Sensing something wrong, Gabby turned around slowly from where she was
standing, waiting to continue a debate with Aaron. A soft tone to his voice he
spoke, “Uhhh.. Gabby.. It’s.. it’s for you. I think you better.. better sit down..”
A puzzled look crossed her feaures, as she sat down and took the phone,
not forseeing what was to come. “Hello?”
Holmes choked out on the other end, “Princess, I’m afraid that I have
some bad news.”
A lump slowly formed in her throat and she attempted to speak over it,
“W.. Wh.. What is it Holmes?”
When Holmes became distraught about something, he always spoke with
a heavy English accent. His voice dripped with an accent, “Your... Your mother
dear... She.. d.. di..died last evening.”
A startled expression came on her face, and she ran her fingers through
her hair, “Wha.. How?”
Sniffling, Holmes answered, “She had a heart attack. The doctors.. The
doctors could not revive her. They... They said that she had been working too
hard.. and she had too much stress in her life...”
“Oh my god.. Oh my god... Where was Daddy when it happened,
Holmes?”
The man answered sadly, “He was with her dear. He was with her the
entire time. They.. They were discussing the.. the impending divorce.”
Shaking her head Gabby announced regretfully, “I’ll be on the next plane
to California.”
Back at her apartement, Gabby looked at herself in the mirror, taking in
her appearance. Tear stained cheeks and red eyes looked back at her. Had
she been the cause of her mother’s demise? Would they be getting divorced if it
wasn’t for her? Her thoughts were interrupted when the door opened. Gabby
had no notion of who it could have been. Aaron had gone back with his family
for a week when the oppurtunity had been given to him, and Justin was on tour.
She wasn’t set to join the *NSYNC tour for another two weeks.
Much to Gabrielle’s astonishment, however there stood her angel...
Justin. He always seemed to know exactly when she needed him. Without
speaking, he walked in front of her, and wrapped his arms tightly around her.
“Baby.. I’m here. It’s okay. I’m here..” he said reasurringly.
Sobbing, Gabrielle cried, “But.. But Justin! She died hating ME!”
He brushed her hair and spoke in a soothing voice, “Baby... you were her
daughter. She couldn’t have hated you. No one could ever hate you.. You didn’t
try to hurt her. Shhh... Honey... She didn’t like your decisions, but it was clear
to me.. your mother loved you.”
Shaking uncontrollably, she asked, “Why... When.. How did you get
here?”
With deep blue eyes boaring into hers, Justin smiled sadly, “The guys
and I all agreed to postpone the tour... We already made the arrangements and
rescheduled a few dates... They all agreed that where I need to be is with you.”
Looking up into his eyes, Gabby asked, “J.. Johnny.. t. ttt. two?”
Nodding, he replied, “I quote his exact words.. ‘let the press find out if
they’re able to. It doesn’t matter anymore.’ So, here I am.. Baby, I’m so sorry.
So so sorry..”
Resting her head on his shoulder, Gabby’s tears cascaded onto Justin’s
red Abercrombie and Fitch shirt. For a first, there was nothing he could do nor
say to make the pain go away. Justin felt completely helpless.
“Sir, could I get anything for you?”
Shaking his head, Justin looked up to the stewardess, “No thank you.” he
replied kindly. Gabby was sleeping on the flight, which seemed like the first time
in a few days. Lani and Gabrielle’s new bodyguard, “Brick” sat ahead of them.
House had fought that he should be the one to go, but Lani wouldn’t hear of it.
He felt too close to Gabby to let her and Justin go off without him.
Once the plane landed, the captain came over the loudspeaker with an
announcement, “Ladies and Gentleman, please proceed to your nearest exit as
you are directed.”
The stewardess came to Lani, a note penned in the captains handwriting.
A solemn expression on his face, Lani turned to Justin and muttered, “It leaked,
Justin. The press know about you and Gabby, and about the circumstances of
your being here.”
Determined not to let the press break her down anymore, Justin
announced, “So.. Let them find out. I don’t care anymore.”
Nodding, Lani asked, “You really love her, don’t you.”
Justin nodded, and with a mature tone to his voice, he answered, “More
then anything in this world.”
Pulling their hats down, Justin and Gabby both donned sunglasses as
they prepared themselves for the media flurry that was going to hit them. Lani
spoke to Brick with a condescending tone to his voice. “You stay behind them.
Don’t let them out of your sight. If you do, trust me, Sexual Chocolate will not be
happy.” Lani ordered, referring to the nicknames he and the other *NSYNC
bodyguards were given.
He nodded, and replied. “Yes sir.”
Lani broke through the tunnel of the plane, and was greeted with a flurry
of flashbulbs, and one reporter called out, “Are Justin and Gabby together?!?”
Pushing through the crowd, Lani inored the reporters, as he always did.
Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Justin pull Gabby closer to him, and
whisper something to her as he walked. Brick allowed no space between Justin
and Gabrielle. There was no way he was going to have Lani mad at him.
“Justin! What about Britney?” One reporter hollered.
Another bellowed, “How long have you been seeing each other?!?!”
When they finally reached the limo that was to take them to Gabrielle’s
old home, the paparazzi was still trailing them closely, going as far as following
the limo. A pensive look on her face, Gabby looked out at the reporters. “Don’t
they ever leave anybody alone? They make me sick...”
Standing at the large french doors to her balcony, Gabby looked out. It
had been so long- so very long since she had been able to just let the air rustle
her hair and look out at the gorgeous scenery at the large estate. It was in a
way, refreshing. She pushed open the doors and the breeze blew strands of her
hair into her mouth.
It seemed only seconds that she had been sitting on the railing of the
balcony when Justin came out. Stroking her hair out of her face, he said softly,
“Baby, it’s time to go.”
Time to go.. the words that would ring in her head for the rest of her life.
Time to say goodbye. Time to put the past behind her. A time to forgive. No
matter how much Gabby’s mother had not accepted to embrace her daughter’s
dreams, Gabrielle still loved her. She had been her hero, the matriarch of the
family for so many years. Now, Gabby was left with only her father. Her only
living relative.
Then there was Justin. Each smile, touch, and warm embrace brought a
smile to her face. As she thought of his spiraling locks of hair, and bright smile,
Gabrielle knew then that she would do anything for Justin Timberlake. She
thanked God that she had him.
Wrapping his arms around her, Justin lifted her down off the ledge,
pecking her on the cheek. Trying to lighten her serious mood, Justin
announced, “Remember... the Dragon’s here to protect you!”
Grinning she answered softly, “You always are Justin. And.. And...”
He spun on his heels, “And what?”
Meekly she stated, “I want to thank you... and.. I love you. I love you so
much, Justin. I.. I couldn’t ever lose you.”
Grazing his fingers across her soft cheeks, and trailed down her neck
then he answered, “Who said you’d ever have to lose me? Because I can
promise you right now that you’ll never have to, girl. You can’t ever get rid of
me.”
His lips brushed hers, and he announced, “We better go, baby.”
Looking down from the altar, Gabby faced the crowd in front of her. She
was quite accustomed to large crowd by then. She spoke fluently, knowing just
the right words to say. “My mother was a strong willed woman. She taught me
what it meant to stand up for yourself. I can always recall one thing she told me
when I was a little girl. She looked down at me, and she said that whenever
things got bad, and I felt that I didn’t have anyone or anything to turn to, I
needed to stand on my own. I needed to face the world and be there for myself.
To this day, I’m firmly convinced that I’m the person that I am thanks to her.
Wherever my mother may be right now, I hope that she knows that. I hope that
when her time came, she knew that I loved her. Please, don’t remember her as
any other way than that that I do. A pillar of strength. Thank you.”
As Gabrielle stepped off the altar she brushed her hand on the cool
smooth wood of the coffin, and whispered, “Thank you Mommy. Thank you.”
