CHAPTER 25
Within a few hours, the guys had arrived at the hospital and were in Anya's room waiting to hear how the baby was doing.
"So, did it hurt?" Chris asked.
"If the pain in my hand is any indication, then it hurt like hell." Justin answered for her. He had been with her the whole time, like he promised. He told Anya he would hold her hand, but he didn't realize how hard she could squeeze.
"No, once I got here it went by so fast, that I didn't notice the pain I was in." She started.
"Then what was with ripping my hand off?"
"Hey, I didn't want you to feel left out." The group laughed at that. She leaned over to him on her bed and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.
"Yeah, well, next time, leave me out, okay?"
"Who said anything about a next time. Let me enjoy Emma for at least one day before you start planning any more."
"You know what I mean." He was in no hurry for more but his comment did sound like it.
"I know. Listen, guys thank you all for everything. Thanks for coming today, it means a lot to me. I hope you guys are okay with all this?" She looked around the room to see all the guys and Lisa, smiling and nodding their heads.
JC was the first to speak up, "Anya, you don't have to thank us for anything. We all love you and only want what's best for you and seeing the look in your eyes right now, I'd say that being here with Justin is what's best."
She was happy to know that the others were okay with her and Justin being together. She knew if they were behind them, it would be easier on Justin. "Well, thank you anyway."
Their conversation was interrupted when there was a knock at her door. A nurse walked in to ask Anya if she was ready to visit her daughter.
Since the baby had been born 8 weeks early, she was placed in the ICU for observation. The doctors had to make sure she had developed enough to make it without any machines. Surprisingly, Anya had given birth to a healthy six pound baby. I wonder how much she would have weighed if she stayed in, what 10-12 pounds, good Lord that would be big.
The nurse helped Anya into a wheelchair and let Justin push her down to the nursery. The others followed when they got to the nursery, they came face-to-face with a crowd of photographers trying to get a picture of her baby. It had been leaked out that Justin had brought a pregnant woman into the hospital and stayed with her for the delivery. Speculation surrounded her relationship with the young star and people became more curious when the other members of the group had shown up as well. Who was the woman that had all the attention of one of today's hottest groups and what was her involvement with their youngest member?
Panic ran throughout Anya when she noticed the small crowd. "Guys, I think you better leave now. I don't know how but I'm afraid they're here for me." Anya didn't want to have to tell the world about her and Justin today. In fact, they hadn't discussed what they were going to do, only that they wanted to do it together.
The guys all started to turn and leave but Justin felt otherwise. "No one is keeping me from my daughter." He could be so stubborn.
"Justin, I know you want to see her, but, please, I can't deal with them knowing just yet. Give it sometime. What would you tell them anyway, that you have a girlfriend who just had your baby that the world knew nothing about either one? Please, Justin, go wait for me in my room. Today isn't the day to do this."
Justin knew she was right. He didn't have the answers to the questions they would ask. "Okay, I don't like this at all, but I'll wait in your room." He bent down and gave her a quick kiss then left with the others.
Lisa stayed and wheeled her through the crowd of people towards the window. "Hey, what's going on here?" Anya asked a man holding a camera.
"I'm trying to get a look at the NSYNC baby."
"Excuse me?"
"Haven't you heard. The members of NSYNC all came here to be with some girl that just had a baby and to top it off, rumor has it that Justin Timberlake was in the delivery room with her. Makes you wonder what's going on with them? Do you happen to know which baby it would be?"
"Um…I have no idea. I just came to see my daughter, excuse me." Lisa pushed Anya to the window so she could see Emma. There she was, in the middle of several other babies. No one knew that she was the baby they all came to see and Anya wasn't about to let them find out.
She returned to her room to find Justin on the phone. Lisa said her good-byes and left the couple alone to talk. Justin noticed her come in the room and quickly hung up. "Hey, that didn't take long. Is everything okay with the baby?" He was worried about their daughter, Emma, because she looked so small to him when she was born. Added that photographers were around, he was a wreck.
"Yeah, she is doing fine. I think she is the most beautiful baby in that nursery. The doctor caught me in the hall and said she should be able to come home by the end of the week. How are you doing?"
"I'm okay. I just got off of the phone with security and they are having those photographers kicked out of here. I can't believe they found out so soon."
"Well, they don't know the baby's yours. They don't know much except that you brought a woman in this afternoon and the other guys showed up later."
"How do you know this? Please don't tell me you talked to them? Do they know you are the one I brought in?"
"Justin, I'm not that dumb. I did talk to one of them and no, they don't know it was me that you brought in and no, they don't know that Emma is the NSYNC baby as they called her."
"What? They called her an NSYNC baby? Lord, what are we going to do, we can't hide this for much longer."
The look in his eyes worried Anya. Was he changing his mind and not wanting to be with her and the baby. He had promised and now Anya was thinking that maybe he was changing his mind. "Justin, we need to talk. You aren't changing your mind about being with us, are you?"
Justin looked at her, surprised she even asked him such a question. "I told you that I'd never leave you again, you have to let go of the past, remember, never look back. What happened before, won't happen again. I am not leaving you. What I meant was how are we going to get you and the baby out of here without the press hounding us?"
Anya was worried about that, too, but relieved that Justin would be right there to help her. "I don't know but I think you should call Johnny and see if he can pull any strings to help."
"Yeah, that's a good idea. When can you leave the hospital?"
"Tomorrow. Emma has to stay till the end of the week but I'm free tomorrow."
"Okay, so, let me call Johnny and get you out of here tomorrow and then arrange a way for us to come back and visit Emma until she can come home. One more thing, I want you two to move in with me, that way I can keep my eye on you."
"Justin, I don't know about that. I mean, I would love to but all of our stuff is at my apartment and no one knows about you and me yet. No one will bother us there. I don't think I should try to move everything just yet. We will be fine."
He was upset that she didn't want to move in with him and have him help with the baby. She said she wanted them to be together but she wasn't going to live with him. "Anya, I don't understand, you want us together but no together."
"It's not that, listen, maybe after Emma comes home from here, I'll think about it, okay? Please don't worry. I would just feel more comfortable at my apartment right now."
She wasn't budging and Justin knew to leave it alone for now. "Fine, whatever you say. Let me make some calls and get things going for tomorrow."