Chris opened the front door of the large Florida home, greeting Jordan before quickly grabbing his things and heading to his car. Shrugging her shoulders, unsure as to why Chris was in such a hurry, Jordan closed the door behind her. Laying her car keys and shopping bags on the table in the entry way, she shouted, "I'm home!", frowning slightly when no one replied.
Glancing into the brightly lit kitchen and seeing no one, Jordan made her way quickly up the stairs, picking up a few stray toys along the way. Reaching the second floor, she gazed down the hallway where sounds of gleeful laughter and running water were coming from. Closing the blinds to filter out the scarlet rays of the setting sun, she smiled to herself as she walked toward the bathroom door.
Stopping about two feet away from where the light from under the door crept across the cream carpet, she leaned up against the wall and grinned down at the tiny figure in front of her. Shaking her head, she held in her laughter as she watched the small boy reach unsuccessfully for the brass doorknob that would allow his entry into the large bathroom. As a beautiful male voice rang clearly over the sound of running water that filtered out of the bathroom, the little boy gave up trying to get in and began clapping his hands happily. Wiggling his lower half, he bobbed crazily to the awkward beat that the scales Justin was singing provided him.
"Zach baby whatcha doin?" Jordan asked in a gentle voice as the two year old turned to her with wide eyes.
"Daddy's singin!" he squealed triumphantly, clapping excitedly and wiggling his bottom as Justin broke into part of his old beatboxing routine.
"Ra-ra-ra-rock the funky beat..." His voice could be heard plainly in the hallway, even through the closed door.
Zachary jumped up and down as he giggled, looking at his mother for approval. "Ra-ra..ROCK!" he laughed infectiously as Jordan bent down to his level.
Kissing her son on his tanned cheek, Jordan flashed a brilliant smile which dissipated quickly when she noticed Zachary's shiny chestnut curls were no more. Running her slender fingers over his hair, she frowned. "Did your daddy do this to you?"
Zach nodded his freshly cornrowed head emphatically. "He said it looked CRUNK Mommy." He then placed a tiny hand on his cheek, propping his elbow up with his other hand as he looked at her sideways. "What's crunk mean?"
Jordan tossed her head back slightly as she laughed, "It means Daddy's in big trouble." she teased in a playful voice, scooping her son into her arms and walking into the steam filled bathroom.
Hearing her husband still singing loudly, she cleared her throat before speaking. "Justin?" she inquired curiously.
"They call me Lake...Timber, Timber, Timber...AGH!" he said, screaming loudly as the water in the shower turned ice cold.
Jordan's eyes glimmered mischeviously while Zachary, still in her arms, held his tiny hands over his mouth as he laughed. Reaching a hand out to flush the toilet again, she giggled along with her son as Justin squealed as the temperature of the running water dropped once more.
"Very funny!" Justin said dryly. "Stop doin that!" he shouted playfully to his wife as she flushed it one more time for good measure.
"Would you like to tell me what you've done to our son's hair?" she questioned, smiling at the boy in her arms as he grinned and patted the braids on top of his head.
Justin pulled back the shower curtain enough to peek his head out at Jordan and Zachary. "What do ya mean?" he laughed, winking at her and then wiggling his eyebrows at his little boy, who pointed and giggled at him in reply.
Rolling her eyes, Jordan shook her head in wild disbelief as she stared at Justin's cornrowed head. "Daddy's gone crazy!" she said, scrunching her nose as she tickled her son, causing him to toss his head back in laughter.
"It's Chris' fault!" Justin protested.
"I know the man has an affinity for braids, but if I remember correctly...you're the one that had the cornrows." she retorted.
"But you have to admit...I look damn sexy don't I?" he taunted, reaching out of the shower to catch her elbow and pull towards him for a loving kiss.
Jordan couldn't resist smiling back at him. "Yep. Wet and braided, you really know how I like my men." she giggled before kissing the toddler in her arms gently on the forehead and placing him back on his feet. Zach wandered quickly out of the room to find trouble elsewhere and Jordan laughed as Justin grinned at her devilishly.
"You look absolutely filthy...are you sure you don't want to join me?" he inquired, his eyes sparkling.
"You need a cold shower Timberlake." she quipped, reaching over to flush the toilet once more before leaving the room in laughter.
****
Rachel walked down the plain hallways of the MTV Studios in New York City, cell phone in hand as she dialed quickly. Holding the phone up to her ear she frowned as she heard a familiar voice mail message click on.
"Hey this is Joey...I'm not in right now but if you leave me your name, number, and a short message, I'll get back to you when I get a chance."
"Joe, hey it's me. I just wanted to remind you that JC's in town and he said he'd be stopping by sometime tonight. Anyways I'll talk to you soon. Love ya, bye!" Clicking her phone off, the tall blonde moved quickly into a room filled with other MTV personnel and took her seat.
"Rachel, so glad you could join us." Van Richardson, the head of MTV studios greeted her with a playful smirk, his tone teasing.
"Yeah yeah." Rachel said with a smile, waving his comment away with her hand. "So what did I miss?"
Van spoke seriously now, handing her a file full of paperwork. "We were just discussing the lineup for the VMA's this year. We've got a lot of different performers in mind, but we're interested in any ideas you may have."
Rachel nodded in understanding, as her show was responsible for being on the cutting edge music wise, having taken over Ananda Lewis' spot on the Hot Zone. She sat back in her seat momentarily before her eyes lit up and a smile slid across her features. "How about N Sync?"
Van wrinkled his brow thoughtfully and gestured for her to continue.
"I know they aren't officially "N Sync" anymore, but they're doing that reunion album for their old charity...it's scheduled to come out right before the VMA's. I know they'd do it, it would be great publicity and really help the proceeds of their album. They could do a medley or something for the show." she finished, a pleased look on her face.
Van sat silent for a moment as he stroked his chin thoughtfully. His features bursting into a brilliant grin, he nodded. "I love it. I'll leave the arranging to you...I'm sure you know how to get ahold of all of the guys. Just let me know..." he said firmly before continuing on with the rest of the day's business.
****
At the telephone's persistant ring, Jordan shot Justin a look of annoyance as she brushed past him quickly. "Hello?" she answered breathlessly.
"Whoa, am I interrupting something?" April asked, her tone filled with teasing.
Jordan laughed slightly. "Nice try. I was downstairs throwing a load of laundry in...and since some people are too lazy..." she said pointedly, glancing in the direction of her husband. Justin sat on the floor crosslegged, rolling a colorful ball toward a giddy Zachary, oblivious to Jordan's comment. She continued, "...I had to run upstairs and grab the phone. So anyways, what's up girl? Are we still on for dinner?"
"Of course!" April replied. "I was just calling to see if Rachel has gotten ahold of Justin yet...she called the studios already looking for him. I told her to try his cell phone. It sounded kind of urgent."
Jordan frowned slightly, and walked up the stairs toward their bedroom. Propping the phone up against her ear, she lifted up the towel and small pile of clothes that Justin had left lying on the bed. "Hmm. Yep, she called. I'll tell J to call her back here in a few minutes." the brunette stated into the phone, rolling her eyes as she picked Justin's cell up off of the bed where it had been buried by a pile of clothing. "So anyways I'll see you in a couple hours?"
"Yep!"
"Alright, later girl."
"Bye Jordie." April finished as the two women clicked off their phones.
"Justin?!" Jordan called out as she walked down into the living room where Justin and Zach were now dancing to the videos playing on MTV.
"Yeah?" he said, shimmying toward Jordan, moving to the beat of the music. Reaching her, he wrapped his strong arms around her lovingly, and pulled her in for a warm kiss.
Jordan pulled away from the embrace with a smile before tapping him gently on the chest with the antenna of the phone. "Rach called you...I guess it's important cuz she called the studios too. You need to get back to her okay?"
Justin gently took the phone out of his wife's hand and kissed her on the forehead. "Aight boss..." he replied playfully, dialing Rachel's number as he plopped down on the couch, pulling Jordan down onto his lap as he waited for Rachel to pick up.
Burying her face in Justin's neck, Jordan breathed in the smell of his cologne and sighed contentedly. As Zachary climbed up onto the couch, resting his cornrowed head on Jordan's leg, she smiled at his gentle touch. Running her fingers absentmindedly over her son's chestnut braids, she recalled a day that the new chapter in her life had begun, and an old one had ended.
******
Johnny entered the large meeting room where the rest of Eternity and N Sync sat patiently waiting, Jordan and Justin not far behind him. Squeezing Justin's hand gratefully, Jordan stood next to Johnny as her husband took his seat next to his bandmates. The girls stared up at their friend and groupmate with quizzical expressions on their faces as they awaited the important announcement. Jordan's skin glowed radiantly, but her facial expression was somber, tears forming as she looked at the expectant faces of her bandmates. Afraid of what their reactions would be, her own heart held onto a mixture of joy and sadness.
"I've recently made a decision after learning of some very unexpected, but happily received news..." Jordan began, glancing at Justin, who grinned back at her encouragingly. Looking down at her hands, then up at Johnny, who still stood next to her, she sighed loudly. "I have made the decision to leave Eternity." she stated firmly.
"What?!" Ashlee said, her eyes practically bugging out of her head.
"Why?"
"Is something the matter?"
"Are you okay?"
Jordan smiled as Justin stood, making his way behind her he wrapped his arms around her loosely, placing his hands on her stomach. Tilting her head slightly to gaze up at him, Jordan turned back to the group and flashed a brilliant grin at her friends. "We're having a baby."
The room sat silent, it's occupants almost dumbfounded as they processed the news. Finally the room erupted in noisy congratulations and a flurry of motion as the girls of Eternity and the men of N Sync got up off the couches and hugged their friends.
"Agh! I'm so happy for you!" Rachel said, rushing forward to hug her sister tightly.
"That's great news! When are you due?"
"Congratulations man!"
"Who woulda thought you'd be the first of us to have a little one running around..." Joey mused.
Johnny silenced the group by whistling loudly. "Hey!" he said as everyone in the room froze. "Ya'll are making me dizzy...why don't we calm down and finish talking about the future of Eternity here momentarily?" he laughed, gesturing back toward the plush couches which had been occupied just moments prior.
Chris smiled devilishly at his manager before opening his mouth to speak.
"Don't even think about it Chris." Johnny warned playfully.
Flashing puppy dog eyes at Johnny, Chris stuck out his lower lip before his eyes lit up and he rushed over to the large table within the room. Grabbing a piece of paper, he scribbled something quickly and held it up proudly for Justin and Jordan to see.
"No Chris, we're not naming our child Busta...or Christopher. One of you is enough." Jordan laughed.
"How bout Alan though? Alan's good?" the dark haired man persisted.
"Alan is retarded." Justin teased, struggling to keep the straight look on his face.
Chris mocked hurt. "And Randall is so much better?"
"Are you sayin mah middle name is wack boy?" Justin replied in an exagerrated accent, looking down at the dark haired man who now stood in front of him.
"No I'm saying your middle name is Randall and that it's lame." Chris retorted before poking Justin in the stomach and giving Jordan a hug of congratulations before Johnny cleared his throat once more.
"Alright...guys, you can head out if you want...I really need to speak to the ladies and discuss the future of their careers here. Go celebrate in the hall." Johnny said, pulling the heavy door open and gesturing the boys out. Shaking his head at Chris, the older man laughed as the door clicked shut, leaving him alone with his starlets. "So...this is big news ladies..." he started, clasping his hands tightly in front of him. "How would you like to go about doing this?"
Jordan spoke up first, "I would just like to say that I would have no problem with Eternity continuing on without me. I've made the decision to leave, partially on the fact that due to my pregnancy I won't be up to touring or performing, let alone fit in the costumes." she joked, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "But also it's a lifestyle that I don't want a baby to have to go through. I want to be able to raise our child like a normal person would, in a home, not on a tour bus or in a recording studio. I want to be able to spend time with our baby, and not pay someone else to raise him or her."
"And I think that's very admirable Jordie...not many people would be able to walk away from all of this." Leigh said thoughtfully, looking around at some of the gold records and other Eternity memoribilia hanging around Johnny's conference room.
"That's why I want you guys to really think this through, what you want to do career wise." Johnny said to the other four women. "So I'll let ya'll think about it, and you can let me know in a week or so. Then we'll make a more formal announcement about Jordan's leaving and whatever you ladies decide."
****
Jordan was startled out of her daydream by Justin running his strong hand over her back and kissing her forehead softly. She kept her eyes closed for a moment, remembering how shortly after that meeting, Eternity had dissolved for good. The other four women decided it was better to bow out graciously at the height of their careers rather than try it as a quartet and fail. Rachel had moved to New York and soon after Eternity's breakup, was offered Ananda Lewis' spot as host of the "Hot Zone". Leigh had gone off to Germany to work at BMG Europe as a PR woman for the label, Ashlee was now a successful solo artist, and Tressa had tried her hand at acting.
"Mommy?"
Jordan opened her eyes and was greeted with the cherub-like face of her son sitting about an inch away from her own face. "Zach baby, what are you doin?"
Zach threw his head back in laughter as he placed his tiny hands on Jordan's cheeks and kissed her nose.
Jordan scrunched up her nose at her son and tickled him till he giggled with utter glee. Looking over at Justin, who had lay his head back on the couch after hanging up the phone, Jordan whispered to her son. "Go get Daddy. Go get him."
Zach flung his compact little body on top of Justin's chest, his tiny hands reaching up for his father's cheeks. "Kiss Daddy! Kiss!"
Justin laughed slightly, then righted his head and was greeted with a slobbery kiss on the chin. "Thanks Munchkin, that was just what I needed." he said with a smile before bending down to give Zachary a raspberry on his belly.
Jordan stood up and looked down at the two men in her life. Picking up the pillows that scattered the floor and placing them back on the couch, she gave her husband a quizzical glance. "What did Rachel want that was so important?"
Justin looked up at Jordan and smiled brightly. "MTV wants us...the guys...N Sync...to do a reuinion performance at this year's VMA's."