dr. Prince was giving her for arriving late. She dropped herself into the closest empty seat and pulled out her notebook and pen, beginning to scratch out her notes.

Suddenly, she felt a weight in the seat beside her. She looked up, surprised to see David smiling at her. “Hi,” he mouthed.

Madison, still upset over his comments the day before, simply returned to her notes, focusing all her attentions on Dr. Prince. Through her peripheral vision, she could see David regarding her closely, not at all paying attention to the lecture at hand. Madison looked down at her notes, scribbling away, suddenly stopping when David’s hand captured a corner of the paper. She looked at him in annoyance. He, however, wasn’t looking at her. She looked down at her paper, surprised to see the words “I’m sorry” written in the corner of her notes.

She looked up at him. David smiled apologetically at her, his eyes pleading to be forgiven. A small smile tugged at her lips. David smiled a full fledged grin and returned his hand to her paper, scribbling out the word “Coffee?”

Madison, figuring ‘why not’, shrugged and nodded. David’s grin grew. Madison let out a small giggle and returned to her notes.

An hour later, Dr. Prince finished up his lecture and the students began exiting the hall. Madison dropped her notebook into her book bag and stood up. “Ready for that coffee?” asked David, standing beside her.

“Sure,” said Madison with a shrug.

Together, the pair left the hall and made their way to the nearest coffee shop, just off campus. They ordered their coffees and found a small table in the corner, beside the window, and sat down, beginning to chat about life in general. “So my uncle’s offered me a job in his firm,” said David, taking a sip of his coffee.

“That’s great, David,” said Madison. “And you haven’t even graduated yet. That’ll be great on your résumé when you get out and start looking for a job. You’ll already have the experience.”

“Tell me about it,” said David with a smile.

The melodic ring of Madison’s cell phone interrupted their conversation. She smiled apologetically and reached into her purse. “Excuse me,” she said, stepping a few feet away from the table.

“Hello?”

“Hey baby, what’s your sign?” came Joey’s voice through the phone line. Madison smiled.

“Whatever’s compatible with yours,” she giggled.

“That’s what I thought,” said Joey. “So, beautiful, what are you up to?” Madison bit her lip nervously. Joey wasn’t going to like this.

“I’m actually having coffee with a friend right now,” she said.

“Cool… what friend? Do I know her?” asked Joey.

“You’ve met him before,” said Madison slowly. “It’s David.”

Silence filled the phone line for a moment before he spoke again. “David? The one who trash talked our relationship, David?”

“Yeah,” said Madison slowly. “But he apologized and everything Joey. He didn’t mean it.”

“Like hell he didn’t mean it!” cried Joey. “Madison, what are you doing there with him? How can you be friends with a guy who says stuff like that about your relationship?”

“Joey, I told you… he apologized,” said Madison. “Now will you please trust my judgement here?”

Joey paused, sighing. “You’re right. I’m sorry, baby,” he said. “Listen, will I see you tonight?”

“Of course,” smiled Madison. “I love you Joey.”

“I love you too, Mads,” he said, his voice soft.

“See you tonight,” she said, hanging up the phone. Joey stared at the receiver for a moment before returning it to its base. He didn’t like the fact that Madison was having coffee with David. Not at all. But what else could he do? He trusted her. He knew she loved him.

Now all he could do was wait.

Chapter 3