Tabitha awoke the next morning and tried to figure out why she was sleeping on the couch in her clothes from the day before. Then she remembered being at her desk and figured that she had fallen asleep and Justin had put her on the couch. The next thought made her jump up off the couch and run into Ariel's room. She wondered why she hadn't heard Ariel wake up during the night. The sight that met her eyes nearly made her cry. Justin was asleep in the rocking chair, holding a sleeping Ariel in his arms, her head cradled on his chest. She went to her room and grabbed her camera from the shelf. She went back into Ariel's room and snapped a couple of pictures. The second flash woke up Justin who started mumbling about paparazzi before he realized where he was.

"Damn girl, I thought that the press had snuck into my house and was taking my picture while I was sleeping," he mumbled as he tried to wake up.

"Sorry. You looked so cute holding Ariel with the two of you asleep. I couldn't resist taking a picture," Tabitha apologized as she took Ariel from his arms. Ariel opened her eyes widely and began to cry. "Oops, it looks like you both need some cereal or you're cranky in the morning."

"Very funny. I must have fallen asleep while I was rocking Ariel to sleep earlier. She woke up about five times during the night."

"Honey, why didn't you wake me up ? I'm used to her being up all hours of the night. You didn't have to take care of her by yourself."

"It's OK. You need to get some sleep. I know you haven't gotten any rest since you had Ariel."

"Thanks, Juju." Tabitha helped Justin stand up since he was stiff from sleeping in a rocking chair all night.

"No problem. This is why you need to move back to Orlando, so we could help you out."

"Justin, you've got to stop arguing with me about this. I can't move back to Orlando and that's final. I can handle raising Ariel by myself and I have plenty of friends to help me out here."

"What if I moved here to help out ?" Justin suggested.

"Justin, you're not responsible for me or Ariel. You need to stay where you are to keep your career on track. Besides, how would Britney react if you moved here to be closer to me ?"

"I know that I'm not responsible for Ariel, but I feel responsible for you. You've been my little sister since we first met and I want to take care of you. Britney would understand if I moved here for a while."

"I know you want to take care of me, but you can do that without being here, OK ?"

"Ok. I guess I'll never convince you to move back to Orlando, even if I told you that Lance is living in Mississippi now."

"That doesn't matter. I have a job, a child, and an education to worry about now. I can't be moving all over the place like I did before."

"I know."

"Now, let's go downstairs and have some breakfast," Tabitha ordered. She was really tired of this argument and she wanted Justin to understand why she couldn't move back to Orlando on a whim.

Justin stayed two more days with Tabitha and they had a blast. She went to see his concert the last night while one of her friends watched Ariel. It was an awesome concert with several guest artists, including the other guys from *NSYNC. Tabitha was shocked when she saw Lance come out on stage and knew that in some way she'd been set up. After the show, she went backstage to wait for Justin. While she was sitting in the Toy Room, she decided to call her friend Alyssa and check on Ariel.

"Hello ?"

"Hey, it's me. I just wanted to check on Ariel."

"She's fine. She went right to sleep without even crying too much."

"Really ? That's strange. She isn't sick or anything is she ?" Tabitha asked with concern.

"No, she didn't feel warm. I'm sure she's fine. You just worry too much about her."

"I know, but I'm her mom. I'm supposed to worry about her. Now, you don't mind keeping her all night ?"

"No. You have a good time and don't worry about Ariel. I'll drop her off at your place tomorrow morning around 9. Is that OK ?"

"Yeah, that'll be good. Thanks Alyssa. I owe you one."

"You're welcome. Bye."

"Bye." As Tabitha hung up, she realized that someone was in the doorway listening to her conversation. Before she even looked up, she knew who it was.

"Hello, Lance," she said as she put her phone back in her purse.

"Hi. I didn't mean to eavesdrop on your conversation. I just wanted to talk to you a minute," he apologized, blushing slightly.

"That's OK. I was just checking on Ariel. You guys sounded great together up there. I didn't know that you guys were making an appearance on Justin's tour."

"Thanks. Yeah, just for a few dates that are on the East Coast. So, how have you been doing ?"

"Just fine and you ?"

"Great. I'm writing a script for a new movie and I'm managing several new artists."

"That's good." Tabitha didn't know where this conversation was going, but she really wished that Justin would show up so she could leave.

"Can I ask you a question ?" Lance inquired quietly.

"Of course."

"Will you tell me about Ariel ?"

"I don't think..."

"Please," Lance interrupted her objection.

"Ok, what do you want to know ? She's six months old and looks exactly like her father except that she has blue eyes. Is that what you want to know ? Do you want to see her picture ? Why did it take you until now to ask about her or try to contact me ?" Tabitha asked angrily.

"I'm sorry. I just...I don't know."

"Do you want to know that I'm reminded of you every time that I look at her ? Do you want to know that I'm working two jobs to raise her and go to school ? Do you want to know that I have no idea what I'm going to tell her when she grows up and asks where her daddy is ?" Tabitha continued shouting questions at Lance until she was crying so hard that she could no longer speak. Justin quickly entered the room and glared at Lance.

"What the hell did you say to her ?" he shouted.

"Justin, it's OK. It's nothing," Tabitha said as she calmed down. Justin sat down beside her and hugged her tightly. "I'm fine, really," Tabitha assured him. Lance got up and walked out of the room without saying a word. "He just wanted to know about Ariel. I didn't mean to start yelling at him like that. Just seeing him brought up all these feelings."

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have let you see him. I should have known that it would just hurt you more."

"It's not your fault, so stop apologizing. Now, can we go home ?"

"Sure," Justin took her by the hand and they walked out of the room. They were escorted to a limo by security and arrived at Tabitha's apartment a few minutes later. Tabitha's mood seemed to have lightened considerably so she suggested, "Why don't we go out to a club tonight ?"

"Are you sure ? I thought you'd be too upset to go and I thought you had to work tomorrow."

"I do have to work tomorrow, but not until the afternoon. I want to go take my mind off my problems plus I want to spend some more time with my best friend."

"Great. I'll call the limo to pick us up in half an hour."

"Wait. Why don't I just drive so it'll be less conspicuous ? The limo just screams, "Justin Timberlake has just entered the building."

"Good point."

"So, whaddya think ?" Tabitha asked as she emerged from her bedroom. She was wearing a black leather miniskirt and a red leather halter top. On her feet were black sandals that had tiny flowers embroidered on them. Her hair was swept back in a clip and she had on tiny rhinestone earrings. She laughed as Justin's jaw nearly dropped to the floor.

"Speechless, huh ?"

"What ? Me ? I'm never speechless. You look sexy, girl. If you weren't my little sister..."

"You'd what ? It's not like we're actually related or anything, but you are dating Britney."

"Yeah, that's what I meant," Justin stuttered.

"Let's get out of here before you say something you're going to regret later," Tabitha teased.