Lance was convinced that Tabitha had more than a stomach virus when he heard her throwing up in the bathroom the next morning. He paced the floor in front of the bathroom door until he heard her flush the toilet and run water in the sink. When she walked out of the bathroom, she was as pale as a ghost and she looked like she hadn't slept for days.

"Honey, I think that you need to see a doctor," Lance said as he helped her get back in bed.

"No, I'll be fine in a couple of days. It's just taking the virus a while to run its course," Tabitha protested.

"I'm not taking no for an answer. I'm going to call our physician to come up and see you here," Lance responded as he reached for the phone.

"Why are you making such a big deal out of this ?" Tabitha asked weakly as she started coughing.

"Because I'm worried about you," Lance answered as he dialed the doctor's number. In a few minutes, he had arranged for the doctor to see Tabitha within an hour. "OK, he's going to be here in an hour."

"OK, fine," Tabitha mumbled from under the covers of the bed. "Wait a minute, we have rehearsal in an hour. I can't see the doctor then."

"Are you crazy ? You can't go to rehearsal like this. I wish that I could be here when the doctor comes, but I'll be back as soon as I can."

"Lance, this is ridiculous. I'm fine, really. See, I'm feeling better already." Tabitha tried to prove her point by getting out of bed, but she fell back into bed as soon as she stood up.

"No more discussion. You're seeing the doctor and that's the end of it," Lance determined as he left the room. He hated talking to Tabitha like that, but he wanted to know why she was so sick.

Tabitha laid in bed and cried for most of the hour until the doctor got there. She had a feeling that there was more going on than a stomach virus, but she tried to convince herself that a virus was all she had. Finally, she got up and showered and dressed. Just as she finished dressing, there was a knock at the door.

"Hello, I'm Dr. Buckland, are you Miss Whitman ?"

"Yes, come in Dr. Buckland."

"Mr. Bass tells me that you've had a stomach virus for a couple of days now and that you don't seem to be getting any better."

"Yeah, I'm feeling a little better this morning, but still a little queasy."

"OK, I'll take a look and see what's going on."

Lance rushed upstairs to check on Tabitha. He had left rehearsal half an hour early, but everyone understood that he was worried about Tabitha so they didn't mind. He heard faint crying as he approached the door so he opened it quickly. His heart sunk as he saw Tabitha sitting on the bed, curled up in a ball, sobbing. She looked up as he moved closer to the bed.

"Well I hope you're happy. You were right, OK ? I'm pregnant !" she screamed at him before she broke into tears once again.

"WHAT ? You're really pregnant ?" Lance asked in disbelief.

"Yes," she answered simply.

"When ? How ? What ?" he questioned in confusion.

"I think you know when and you definitely know how," she answered bitterly.

"Yeah, I know, but...." Lance trailed off. This was too much of a shock for him. He had to sit down for a minute.

"I can't believe this. I thought I might be, but I didn't really think it would happen."

"Wait a minute. You already KNEW ?" Lance shouted.

"Not for certain," she defended.

"But you had an idea. Why didn't you tell me ?" <.p>"I didn't want to freak you out before I knew for sure."

"When did you think you'd find out if I hadn't insisted on you seeing a doctor ? When the fucking baby was born ?"

Tabitha couldn't believe that Lance was talking to her like that. She jumped off the bed and ran out of the room. Lance didn't bother to follow her; he had to think about all of this before he talked to her any more.

Tabitha wanted to talk to Justin, but she knew he was still at rehearsal. She decided to go to the restaurant downstairs and wait until he got back. Just as she was stepping off the elevator, she bumped into Justin and Chris.

"Whoa, Tabbers, where's the fire ?"

"Oh my God, I'm so glad it's you. I really need to talk to you," she sobbed. Justin took her into his arms and held her close. What in the world could have upset his best friend this much ? He walked with her to his room and sat her down on the bed.

"All right. Now, what's going on ?" Justin asked gently.

"I'm pregnant."

"Wow, you mean Joey was right ?"

"What ? I guess so, but that's not what the problem is. Lance got really pissed off at me because I suspected that I was pregnant before, but didn't tell him."

"I can't believe that Lance would be that upset. How do you feel about being pregnant ?"

"I'm upset because this wasn't exactly the time I would pick to be pregnant and it's definitely going to affect my career, but I love Lance and I want to have his baby."

"What are you going to do now ?"

"I don't know. I'm not going to be able to finish the tour because the dancing is too intense for a pregnant woman so I guess I'll go home. Except that I don't have a home," Tabitha realized. She'd been living with Lance for most of the time they'd been dating and had sold her apartment in Orlando.

"Of course you do. You and Lance are going to work things out. And if you don't, you can always stay at my house."

"I can't do that. You and Britney share that house and it wouldn't be fair to her."

"Tabbers, listen to me. You can stay with us anytime you want and besides, the house that we share is in L.A. The house in Orlando is mine and even if it weren't, Britney wouldn't care if you stayed there. She loves you as much as I do. Now, why don't you stay here for a while and I'll go talk to Lance."

"Ok, thanks so much, Jujubee," Tabitha used the nickname that millions of fans used for Justin, but that she had coined 8 years ago.

Justin left Tabitha in the room to get some rest and went to find Lance. The obvious place to look for Lance was in his room and that's exactly where he was. The room was a mess. There were clothes thrown everywhere and the pictures and lamps were shattered on the floor. Lance was standing on the balcony with his head in his hands.

"Lance, what the hell happened here ?"

"Didn't she tell you ? I figured she'd run to you first," Lance spat the words bitterly at Justin.

"Yes, she did tell me, but I didn't realize you were this angry. Why ARE you this angry ?"

"She's pregnant and she didn't even tell me. She knew and she didn't bother to say a word to me. I thought she was dying or something. I was scared to death and it was all because she lied to me."

"She didn't lie to you. She didn't know for sure that she was pregnant either."

"She could have at least told me that she suspected it."

"Ok, but are you mad at her for being pregnant ? It's not like she got pregnant on her own."

"I know that, but yes, I'm mad at her for being pregnant. It messes up both of our lives."

"It doesn't mess up your life, it just changes the plan you had for your life. Now you can make a different plan, that's all."

"No that's NOT all, Justin. My plan for life can't be changed just like that."

"So what are you saying ?"

"I'm saying that I'm breaking up with Tabitha. She's going to have to raise this baby on her own. I have too much planned for my life to have it change now."

"I can't believe you're being so selfish !" Justin yelled at Lance. "Don't you love Tabitha ?"

"Of course I love her. That's why I'm letting her go. I don't want to drag her and the baby around while I'm touring and working. I want her to have a stable life and that's not something she can have with me."

"Whatever Lance. If that's what you've convinced yourself to believe, then I can't change your mind."

"It's the truth. Now, where is Tabitha ? I want to talk to her."

"I'm not sure that she's ready to hear what you have to say, but then again I guess she never will be. She's in my room. Go down there and talk to her, but please don't break anything. I'll pack Tabitha's stuff while you're talking to her."

"Fine," Lance retorted as he left the room. He walked slowly down to Justin's room, dreading what he was about to do. He was angry, but he was also confused. A lot of his anger was directed toward himself for letting this happen and for being so selfish, but he couldn't let this mistake ruin his life. He knocked softly on Justin's door and opened it when Tabitha said, "Come in."

"How are you feeling ?"

"Not a whole lot better. I have a feeling I'm about to feel worse though."

"Why is that ?"

"I could hear you and Justin fighting and I know what you want to do. Go ahead and do it."

"I'm sorry to do this to you, but I can't stay with you. I need someone who is free and flexible to my schedule. This changes everything. I have to break up with you."

The words hit Tabitha like a stone. She knew they were coming, but they still ripped her heart out. "So, you're taking no responsibility here ?"

"No," was all Lance said.

"Then you are nothing like the person I thought you were. I can't believe I ever wanted to marry you. I can't believe you are this selfish."

"I'm still the person you wanted to marry, it's just that the circumstances are different now."

"No, you're different. I don't know what happened, but I don't think my pregnancy is the reason you changed." Tabitha wanted to scream and curse, but she was strangely calm. She knew that all the screaming in the world wouldn't fix their relationship. She pushed past Lance and ran down to their room to gather up her things. Lance watched her go and hated himself for the decision he had made.