Part 6

"We're your friends," JC began, knowing it wouldn't get him anywhere. He was just relieved to see that Justin was safe. "I'm JC. That's Chris, Joey and Lance." JC gestured to each guy as he said their name.

"I'm sorry… but I don't remember any of you," Justin said quietly. He watched their faces fall. "I'm sure you meant a lot to me but… I just don't remember anything. My first name, that's it."

"We can help you if you'd like," Chris offered. Justin nodded, preparing to accept any information they had about him.

"Your name is Justin Timberlake. Justin Randall Timberlake," Joey said softly. "Ring a bell?" Justin shrugged half-heartedly. "I knew it was Justin."

"You live here in Orlando, Florida by yourself in this killer apartment. I mean this place has EVERYTHING!" Chris began to explain animatedly. He realized his excited efforts weren't being appreciated like he had hoped and stopped almost immediately. Justin had always laughed at his antics, not this time. Same face; different person.

"I'm sorry," Justin apologized. He shifted uncomfortably in the bed and cringed at the twinge of pain he felt from his cracked ribs. He looked around the room at the disappointed faces. "I'm trying to remember really I am…" Justin stated solemnly, "It's just difficult. All I remember is my first name, my time here at the hospital and Talia."

"Talia?" JC asked as he pulled up a seat.

"She's the girl who found me. She visited me today too, brought me that." Justin gestured to the balloon, candy and the empty food wrappers in the garbage can. For the first time since they guys had entered the room they saw a hint of the Justin they knew. His excitement wasn't directed at being told who he was, but rather at Talia.

Talia stood at her bedroom window looking up at the stars. She tried to find one that seemed fitting to be wished on. She finally set her eyes on the brightest star in the sky. She hugged her panda bear to her chest and sighed. "Let Justin find out who he is and get better soon. Very soon." 

"Are you going to leave me out here to watch these movies alone the night before I leave to go back to big bad Massachusetts?" Kimmy laughed. Her head peaked into Talia's room.

"I'll be right out. I want to put on my most comfortable pajama's," Talia smiled back at her friend and waited until she was out of the room. Again she smiled toward the light of the sky and ran her fingers over the cool glass. 'Where are those damn cloud pajama's?' she asked herself as she turned away from the window and toward the pile of clothes that had gathered on her bed during the hectic few days. She rolled her eyes, laughed to herself and began to slowly dig through the pile.

"I'm really tired," Justin yawned. In actuality he wasn't at all. The four sets of eyes on him made him nervous. Each of them taking turns coercing him through the basic statistics of his life. Born January 31, 1981, which would make him eighteen. Justin Randall Timberlake. Sings. Each time a new layer was added on to his identity silence would ensue. They'd all look at him, urging him to remember something… anything. The pressure of their eyes on him gave him a headache.

"They must have you on some strong stuff if you're tired at 8PM!" Joey exclaimed with a laugh. Justin looked at him, confusion etched on his battered features. "You're a regular party animal." 'Party animal' Justin repeated to himself, 'another thing to add to the list.' He yawned again for effect.

"We'll get going now…" Lance rubbed his hands together in frustration. Nothing, they had spent forty-five minutes in the room with him and only half of which they had actually spoken. All of their attempts at story telling went no where. The Justin that lay before them was flippant or perhaps in too much pain to care.

"We'll be back tomorrow," Joey said before the door closed. His words served more as a warning; Justin would have time to process everything by then… they hoped.

"That wasn't even Justin lying there," Chris sighed loudly as they went into the hallway. "Lynn can't come see him like that, it'll break her heart. And Liz… they can't come here."

"And who is going to keep them away?" JC asked, "maybe tonight was just too much for him to take. Thank god we didn’t say anything about tours and concerts. That definitely would have been too much for the first day of seeing him."

"I'm not going home," Lance said quietly, but sternly. "He wouldn't leave if it were me."

"I'm going to call Lynn and Liz tell them he's alive," Joey said as he searched his wallet for quarters.

"But is he?" Chris asked.

"I'm going to pretend you didn't just say that," JC said angrily. "I'll be in the lobby down the hall."

The sound of echoed applause filled Justin's dreams. He couldn't make out any noise other than screaming. They weren't scared screams, but happy screams. Screams of adulation. His eyes remained closed, hoping this vision would lead to something. Lights, huge bright lights. He could almost feel the head of it on his face. A bolt of energy flew through him and his eyes opened quickly. He looked around the room. Darkness. 'Maybe that was a memory?' he thought to himself as he reached for the remote.

Lance stretched across two chairs in the second floor lobby. It was nearly impossible to sleep. The sound of announcements being made, the florescent lighting, the worry of it all. "Can't sleep huh?" JC asked as he sat in the free chair next to him. Lance sat up and rubbed his eyes. He accepted the cup of coffee JC was holding out for him. "Me either," JC said softly, "maybe tomorrow will be better though."

"Maybe..." Lance shrugged.

"Maybe Lynn or Liz can jog his memory," JC wondered out loud, "since they said we can't keep them away from 'their baby'." Lance laughed, he could totally envision both Lynn and Liz saying that, calling him that.

"Kimmy babe you have to wake up your plane leaves in an hour and a half! My alarm didn't go off," Talia frantically yelled. She rushed into the living room and tossed the blankets off her friends. "WAKE UP!" Kimmy's response was muffled in the pillow. Talia shook her friend gently. "I'm getting up... I'm getting up... you're worse than my mother."

-Airport-

"So you have everything?" Talia asked. Kimmy nodded, "all in this little bag right here."

"I know you probably left something," Talia laughed, "I'll mail it to you." "Thanks," Kimmy smiled.

'LAST CALL FOR FOR FLIGHT 256 TO BOSTON, MASSACHUESETTS!'

"That's me," Kimmy shrugged.

"You're leaving so soon. We barely had time to talk," Talia sighed, "next time. I'm coming home for Christmas break and we'll do everything we used to. We can go back to the old dance studio and..."

"I better get going," Kimmy cut her off, "bye girl." Talia wrapped her friend in a hug, "call me when you get in."

"I will," Kimmy waved behind her. Talia watched her friend walk down the long corridor and board the plane. She smiled and retreated back to the parking lot. 'Sunday' she thought to herself, 'nothing to do...'. She slid into her car and started the engine. Before she, herself, could protest she was already halfway to the hospital.

Part 7

Jc watched the other guys dozing and thought about Justin. He couldn’t believe that his best friend didn’t remember who he was. The real reality of what had happened was beginning to set in. The more he thought about it, the more upset he got. Jc looked at his watch and saw that it was getting close to noon. ‘Good. Liz and Lynn will be here soon.’ He thought to himself. He hoped that the two women in Justin’s life would trigger some kind of reaction. Jc stood up to stretch the kinks out of his exhausted body and saw a girl go into Justin’s room. She was very leggy and athletic looking and had a gorgeous head of auburn hair that flowed halfway down her back. ‘Must be a volunteer.’ He thought and went about waking up the guys.

Talia walked into Justin’s room and saw him standing by the window looking out at the city.

*~*”Someone tall and handsome would be just fine.”*~*

She stood there, unable to move and watched him stand almost immobile. The door snapped shut behind her and he turned around to see who had come in.

Justin had been expecting a nurse, but saw Talia standing in front of the door instead. “Hello.” He greeted her with a smile on his face.

“Hi.” She returned his smile and walked further into the room. “Are you feeling better today?”

“A little. I had some visitors last night.”

“Oh? Was it someone that you knew?” Talia wondered if had remembered anything about his life.

“Well. It was someone that knew me. Four guys that said they were my friends. But I don’t remember any of them Not even a little. Though I think I may have had some sort of memory flash last night.” He told her.

“That’s nice.” Talia replied. She stood at the foot of the bed not really knowing what to say next.

“Hey, um Talia?” Justin started shyly, looking down at his hands.

“Yes?”

“Would you mind if I gave you a hug? You know, for everything that you’ve done for me. Calling for help, and coming to visit and stuff…” He trailed off and looked at her hopefully.

Talia couldn’t resist the face he was giving her. He looked like a lost puppy. “Of course.” She said and stepped closer to him. She was nervous as heck, and was relieved that he made the first move, opening his arms to her. With a little smile, she stepped inside them and slipped her arms around his trim torso. Her face was even with his chest and he rested his chin on top of her head. Again, she recalled that part of her wish.

*~*”Someone tall and handsome would be just fine.”*~*

After a minute, they separated. Justin sat back down on the bed. “I really do appreciate everything you’ve done for me Talia.”

She started to answer, but the door opened and in came Jc, Joey, Lance, and Chris. Jc raised his eyebrows when he saw Talia standing beside Justin’s bed. “Hi Justin.”

“Hello guys. This is Talia, the girl that saved me.” Justin told them.

There was a chorus of ‘hello Talia’ from the four guys. She smiled meekly at them, feeling more than a little intimidated. What did they think of her, here invading their space with their friend? She looked to Justin and saw that he had tensed up. She realized that they were making him uncomfortable. It didn’t surprise her though, because she was sure they were trying to help him remember the details of his life. She was sure they only wanted to help, but Justin probably felt pressured.

“So you’re the one that called 911?” Lance asked Talia.

She turned at the sound of his deep voice and focused on his cat green eyes. “Yes. I did. I was driving home from my birthday party and saw Justin’s car pulled over to the side of the road.” She answered, her voice strong. She surprised herself with her seeming confidence. Seeing that the guys wanted to talk to Justin, she excused herself to go get something to drink.

“You’re not leaving are you?” Justin asked Talia, his eyes pleading with her.

She felt for him, being in the company of strangers that were supposed to be your friends. “No. I’ll be back in a few minutes.” Her smile was just for him.

After Talia left the room, Jc and the others turned their attention to Justin. “Have you remembered anything yet?” Chris asked.

Justin looked at the four of them standing so close together. They seemed close, like best friends or brothers would be. He got the feeling that he once felt a part of that. ‘But I don’t right now.’ He reminded himself and decided not to tell them about his little dream last night. It was nothing solid anyways. “No. I’m sorry, but I haven’t.” He felt rather than heard a collective sigh from them. 

“Your mother and girlfriend should be here to see you soon.” Jc told Justin in hopes that would get some sort of reaction from him. It did get a reaction, but not the one that the guys had hoped for. “Girlfriend?” Justin questioned. 

“Yes. You had…have a girlfriend. Her name is Liz.” Joey said and studied Justin’s face closely for any sign of recognition. He found nothing there.

“Oh. Well maybe that will help me remember.” Justin offered a half hearted smile. He sat patiently while the guys explained some things to him and tried to soak it all up. Twenty minutes or so had passed and Talia came back into the room carrying various drinks for everyone present.

Jc saw that Justin’s face lit up when she came back and nudged Chris. Chris just nodded, indicating that he saw the same thing Jc did. They watched as Talia walked without reserve over to Justin’s bed and handed him his soda. Justin took it from her, their hands touching briefly. They smiled at each other, oblivious to the other four people in the room. Chris cleared his throat, breaking the spell.

Talia and Justin looked his way and became uncomfortable again. “Hey Justin. Do you mind if we go grab something to eat?” Joey asked, trying to ease the tension a little.

“Not at all.”

“Okay. But we’ll be back soon.” Jc promised and led the other guys out into the hallway. They walked in silence until they were out of hearing distance.

“Was it just me, or did anyone else notice that they seemed close?” Lance was the first to speak.

“I noticed it too.” Jc replied. “But I’m sure it’s just because of the fact that Talia basically saved his life. I mean, who knows where he would be right now if she hadn’t come along?” The others nodded and kept going towards the hospital cafeteria.

“They seem like nice guys.” Talia said to Justin.

“Yeah.” He agreed vaguely.

She could tell that something was bothering him. “What’s wrong?”

Justin looked at her. He couldn’t believe that she was being so kind to him. He was sure that the few other people who might have been like her and helped, would have forgotten the deed they did and went on with their lives. But she was here with him, again. He didn’t understand why, but he wasn’t going to question her judgment. He realized that he was happy that she was there. “I don’t know. I just feel uncomfortable around them you know? I mean, they say that I was friends with them, but they aren’t giving me any real details, just minor stuff. And I know that they want so much for me to remember. I want to remember, but it’s just not coming back to me.”

Talia though she heard his voice crack at the end. “Don’t worry.” She assured him. “The doctor said that it was temporary.”

Justin was oddly comforted by her words. They made small talk for a while, until the guys returned. This time there was an older blonde woman and a young blonde with them. He looked up at they came in the room, but nothing clicked. He assumed the older woman was his mother and looked to her questioningly.

Lynn gasped at the sight of her precious son laying in the hospital bed and rushed over to him. “Justin. Are you okay?” She asked as she sat down on the bed.

“I’m getting better thank you.” He replied.

“Honey. It’s me…mom.” Lynn probed hopefully, but there was no signs of recognition in Justin’s eyes.

Part 8

Justin stared at the group around him. It had grown considerably since last night. What was now four people was six… and Talia. All of who expected him to jump into the role of 'Justin Timberlake' without missing a step. If it were only that easy. Justin listened to his mother explain things to him as she showed him pictures of himself as a child. Nothing clicked. He could tell the hurt in his 'mother's' eyes as she stepped away from the bed. The younger woman stepped forward. 'Pretty' he thought. She sat the very end of his bed and took his hand in hers. Talia observed the display from the most secluded corner of the room, she felt like an intruder, but with every step she had made toward the door she'd remember Justin's pleading face and how uncomfortable he seemed when left alone with people who were virtual strangers to him.

'Must be his girlfriend' she thought as she watched the young, perky girl take hold of his hand. An inexplicable surge of jealousy coursed through her. He was handsome; of course he wasn't single. If he was that handsome, bruised and cut… without the marks she could barely imagine the potential his face held.

"Hey sweetie," Liz began. She ran her thumb in circles over the back of his hand. 'Sweetie?' Justin looked at her oddly, 'this must be my girlfriend.' His eyes darted to Talia who was standing in the corner. She looked uncomfortable. He sensed it. He pulled his hand from Liz's touch and waved to Talia. "Come here," he instructed. Talia slowly made her way to him and stood at his bedside. "Since you are here, and obviously care for me in some manner I thought you'd like to meet Talia. She's the girl who pulled over and called 911."

Lynn's eyes widened and she brought her hand to her mouth. "Thank you," she said honestly. Talia turned to Liz briefly, catching a cold glare. "Thank you," Liz said through clenched teeth. She could only process that Talia seemed more like an intruder then someone she should be grateful for. Talia shrugged off Liz's seemingly odd behavior as she looked back toward Justin. "I should get going," Talia whispered.

"Please don't," Justin begged. She brought him comfort that no one else in the room could give to him, no matter how badly they tried. Again his eyes pleaded with her, urging her to stay.

"Okay…" Talia sighed defeated, she was glad that she had the book she was reading packed in her bag. "I'll be in the waiting room?" she asked. Justin nodded, indicating it was all right with him. As long as she was there if he needed her.

Liz watched Talia leave the room and took Justin's hand back in hers. It took all of his restraint not to pull his hand away from her and yell as loud as his body would allow him that no amount of her touching him would help. It made him more uncomfortable then their eyes locked on him. 'Give the people what they want' Justin thought passively to himself.

"I had a dream last night…" he began carefully.

"'Bout what?" Joey almost jumped up from his seat. It had to be something, if he remembered it.

"Screaming… a lot of screaming and bright lights, but that's it." Justin shrugged and looked at the faces of his visitors. All their faces registered smiles. "What? Is that something big? Screaming and lights…"

"It's a great start," Lynn smiled as she brushed some hair away from his forehead. He wanted to flinch away so badly, but he knew that would hurt her feelings. He didn't want to add insult to injury.

"So is anyone going to explain that to me?" Justin asked.

"We think maybe that that would be too much too soon," Lance explained.

"And this isn't?" Justin asked, a hint of anger in his voice. Her pulled his hand away from Liz, but she reached for it again. "Please leave," he said quietly, "send Talia in."

JC looked toward his feet. Justin's memory proved to be nothing more than false hope for them. Screaming and lights in the grand scheme of things meant nothing. He knew that, they all did.

"Come on," JC said, his voice a whisper. Lynn smiled at Justin hopefully as she left the room behind JC, Lance, Chris and Joey. He liked her… his mother. She was likeable and seemed genuine in her concern for him. He wanted to remember, if only for her.

Liz lingered behind and placed her soft hand on his cheek. "You'll be okay you know…" she said softly as she leaned down to kiss him. He turned his head and her lips contacted his cheek. They remained there for a brief moment before she stood straight again. He could tell her cheeks were reddened in embarrassment. 'Too much too soon' he said to himself as he heard the door click shut. He felt bad for thinking it, but he was thankful they were gone.

He heard the door open again. "Hey Justin they said you asked for me," Talia said. Her soft voice, setting him at ease, at least for the moment.

'Amazing how one person can do that' he thought. "I felt bad for my mother," Justin began. He watched as she tucked her book into her bag. "You could tell she wanted me to remember so badly. I wished I could recall something… anything… just for her."

"Well at least you WANT to remember," Talia said soothingly, "that has to count for something."

Justin shrugged. "The other girl… she's my girlfriend, or so they tell me."

"I kinda gathered that," Talia smiled, "you know when she took your hand and all."

"Then she kissed me before she left," Justin explained further.

Talia tried not to let her reaction be seen to him. "Did you remember anything from that? Did that jog your memory?"

"No… I turned away from her," Justin said. He laughed now at the thought. "She was embarrassed."

"I'm sure," Talia laughed, "I would be too if I were her."

"Was it wrong for me to not let her kiss me?"

Talia looked at him and smiled. He reminded her so much of a kid. In many ways she guessed he was, everything he did as a kid had been wiped out. He was a BOY again. "No... you do what you feel," Talia explained, "what's in your heart. That's all any of them could ever hope for from you."

Justin nodded. 'You do what you feel'. He heard her voice tell him again. He reached out his hand and smiled as she slid her delicate, soft hand into his.

"Well at least we know he hasn't lost his smile," Lynn said as she watched Justin and Talia interact. "I'd like to talk to her… properly thank her for what she's done." Agreeing nods all followed. "Not like there IS a proper thank you for saving your sons life."

Part 9

Justin and Talia talked about different things for close to an hour. She noticed that he was getting sleepy and stood up to leave.

“I’d better go so that you can get some sleep.” She said.

“No.” He reached out and grabbed her hand. Then his face reddened at the gesture he had just made. He dropped her hand like a hot potato. “I’m sorry.”

Talia sat down on the bed and smiled at him. “Don’t be. I’m glad that you feel comfortable with me being here. I just don’t want to intrude on your recovery.”

He nodded to show that he understood. “Would you stay for a little bit longer? Just until I fall asleep?”

He looked so needy that Talia couldn’t resist. The nurse came in a few minutes later and gave him his pain medication. Five minutes after the shot, he was out. Talia sat for a little longer watching him sleep. He looked so peaceful, not like the troubled young man he was. She slowly detached her hand from his and wrote him a note.

 

Justin,

I had to go home but I will be back tomorrow after class. That should be around 3pm. I hope you feel better and remember some more.

Talia

 

She placed the note on his bedside table and left the room. As she walked past the waiting room, she saw that his friends and his mother were still there. ‘I would be too if I were them.’ She thought as she waved to them in passing.

“Talia? Lynn called out.

“Yes Mrs. Timberlake?” Talia replied.

“It’s Mrs. Harless, first of all, and please just call me Lynn. I want you to know how incredibly grateful I am to you for saving my son’s life.” Lynn told her sincerely.

Talia knew that she was honestly grateful and thanked her humbly. She saw no hostility in Lynn’s eyes, unlike earlier with Liz. “I do hope Justin remembers you soon ma’am.” Talia told her and left the hospital. On the way home, she realized just how tired she really was. Once she got to the apartment, she checked her messages, but didn’t have any, so she got into the shower so that she could get to bed early. As she was getting out, she heard the phone ringing and ran to grab it. It was Kimmy.

“Hey. I was just calling to tell you that I made it home.”

“That’s good. I was wondering. How was your flight?” Talia asked as she towel dried her hair.

“It was alright. I slept most of the way home. Oh your parents said to call them. It doesn’t matter if you call them collect, they just want to hear from you.”

Talia groaned. She knew she was going to have to tell them what she did. ‘Hi mom, I stopped on the side of the road to help a stranger and know I’ve been going to visit him everyday.’ “Oh great. That’s just what I didn’t want to hear. You know I’m going to have to tell them about Justin, right?”

“Yep. You are.” Kimmy replied. “Well, I’m going to go babe. I love ya. And hopefully I will see you again soon.”

Talia said goodbye to Kimmy and stared at the phone. Deciding to wait until tomorrow to call her parents, she crawled in bed and went to sleep.

Lynn and the guys decided not to go back in to see Justin that night. They didn’t want to put too much pressure on him to remember. The doctor said that it would all come back in time.

“I’m going to head home boys. You should do the same. It’s not helping anything for you to be down here right now. Besides, I’m going to have to call Johnny to let him know what’s going on and he’ll probably want to make some sort of press release as soon as possible.” Lynn hugged each of the boys and left.

“You know she has a point about going to get some rest.” Joey said.

“But what if he remembers something and we’re not here?” Jc asked. He didn’t want to leave, but he knew that Lynn was right about the rest and press release.

“We’ll come back as soon as we can tomorrow man.” Lance put his hand on Jc’s shoulder. Jc nodded resentfully and they all left.

Justin slowly woke up and rolled over. The room had the ever present hospital glow because of the lights in the hallway. He looked around, hoping to see Talia, but wasn’t surprised when he didn’t. He reached for his water on the bedside table and saw the note. He read it to himself and smiled. At least there was one person that he could count on in his little ordeal. Justin sat back in the bed again and stared up at the ceiling. He concentrated and tried to remember something. But all that he came up with was Talia’s face.

The next morning….

Despite going to sleep early, Talia didn’t wake up in time. She bolted up in her bed and realized that she had thirty minutes to get ready. If she hadn’t have been running late, she would have turned on the TV and saw the news, and the press conference that was being held because of Justin.

Johnny stepped up to the microphone with Lynn, Jc, Joey, Lance, and Chris at his side. The cameras were flashing non-stop.

“You have something to tell us concerning Justin’s condition, Mr. Wright?” One reporter asked.

“Yes. Justin was in a minor car accident Friday evening. He was also mugged. As a result of the mugging, he suffered some cuts and bruises, and three cracked ribs. We’re expecting him to make a full recovery soon.” Johnny then nodded to show that he was ready for the next question.

In his hospital room, Justin was flipping through the channels after breakfast looking for something interesting to watch. He came across a news channel and saw the four guys that had been to visit him, his ‘mother’, and a black man holding what looked to be a press conference. He turned the volume up and listened intently.

“Isn’t it true that Justin is suffering from amnesia?” Another reporter asked.

Johnny sighed. He had hoped that wouldn’t come up. He looked to Lynn and she stepped forward to answer the question. “Yes. The doctors have told us that his amnesia is temporary and perfectly normal in this type of accident. He will regain his full memory in a short time.”

A hum of chatter broke out among the reporters, and it took a few minutes for it to die down so that another question could be asked. “How does this affect Nsync?”

Justin frowned at the television set. Nsync? What were they talking about? And who was that black man?

Johnny stepped back to the mic. “Nsync will be complete again very soon. As Lynn said, Justin’s amnesia is temporary. We’re confident he’ll be back in the studio in no time.”

‘Studio? Was he in some sort of singing group?’ Justin stared at the television set. ‘Was that what they had been talking about last night when they said they thought it was too much too soon?’

“Ladies and gentlemen, that’s all we have at this time. We’ll keep you up to date on Justin’s condition as we get more information ourselves. Thank you for your time.” Johnny said into the mic and shooed everyone off the stage.

The press conference cut back the station’s news anchor. “What you just saw was a press conference held by Nsync’s manager, Johnny Wright, Justin’s mother, and the other four members of the teen pop group. We’ll have more on Justin as it becomes available.”

Justin turned the TV off and sat in his bed thinking about what he had just heard. He was a pop star? How could he not remember that? He buried his face in his hands and wished for 3 o’clock to come soon.

Part 10

Talia scribbled pictures in the binding of her notebook not particularly paying attention to her American Studies lecture. "Talia care to answer this question?" the professor asked. Talia looked up upon hearing her name and blushed, "sorry."

"Pay attention." Her professor instructed as she returned to the lecture. Talia straightened up in her chair and tried to focus all her attention on the lesson but found it more and more difficult to do. It was only noon, she had to wait three more hours to visit Justin again and that bothered her. She had acquired that sick feeling in her stomach, one she couldn't understand.

Justin held Talia's note in his hands, he had re-read it several times after he had caught the news report. He seemed more lost then before. However the note with the bubbled flowing lettering gave him hope that Talia would be able to help him when she visited. He checked the clock, still three hours away. He heard the door open and raised his eyes to the ceiling, he knew it wasn't anyone he wanted to see. "Hey Justin." Her recognized the voice as his mother's and lowered his eyes to her. He smiled a little, "hey."

"We have good news for you…" Liz said. She seemed jumpy, excitable. Justin looked at her quizzically. "You get to go home today! Isn't that great? No more hospital food." Justin's face lit up; he was going home… where ever that was.

"We brought you clothes," Chris said. He held up a Nike bag full of clothes, shoes, and all the essentials for Justin to get cleaned up and ready to leave. Justin reached for the bag and sifted through its contents. He started to get out of bed, but suddenly felt uncomfortable in just the hospital gown.

"Leave," he said simply, "or at least turn around." Five of the six people in the room heeded his words and left the room without protest. Liz stayed behind. Justin looked at her sternly, "Leave."

"Not like I haven't seen it all before," she laughed giddily.

"LEAVE!" Justin demanded. Liz became startled and turned to face the door. Justin managed to get out of the bed without too much pain to his still bandaged ribs. He slowly walked to the bathroom and shut the door behind him. He looked at himself in the mirror as he gingerly reached behind him and untied the strings of the hospital gown. He let the material fall to the floor and then resumed his gaze on the mirror. The swelling in his face had definitely gone down and he could make out to some extent what he had looked like before everything. He stretched a little; cringing at the immediate pain that resulted in his torso. The ace bandages were wrapped tightly so that the ribs could mend properly. He dug through the bag and found the clothes they had brought for him to change into. Gray sweat pants that seemed grossly oversized and a black T-shirt. He sat at the edge of the sink and pulled on socks and shoes. Again, he looked in the mirror, wishing he could remain in the enclosed space until he heard the door of his room open again. Until he knew it was Talia. He decided against the thought, 'I can't do that' he said quietly as he regretfully started to open the door.

"Ah… so much better," Liz smiled. She was sitting far back on the bed.

Everyone had re-entered the room. Did they plan on telling him about the press conference? Did they plan on losing the expectation that he'd remember something and just tell him themselves? "I was watching television this morning," Justin began. He sat in the chair Talia had occupied just the previous night. "Pop star huh?" He laughed a little at the thought. "That would explain the screaming and the lights in the dream then huh?"

"Probably so," Joey shrugged.

"We’ll talk about this at home," Liz yawned, "it's been a rough couple of days."

"Well we can leave when Talia gets here. She can come back with me to where ever HOME is…" Justin said surely.

"We have to leave now," Chris sighed regretfully, "they need the room for other patients. You don't need to be here anymore."

"Talia will be here at three. She said she'd come right after her classes for the day were over," Justin stated.

"Justin we really need to get you out of here," Lynn whispered. She ducked down and took his hand in hers. "I understand you want to see Talia again, but you can't do it here. In this room." Her voice was so quiet, so understanding. He glanced around the room quickly; she was the ONLY one who understood the need for him to see her. Everyone else expected him to adapt to fit his or her image of what he should be. Not her, she was obviously happy enough with him breathing. He couldn't resist her urgency. "Okay… we'll call Talia then and let her know that I had to go…" Justin said, "you have her phone number?"

"I do," Liz lied.

"Fine," Justin said as he moved from the stationary chair to the wheel chair, "we call AS SOON as I get situated. Right?"

"Right," Lynn smiled.

"FINALLY!" Talia exclaimed as she relaxed into the driver's seat of her car. 'I just said that out loud' she reprimanded herself. She didn't care, it was three o'clock and she was on her way to the hospital. She was starving but decided to hold off, she could always pick up something in the cafeteria. She just wanted to get up to Justin's room as soon possible. She couldn't help but smile at the thought of him the previous night. When he put out his hand for her to hold and when he asked her to stay until he fell asleep. He was so precious. 'God what am I thinking?' she scolded herself.

Talia waved to the nurses as she moved down the hall toward the room she had been to several occasions before. She moved so briskly that the nurse couldn't stop her. "Hey Jus… tin…" Talia said. The bed was empty and made. Her balloon was gone, the chair was back to it's assigned position. EVERYTHING that Justin had brought to that room was gone.

"Umm… where's Justin?" Talia asked. She tapped her fingernails on the nurses desk.

"They took him home this morning. They didn't call you?"

"No… no…" Talia shook her head. This was not happening to her. She felt her eyes water. "Do you have a number where I can reach him?"

"I'm not allowed to give out that information," the nurse said quietly, "you know that." Talia nodded, she was aware of the hospital policy. She moved into the lobby and sunk into the chair. That was it… she had seen Justin for the last time. The thought alone killed her and she didn't know why.


parts 11-15



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