Part 1

About 8 years later…September 1999

Talia was sitting in her studio apartment listening to the radio when the phone rang. She jumped up off the couch and grabbed the cordless phone off the charger on the small table.

“Hello?” She said a little out of breath.

“Hey girl! Whassup?”

“Kimmy!! Where are you?” Talia asked. Kimmy had been her best friend since her first day of advanced dance class over eight years ago. Talia had moved away a few months ago to go to college, but the two still kept in contact. Kimmy had played a big part in helping Talia get over her parents’ divorce eight years ago.

“Well right now, I’m standing at the bus station waiting for you to come get me.” Kimmy replied.

“AAHHHH!! Are you serious? What the heck are you doing here? Oh nevermind. I’ll be there in a few minutes.” Talia rattled off and hung up the phone before Kimmy could protest. She threw on her jacket and ran out the door. It only took her about 10 minutes to reach the bus station where Kimmy was waiting. Talia spotted her immediately. Being dancers, they always stood out from the rest of the crowd. She threw her Jeep Cherokee in park and bounded over to where Kimmy was standing on the curb. The two girls embraced enthusiastically.

“It’s good to see you Talia. You look absolutely fabulous as always.” Kimmy said, studying her best friend’s dimunitive frame.

“You don’t look so bad yourself.” Talia told her. They were both small girls. Years of ballet and vigourous exercise routines had made their young bodies lean and supple. “So. What brings you all the way up here?” Talia was referring to the town where she now lived. It was about 300 miles from where the two girls had grown up.

“You don’t think I’d miss my best friend’s birthday, do you?” Kimmy asked.

Talia smiled and hugged her friend again. Then she picked up Kimmy’s suitcase and carried it to the Jeep. They chattered all the way back to Talia’s apartment. Once inside, Talia showed Kimmy around the spacious studio apartment. It was all basically one big room. There was plenty of light and a bar set up at one end.

“I see you’re keeping up with your dancing.”

“Of course. Dancing is my life. Aren’t you?” Talia turned to Kimmy with a questioning look.

“Yeah. I still practice, but not as much as I used to. I just haven’t had the time lately. I’ve been to a few auditions, but nothing has come up for me.” Kimmy replied. She didn’t want to tell Talia that she was getting really discouraged and hadn’t danced at all in over a week. She was here for Talia’s birthday, not to burden her with problems.

The two girls sat and talked for the rest of the afternoon. Dusk started to overcome the city and they realized that they were both famished. After debating for a few minutes, they decided to run out and grab something from one of the fast food places and to get a few movies on the way back. They went down to the parking lot and got in the Jeep. Kimmy turned the radio on and found a local pop station. She liked the group that was on and turned the sound up a little.

“Who is that?” Talia asked.

“Don’t tell me you don’t know who Nsync is!” Kimmy exclaimed.

“Oh. Yeah I’ve heard of them. I’m just not to into that kind of music really. The only music I listen to is my dance stuff.” Talia replied.

“Dang girl. I can’t believe you don’t listen to these guys. They are so hot.” Kimmy was surprised that her friend was so detached from their age group. But Talia had always been that way. She’d always acted older than she really was, every since her parents divorced. Talia had been forced to grow up a little sooner than expected. Kimmy knew that the divorce had been hard for Talia to deal with. She’d spent the rest of her life until she graduated high school moving back and forth between her parents’ houses. Talia had thrown herself into her dancing. But all that hard work had paid off. She’d gotten accepted to a really nice school with a great dance program.

The two girls talked about various things until they returned to Talia’s apartment with the food and the movies. They stayed up late that night watching movies. Kimmy got to meet a couple of Talia’s new friends that would be at the birthday party the next day. It was being held at one of her new friends’ parents’ houses outside of the city. Finally, around 2am, Talia and Kimmy agreed that they needed to get some sleep. Kimmy was sleeping on the pull out couch. They said their goodnights and fell asleep almost immediately, exhausted from their reminiscing.

The next morning, Kimmy woke up to find Talia at the bar warming up. She turned over quietly so that she wouldn’t disturb her friend and looked on in silence. After the warmup, Talia turned on some classical music that Kimmy recognized as Debussy’s Claire De Lune. Kimmy watched as Talia let herself become lost in the music. She danced wonderfully and when she was finished, Kimmy sat up and clapped.

Talia turned around with a smile on her face. “I didn’t wake you did I?”

“No. You didn’t. I love watching you dance.” Kimmy said, getting up off the couch. The two girls made themselves some cereal and relaxed the rest of the day until it was time for Talia’s party. They rode in Talia’s Jeep out of the city to the house that the party was being held at. As they pulled up the long driveway, Kimmy’s eyes widened.

“Wow.” Was all she could say.

Talia chuckled a little. “Yeah, I thought the same thing the first time I came out here.” There were quite a few vehicles parked around the house. Kimmy and Talia got out and were greeted with a chorus of ‘hellos’ and ‘happy birthday’ for Talia. The party went great. There were alcoholic beverages available, but Talia didn’t drink. Around midnight, Kimmy came up and told Talia she was going to check out one of the local clubs with a few of the people at the party.

“You don’t mind do you?” Kimmy asked.

“No of course not dear. Go on and have fun. If you need me, call me at home and I will come pick you up.” Talia replied. She watched Kimmy leave, and after a few minutes decided to go home. It was late and she was tired. She made the rounds, thanking everyone for a great party, then left. She decided to take the long way home, on the paved roads. It was a beautiful night outside and she left the windows down. About halfway into town, she noticed a car pulled over on the shoulder of the road with the emergency lights flashing. She decided to see if they needed any help and parked her Jeep behind the car. When she got out, she noticed the Mercedes Benz emblem on the trunk.

“Hello?” She called towards the car. There was no answer, so she went a little closer and looked in the front window. She didn’t see anyone inside and figured they had already called for help, so she turned around to leave. But out of the corner of her eye, she saw what looked like a sneaker peaking around the front of the car. She walked closer and looked over the hood. Gasping at what she saw, she ran back to her Jeep and grabbed her cell phone out of the seat. She dialed 911 and hurried back to the unconscious figure laying in front of the car.

“911 can I help you?”

“Yes m’am. I need an ambulance fast. I’m outside of town on Highway 253 and there is a young man here that needs help. He’s laying on the ground and he’s bleeding.” Talia said quickly into the phone.

“Is he breathing?” The operator asked.

Talia leaned down as close as she dared. “Yes. He seems to be.”

“Okay. Do you know your exact location?”

Talia looked around for signs of where she was. “I think it’s about 5 or 6 miles…um…south of town on Highway 253.”

“Alright miss. We’ll have someone there as soon as possible.”

Talia hit the ‘end’ button on the phone and sat down on the asphalt. She wanted to help, but was afraid to move the young man for fear of injuring him further. She realized it was getting chilly out and went back to the Jeep for the blanket she kept in the back. She brought it back and spread it out over him gingerly. She looked at her watch and saw that it had only been about a minute and a half since she’d hung up the phone. She waited impatiently and finally saw the heard the sirens of the ambulance in the distance. She stood up and when she saw the flashing lights, stepped out into the road a little to flag them down. The ambulance pulled over and went to work on the young man lying on the ground. After stabilizing him on a neck board, they loaded him in the back of the ambulance and told Talia she could follow them to the hospital. Deciding to do just that, she jumped in the Jeep and pulled out on the road behind the ambulance, keeping pace with them as they sped to the nearest hospital.

Part 2

Talia paced the floors of the waiting room. She had no idea who this man was or what happened to him but she wasn't about toe leave without knowing if he was all right or not. She walked to the pay phone just outside the small room and slipped in a quarter. She dialed her apartment. No surprise to her she got the answering machine. If Kimmy knew how to do anything it was party.

"Kimmy... before you get all worried about me I am at County General Hospital East. Don't get all jumpy now. I'm not hurt. On the way home from the party I found some guy on the side of the road. He was beat up pretty bad. I think I'm going to stay here for a while... at least until I know he's okay or until his family comes. Ok... well... my time is about to run out on me. I know exactly what you're thinking though... What a way to spend your eighteenth birthday. Later girl."

She placed the phone back in the cradle and inched her way to the nurse’s desk. She stood before the counter solemnly. For the first time that night she comprehended what she had done and what could have happened to her. She began to mentally prepare to answer her parents’ string of questions. Are you crazy? Did you even think that maybe it could have been a trick? What if there was someone else there? 'But there wasn't...' she thought to herself, 'I helped someone tonight.'

"Miss?!?"

Talia shook herself out of her daze and looked up at the nurse. "Sorry. Is there any information on John Doe Number Two?"

"Are you family? Friend?"

"Umm... I'm just the one who called the ambulance," Talia said weakly.

"Where am I?" Justin asked quietly. He tried to get up from the bed and felt immediate pain shoot through his body. "DAMN!"

"Sir you need to lie down," one of the nurses coaxed. Justin headed her words and sunk back into the bed.

"What happened to me?"

"We were kinda hoping you'd help us out there," the nurse smiled kindly, "I'll go get the doctor for you."

"How did I get here?" Justin questioned further.

"Some girl pulled over... called 911." The nurse slipped out the door, leaving Justin wondering what had happened to him.

"Excuse me doctor," Talia called down the hallway, "you were the one who took the man that was brought in... he was beat up... what happened? How is he?"

"Oh... I'm just about to go into his room..." the doctor explained, "care to join me?"

Talia felt self-conscious. "No I'd just like to know how he is."

The doctor flipped open the chart and examined it. "Well... his only serious injury is three cracked ribs. Everything else is a visual injury. Ya know... black eye, swollen lip... stuff like that."

"Oh... so he'll be okay?" Talia asked. It felt as if a weight was lifted off her shoulders. The doctor nodded to her affirmatively. "Good... then I can go home," Talia smiled.

"No. The cops are sending someone over to question you and the victim."

"So I have to stay?" Talia asked.

"Sorry."

Justin listened as the doctor listed his injuries and asked him questions that should have been simple to answer. The answers weren't coming to him. And if they did, they took some time. He noticed the doctor shaking his head. "Just say it..." Justin urged.

"Amnesia... selective amnesia... It's common. I expected it," the doctor explained. Justin groaned loudly.

"Well... is there anyway I can talk to the girl who helped me? Thank her?"

Justin asked.

Talia stood in the doorway of this stranger’s room, simply staring at him.

He was bruised but he wasn't hooked up to any machines. 'That's good' she thought to herself.

"Hello," a muffled voice sounded, causing her to jump. The stranger must have seen her because the next sound she heard was a laugh. "You must be the girl that everyone has been telling me about... Or... maybe my memory is worse then they thought."

"No... I'm Talia. I'm the one who called 911. You were pretty bruised up."

"Still am." He smiled to the best of his ability. His lip was stitched up and swollen.

"Are you in pain?" Talia asked.

"Come in and I'll tell you."

Talia looked around carefully, she hadn't noticed that she was still lingering by the door. "Doctor told me you cracked some ribs... that can't be pleasant."

"Neither can hospital food," he joked, "but I'll live. Thank you..."

"Talia."

"Talia," he repeated, "good name. My name is... is..."

"John Doe Number Two," Talia supplanted, "you must have been robbed. Wallet

was gone."

"Talk about adding insult to injury," he laughed. "Justin."

"Huh?"

"My name... it's Justin."

Talia took a seat by the bed and got a better look at him. One of his eyes was swollen almost completely shut. She now noticed that his lip now held about ten stitches. She sighed heavily, not knowing exactly what to say to him. "You know... any other September day I wouldn't have been on that road." He seemed to look at her with interest. "I was coming back from a birthday party."

"Yours?" he asked.

"Yep. Eighteen!" From the first time since she stepped into the room, she smiled.

"Well... happy birthday. I guess it was my lucky night then huh?"

"Guess so..."

Part 3

After the initial remarks, Talia and Justin both just sort of sat there. Justin in the hospital bed, and Talia in the guest chair. She was staring down at her hands, not really knowing what else to say. Justin was in pretty much the same boat. Since he couldn’t remember anything at this point, he couldn’t think of anything useful or intelligent to say. Luckily for both of them, a nurse came in.

“Visiting hours are over now.” She stated and raised an eyebrow at them before walking back out of the room.

“Well, I guess I’d better be going. The doctor said that the police were coming to ask me some questions. I hope you get well soon Justin.” Talia got up and rubbed the heels of her hands on her pants.

“Yeah, I’m sure they’ll want to come in here too. Not like it’s going to do them any good since I can’t remember what happened.” Justin attempted to smile, but flinched in pain. “Ouch. Hope no body makes me laugh.” He did managed a one sided smirk that time.

Talia chuckled. “I guess I’ll be going now. Bye.” She turned and walked out of the room. Just as she was about to open the door, Justin stopped her.

“Oh, and Talia?” He called. She turned around. “Thanks for helping me out.”

“No problem.” She replied and walked on out the door. Sure enough, there were two police officers sitting in the waiting area. She was pretty sure they were there to talk to her, so she walked over to where they were sitting. “I’m Talia…the one that called 911 for the young man. I’m assuming you want to speak to me.”

“Yes ma’am. Just have a seat if you would.” One officer replied. Talia did as she was told. “Now. The ambulance drivers said that you found the young man lying on the road in front of his car unconscious. Is that right?”

“Yes it is. I had pulled over on my way home. I didn’t see him at first. I didn’t touch him or the car, I just went and got my cell phone.” She replied dutifully.

The police spent about 20 minutes questioning her and taking notes. They thanked her and then went to the nurse’s desk. Thankful that it was all over, Talia picked up her purse and left. When she got back to her apartment, Kimmy was asleep on the couch. Or at least Talia thought she was. As soon as Talia had set her purse down on the dining room table, Kimmy popped up like a Jack-In-The-Box.

“It’s about time you got your butt back here! Do you know how worried I’ve been?” Kimmy exclaimed.

“Well I told you not to worry on my message.” Talia shrugged, trying to play the whole thing off.

“So? Just because you leave me some lame ass message that didn’t explain CRAP doesn’t mean I’m not going to be worried about you. You were at a hospital with some strange guy. Can I ask what the hell you were thinking?” Kimmy was obviously upset.

Talia realized that Kimmy had a point, and decided to humor her. “Okay. I was driving home and saw this car pulled over on the side of the road. A Mercedes Benz, I might add. Well, you know me, so I stopped to see if they needed help. And I found this guy lying in front of the car all bloody and stuff. I had to call the ambulance. Well, I couldn’t stand not knowing if he was at least going to live, so I went to the hospital. He’s just bruised up pretty bad and has a couple of cracked ribs. Then I had to answer some questions from the police. I got home as soon as I could, can I go to bed now Mommy?”

Kimmy got a kick out of that last statement and laid off the questions for the night. “Yeah, I’m pretty tired too I guess. Happy Birthday Lia.”

“Thank you.” Talia hugged Kimmy and collapsed in her bed. That whole experience had taken quite a toll on her. Both girls were asleep within minutes.

In a hotel room in the city night…

“Man. I wonder what the heck happened to Justin. He’s been gone for over 4 hours. You don’t think anything bad happened do you?” Lance asked to no one in particular. He had finally voiced what the other three guys had been thinking. Justin had left earlier saying that he needed to get some air. He had a pretty bad fight with his girlfriend and they guys understood that he needed some time alone. But this was a little too much time as far as they were concerned.

“You know. I’ll bet he’s over at Liz’s right now. I’ll call her and find out.” JC volunteered and started to reach for the phone.

“You’re probably right JC. I’m sure he’s over there and they are well on their way to making up, if you know what I mean. Let’s just leave them alone until tomorrow.” Lance said. The others agreed and they all went to sleep.

The next morning…

Talia woke up with a headache and decided not to dance. She allowed herself to miss one or two days a week, so it wasn’t interfering with her schedule really. She drug herself out of bed and to the medicine cabinet in the bathroom. After she’d brushed her teeth and swallowed a few Motrin, she went to the kitchen area and made herself a bowl of cereal. While she was eating, her minded drifted back to the night before and Justin. About halfway through her cereal and her daydream, Kimmy came and sat down beside her at the table. Talia shook of her thoughts of the guy she’d rescued and turned her attention to her best friend.

Kimmy offered a groggy smile and mumbled, “Please tell me you have some coffee around here.”

Talia chuckled a little. “Yes dear I do. It’s in the cabinet next to the fridge. And the coffee pot is under the sink.” Kimmy nodded to show that she understood and got the coffee started. When she was on her second cup, she perked up a little.

“So. Tell me about this guy last night. Is he cute?”

“Well, I couldn’t really tell. His face was banged up pretty bad. It looked like he got robbed because they couldn’t find his wallet. And he has temporary amnesia, so all I know is that his first name is Justin.” Talia recounted dutifully.

Kimmy smiled, satisfied for the moment. They chatted awhile and debated about what they were going to do that day. Kimmy had to leave the next afternoon, so they planned to spend most of the day shopping and just hanging out together.

Part 4

"Do you think he'd like this?" Talia asked carefully. She stepped around the corner of the local convenient store and held up a small teddy bear holding a balloon that read 'Get Well Soon'.

"Will WHO like that?" Kimmy asked. She switched her bag full of clothes from one hand to the other. "The hospital guy?" Talia nodded furiously.

"Unless he's four and a girl… I'm gonna say… no."

"UGH!"

"Why do you feel the need to buy him something in the first place. You saved his life, he should be buying you something."

"Cause I want to go and see him later during visiting hours and if I walk in the room empty handed it's going to look ridiculous. He doesn't even know me!"

"From what you've said… he doesn't know much of anything."

JC paced the floor of his studio apartment, glancing at his watch every five minutes. "It's almost one… he's been gone for nearly a day. No phone call, no anything."

"I called Liz… told her to come over," Lance said quietly. None of them dared speculate what happened. "She said Justin did go visit her last night, but he left fairly quickly. Now he's… no where."

"Nowhere," JC repeated quietly. He didn't like the way that sounded. "We're just going to have to hope that Liz knows something. Has an IDEA of where he is."

"Maybe we should call local hospitals and police stations around the city,"

Chris said. His voice not daring to rise above a whisper. All eyes focused on him.

"If Liz doesn't know anything. That's the next step," JC said surely. 

Talia hung up her new clothes in her already overcrowded closet. "I can't believe you're leaving already Kimmy. Seems as if you just got here. Since you're the big party animal you are and I'm an idiot for pulling over to help some guy. I'd rather you not call my parents and give them the full report of it all… I'd rather break it to them gently."

"I won't call your parents," Kimmy laughed, "hello Karen and John your daughter is a Good Samaritan. It could've gotten her killed but… hey at leaset she's a good person!"

"SHUT UP!" Talia laughed.

"Oh… speaking of your parents," Kimmy began. She jumped up quickly and ran to her suitcase, "I almost had forgotten."

"Forgotten?"

"Your mom was cleaning the attic of your house the day before I left and she found this." Kimmy held out Talia's favorite stuffed animal. Her panda bear.

"Remember when you wouldn’t ever let that thing go," Kimmy laughed at the memory. "I remember the day…"

"My parents divorce was final and I ran over to your house at 7AM in my pajama's holding him behind me." Talia completed the thought with a nod, she could still feel the pain she felt that day.

"I thought my mother was going to kill you. It was a Saturday after all…"

"She made me pancakes," Talia recalled. Kimmy nodded. "Like it was yesterday," Talia whispered. Kmmy hugged her friend tightly and left the room, realizing Talia would like to be left alone. Talia looked down at the black and white animal in her hands and smiled faintly. She sure had a lot of memories where something as inanimate as a stuffed animal played a huge roll. She laughed a little and set herself on the bed. Of all the memories one stood out about the rest.

*~* "To whoever listens to starlight wishes, this one is for you. I wish when I get older that I find someone to love me. Someone I won't fight with like mom and dad do... did. Someone I can be happy with forever. I want him to have blonde hair and blue eyes. He has to be nice and NOT have cooties. Someone tall and handsome would be just fine. And he can't smell like Randy who sits next to me in Mister Esposito's class. I want to meet him when I turn eighteen..." She smiled faintly up at the sky. "Oh... one last thing... he has to be able to dance." *~*

"This would be my year then…" Talia whispered to herself. She placed the stuffed animal on her pillow and emerged from her room. "I'm going to head over to the hospital." Kimmy barely looked up from the television. "I'll bring something back for you to eat."

"Thanks."

Talia grabbed her coat and the candy and 'get well soon' balloon that she had purchased, despite Kimmy's mocking. "Later Kimmy!"

"What EXACTLY happened when he came over the other night?" JC asked. He tired to keep his voice even, but it was becoming more and more difficult for him to do. 

Liz became lost in thought, recalling his hurt face when he found out. 'Justin you have no idea how hard it is for me when you're away' she had whimpered. She remembered him staring through her. 'Like it's not hard on me to be away.' His voice was shaking at this point in time.

'Don't ever call me again.' And with that he was gone.

"Liz?" Lance said, snapping her out of her daze.

"Nothing happened," Liz said quietly, "he came over, I said I wasn't in the mood for company, and he left. He was only at my place for a half hour or so."

"Then something is definitely wrong," Chris reasoned. "If he was going somewhere else he'd call... you KNOW he would."

"Good afternoon," Talia opened the door, she smiled a little at the patient. Justin looked up from the remote control and smirked as she caught his eye. "I wasn't expecting to see you again."

"I can leave... but I'm bearing gifts," Talia said quietly.

"No being you being here will beat staring at the ceiling I'm sure," Justin laughed.

"Oh... thanks," Talia rolled her eyes, "I know it's cheesy but you get a balloon and some candy. I didn't know what you like..."

"I don't know what I like. Sit... please."

Talia took a seat in the chair by the bed and looked him over. "You look better than you did yesterday."

"Sponge bath." Justin raised his eyebrows suggestively.

"For your sake I hope she was at least cute," Talia smiled.

"She was sixty."

"Oh... I'll have to put a good word in for you. If you're in here all bruised the least you deserve is an exciting sponge bath." Talia looked around the room again in the dreadful silence that ensued. Justin had resumed his staring contest with the ceiling and Talia's eyes locked on his face. His hair, now clean she noticed was short and held a blonde hue. His eyes, the one she could see anyway, was a most intriguing shade of blue.

*~* "To whoever listens to starlight wishes, this one is for you. I wish when I get older that I find someone to love me. Someone I won't fight with like mom and dad do... did. Someone I can be happy with forever. I want him to have blonde hair and blue eyes..." *~*

She smiled a little and craned her head to look at the ceiling. "Anything interesting up there? I didn't think I was that bad company."

"You're not. I just don't know what to say to you. I don't remember anything I like or anything I did. I'm a puzzle with a lot of missing pieces."

"I'm sorry I can't help you with that," Talia whispered. She could see in his eyes he had drifted off again, "I don't even know you other then for what you've shown me in this room." 'Yet I'm drawn here...' she finished the thought in her head.

"Well I'm glad you came back today," Justin said honestly

Part 5

“It must be really painful for you. Not knowing who you are and all.” Talia said to Justin. She didn’t really know why she was even there. For some strange reason she was drawn to this guy she’d met on the side of the road. And she kept remembering that wish she had made so many years ago. It seemed so trivial now. She’d had that thought about the blond hair and blue eyes when she looked at Justin, but pushed it out of her mind. ‘It’s all in your head.’ She told herself. ‘I’m just doing this because Kimmy gave me the bear before I came to visit him.’

“It is. I just wish I could remember something…anything. My last name would be a good start.’ Justin smiled dryly at his own words.

“I wish there was something I could do to help.” The thing was, Talia really did want to help him.

“Don’t worry about.” Justin replied. “Enough about me. Are you from here?”

“No. I just moved up here a few months ago for college. I’m studying dance at UCF.” Talia noticed Justin studying her face intently. “What? Do I have something on my nose?”

He laughed a little then. “Oh no. It’s that you eyes lit up when you mentioned dancing. It’s obviously something that you enjoy.”

Talia felt her cheeks redden. The thought of him picking up on that affected her. “How’s the hospital food treating you?” She asked trying to change the subject.

Justin wrinkled his nose. “It’s not exactly gourmet cooking, if you know what I mean.”

“I’ll bet. Hey, you know what? I was going to pick something up for my friend when I left here. I could bring you something if you wanted.”

It was Justin’s turn to get excited. “You’d do that for me?” Then his face fell again. “I don’t even know what I like.”

Talia’s heart went out to him. “Well, I’ll just bring you a burger. Surely you liked them.” Justin nodded his head in agreement and she left.

Liz watched the guys pace the room. She decided then that they could not find out what had occurred between her and Justin. If something bad had happened to him, well, she just wouldn’t think about that right now. Feeling out of place and uncomfortable, she stood up and said goodbye to the guys.

After Liz was gone, they started brainstorming about ways that they could locate Justin. JC was going to call his mom to see if she had heard from him. Lance was going to call the area hospitals. Chris was going to call the police departments and highway patrol. And Joey was going to go out driving, checking out all Justin’s favorite spots. After a small discussion, they decided to meet back up at 6 that evening to share the results of their search.

Talia pulled back into the hospital parking lot with Justin’s take out. She hadn’t been really sure what to get him, so she’d brought back pizza and a hamburger. She walked quickly into the building and took the elevator up to Justin’s floor. Smiling as she passed the nurse’s desk, she opened the door to his room and smiled. He was asleep. She didn’t want to wake him, so she took the food over to the bedside table. She was trying to be as quiet as possible, but when she sat the bag with the burger and fries down, it crackled a little and his good eye popped open.

“I didn’t mean to wake you.”

“That’s okay.” Justin assured her. “This medication they’ve got me on makes me really sleepy. “

Talia grinned a little. “I brought you pizza and a burger. The staples of our generation.” That brought a groggy smile from Justin.

“Thank you. I really appreciate it.” He told her and sat up in the bed so that he could eat.

“I don’t mind at all. But I’d better be going, my friend is probably starving.” With that, she left him to his lunch. On the way back to her apartment, she stopped off and got her and Kimmy some pizza. She hadn’t wanted it to get cold while she was taking Justin his food. She bounded up the stairs and burst through the door.

“Sorry it took me so long.” She called to Kimmy, who was currently out of sight. Talia sat the pizza box down on the table and got some plates out of the cabinet. Kimmy appeared in a robe and sat down with her.

“It’s about time you got here. I’m famished.” She explained and the girls ate mostly in silence. After their meal, they decided to get a nap in before they went out that evening.

Just as they had planned, the guys all met back at JC’s apartment at 6pm. Even though Joey had been the only one to actually need to leave, Lance and Chris had went to their places so that they would all have constant access to a phone and not have to take turns.

“You guys come up with anything?” JC asked hopefully. His conversation with Justin’s mom had not been pleasant. He’d tried pumping her for information without letting on that he was worried, but she’d seen right through him and demanded he tell her the whole story. JC didn’t have a choice and now Lynn was beside herself. She’d promised to join in the search for her son.

“Nothing here.” Joey replied.

“Me either.” Chris said sadly.

“Lance? Did you find anything?”

“Yes. Well…maybe. I called this one hospital…” He paused to look at his notes. “County General East, that had someone brought in last night that is still unidentified. I described Justin to the lady on the phone, and she said that she wasn’t sure because he was pretty banged up, but it sounded like him. This person, who hopefully is Justin, was apparently in a minor car accident and had been robbed. He has a lot of cuts and bruises and some cracked ribs. Oh, and temporary amnesia.” Lance cringed at the last part.

“In a car wreck and robbed?” Joey echoed. Lance nodded, apparently pained by the thought as well.

“Well that settles it. We have to get over there right now and see if it’s him.” JC grabbed his keys and they were out the door. They piled into JC’s Cherokee and he sped through the city. It took them almost 45 minutes to get across town to the hospital Lance had named. Once there, they rushed inside and found the nurse’s desk on the main floor.

“We’re here for a patient you got last night. He was robbed and in a car wreck. And his name is Justin Timberlake.” JC told the woman behind the desk.

“Timberlake…I’m sorry sir, I don’t see anyone by that name.” She replied.

“Ma’am. I called earlier and whoever I talked to said that he was unidentified. He has temporary amnesia and…” Lance was rattling off, but the nurse interrupted him

“Oh. Him. Are you family?” She asked the four young men in front of her with a slightly disapproving look.

“No. We’re friends.” Chris stepped forward.

“Well I’m afraid I’ll have to get the doctor before you can see him.” The woman started to get up from her place at the desk.

“Miss. Please. He’s our friend and he’s been gone since yesterday. We can help you identify him.” JC pleaded with her. She stopped momentarily and he handed her a picture of the five of them out of his wallet.

She studied the picture closely, looking back and forth between it and the guys. “That looks like him without the bruises alright.” There was a collective sigh of relief from the guys. “Okay. You can see him. He’s in room 217. Remember that he doesn’t know who he is right now. He’s probably not going to recognize you.” The nurse said, but realized she was talking to their backs. They were already rushing to the elevator.

They found the door to his room with little effort and looked at each other before going in. After taking a deep breath, JC opened the door.

Justin looked up and saw four guys come into his room. He was almost disappointed that it wasn’t Talia. “Can I help you?” He asked.

“You don’t remember us Justin?” Chris asked, plainly upset.

“No. I don’t. Who are you? And how did you know my name?”