The falling rain splattered onto the windowpane, its tiny drops slowly cascading down the sheer glass and collecting into a puddle. A lazy finger slowly traced the path of one of the drops of rain, trailing all the way to the bottom of the window.
"Drops that look like tears…"
Madeleine softly spoke to herself, bringing her hands to her eyes to dry the tears that had fallen and were slowly falling down her rosy cheeks. She cringed as she noticed a cockroach crawling across the toe of her shoe and she unconsciously rested her hands on her protruding stomach.
"Oh, baby…what are we going to do?"
She sighed and walked away from the window, putting a shawl over her shoulders to stop the draft of the room from chilling her bones. She exhaustedly sat on the bed, wringing her hands worriedly. She tried to shake the angry thoughts that clouded her head…thoughts of pure hatred for him. She had loved him so much…she would have given her life at any second if need be. The man she was so crazy about had walked out on her when she told him that she was pregnant with their child. He had even went as far to accuse her of lying to him about the father of the baby, when he very well knew that Maddie would have never cheated on him. But he was scared…scared of what his family would think…terrified at the thought of being a father at the age of nineteen. Madeleine hadn't put up a fight when he had walked out on her. She was wise enough in her eighteen years to know that she couldn't waste her heart on a wild thing. She had been terrified of what her peers and her family would think, too. She had worked and saved money until she began to show, keeping her secret as long as she could. Baggy sweaters and jeans could only hide so much for so long.

The day that marked the beginning of her second trimester was the day she had left home. She didn't even write a note to her parents. She didn't want them to carry the burden of her shame. She had saved a little over a thousand dollars…that little bit of money and the clothes she could fit in her suitcase were the only things she had on her when she hopped on a bus and left Memphis for Atlanta.

When she arrived in Atlanta, Maddie had luckily found a boarding house with an open room. The lady that owned the house was kind to her and treated her like she would have treated her own daughter. When she had first moved into the boarding room, Maddie had to pay fifty dollars a week. But Joann had taken pity on her and had cut her rent down to a hundred dollars a month.

Now she was eight months pregnant. She worked as long as she could, but now that she was almost at the end of her pregnancy, standing on her feet for eight hours proved near impossible. She had to quit her job at a small diner so she could take care of her health. She sat and waited for the day that she would have her baby. Her grandma had taught her how to knit when she was a little girl, and Madeleine had knitted bonnets and sweaters for the baby for the past couple of weeks. Yarn was less expensive than actual clothing, and Madeleine did the best she could do. She kept herself as busy as possible, patiently anticipating labor, and finally it happened. Joann took her to the hospital and coached her throughout the whole ordeal. After twelve hours of hard labor, Maddie's baby girl was laid into her mother's arms for the first time. Maddie smiled down at the little bundle, noticing the baby's eyes and nose.
"Just like your father's."
His blue eyes still haunted her dreams and now they were forever indented into her life through their baby girl. Maddie sighed and smiled down at the baby, thinking of a name. She swore she saw the little angel smiling as she curled her tiny fingers around Maddie's little finger and hope surged through Madeleine.
"Faith…I'll call you Faith."

"All of the numbers that you can reach me at are on the refrigerator. She'll cry when she sees me leave…just get her attention with one of her toys or a movie. Her favorite movie is Lady and the Tramp…you can find it in the basket beside the TV. She can have one cookie before lunch for a treat and two cookies before dinner, but none after that. No sodas, just juice and milk. I have most of this written down in case you forget…I don't think I forgot anything…"
Madeleine stopped and took a breath and smiled nervously at the babysitter.
"I'm sorry. This is my first time leaving her with a babysitter…I haven't left her since she was born two years ago."
"It's okay, Ms. Peterson. I understand. You're going to be late."
"Thanks Erica. I won't be too late getting in. See you later."
Maddie breathed in a deep sigh as she closed the door behind her. She heard Faith's cries and it broke her heart, but she had to do it. It was time to get a real job. Joann had been paying her to clean houses and do odds and ends jobs around the boarding house so she wouldn't have to leave Faith alone during the day. But with a two-year-old around, a room in a tiny boarding house wasn't enough space, and Maddie had to leave Joann. She had gotten a small apartment in a lower-middle class section of Atlanta, filling it with furniture that she had to charge to a credit card. She had also managed to scrape and save up enough money so she wouldn't have to worry for a long time about money, but getting a job was going to be necessary. She caught the first bus she could at the bus stop down the street from their apartment complex and rode it into downtown Atlanta. She was extremely nervous about her interview that day. Madeleine had always had a love of photography and Joanne's daughter was the head of a photography studio right in the heart of the city. Getting off the bus on Peachtree, Madeleine sighed and walked in, praying she would get the job.

"Congrats, Madeleine. You've got the job. It will only be about $20,000 a year to start off, but you can work your way up. Full benefits, flexible schedule, and of course, connections to the hottest celebrities." Kari, Maddie's new boss, shook her hand.
"Thanks, Kari. This helps me out so much. Do you know when I can start?"
"David…the one you will be replacing…his last day is today. So anytime." Kari smiled warmly at Madeleine. She could tell already that she was going to like this girl.
"Is Monday good?"
"Monday's great. I'll see you then. 9 o'clock."
Maddie said goodbye and walked outside, letting a semi-quiet cheer escape from her lips.

"Come on, Angel…out of the sandbox…"
"But, Mommy…"
He watched as the woman scooped her daughter out of the sandbox at the playground and walked off. The little girl's eyes were full of wonder and amazement at everything around her. He sat and watched them until he couldn't see them anymore, a dull ache churning in the bottom of his heart. It was true, he missed Madeleine, and he cursed himself for leaving her the way he did. He had tried calling her back home in Memphis one time, but he hadn't been able to catch her. She had already left without a trace. She was gone and he had no idea where she could be. He wondered what their baby looked like and if she was walking…he wondered if she liked to sing just like he had when he was a baby and what she looked like. If she looked like him, or maybe just as beautiful as Maddie.
"Justin…hey buddy, snap out of it!"
Justin blinked and shook his head and smiled as he came back to reality. "Where were you at, buddy?"
"Oh, just thinking, Lance…you know how I love to think." Lance kind of gave him a knowing look and walked off.
"Come on, bus call is in twenty minutes."
Justin took one last look at the children scattered around the playground and shoved his hands in his pockets, walking towards the bus.

"Hush little baby don't you cry…Mama's gonna buy you a mockingbird…and if that mockingbird don't sing, mama's gonna buy you a diamond ring…"
Madeleine softly sang as Faith drifted off to sleep. She got to see her little girl only a couple hours out of the day, but the time she did get to see her, she cherished. Everything was working out for them, finally. Maddie didn't have to worry about rent or food; she had actually bought a small car so she could have reliable transportation for the both of them. She kissed Faith on the forehead and turned out the light on the nightstand, leaving a crack in the door and walking to the living room. She sat there for a few minutes thinking to herself before lazily turning on the TV. Flipping through the channels and finding anything interesting, she was about to turn off the tube when something caught her eye. Him. Justin Randall Timberlake. Grinning wide eyed on MTV. She turned up the volume and listened to the interview, smiling to herself. They had proved everyone wrong. Everyone said they were a "flash in the pan" and would be gone after a year, but seven years after the group had first formed, they were still going strong. Justin was still just as beautiful as he had been the last time she had seen him. His hair was longer now but his eyes were still the same sharp blue. She finished watching the show and turned off the TV, wondering to herself if he ever thought of where she was and how they were doing. Or if he thought about Faith at all. Seeing his face again brought back all of the memories of their three years together…the love, the romance. But all of that had ended when he had walked away. He had hurt her terribly…so much so that she didn't think she would ever recover. But she had and she knew one thing for sure. She still loved him.

"Tomorrow, tomorrow…I love ya! Tomorrow…you're only a day away…."
Maddie jumped up and cheered with the rest of the crowd as Faith smiled, curtsied, and walked off the stage. Madeleine ran backstage as fast as she could, scooping Faith into her arms and hugging her.
"You did so good, baby…I am so proud of you." Her five-year-olds toothless grin warmed her heart.
"Thanks, Mommy."

Madeleine had noticed from an early age that Faith loved to sing along to the radio or to theme songs on the television. And it amazed her at how perfect her pitch was at such a young age. Maddie had taken countless pictures of Faith running around the house in just her underwear, singing into a wooden spoon for a microphone, and belting out her favorite songs. When Madeleine had seen an ad in the local newspaper for a talent show, she had asked Faith if she would like to do it. She didn't want to push Faith into anything she didn't want to do, but Faith had been more than excited about the opportunity. The grand-prize winner got a five hundred-dollar U.S. Savings Bond that matured every year until college, helping pay some of the costs for school. Before long, the rest of the show was over and the winners were announced. Maddie's heart leapt out of her chest as she heard Faith's name announced. Tears of joy sprung from her eyes as she watched her little girl accept the award.

Later, on the drive home, Faith convinced her mom to take her out for an ice cream to celebrate. As they sat in the ice cream shop, laughing and talking, Faith noticed a daddy sitting with his two little girls. She had never questioned about the whereabouts of her own father, but seeing the other two girls with their father, caused her to wonder.
"Mommy…where's my Daddy at?"
Maddie sat in shock for a few moments, trying to let Faith's question sink in. She had never rehearsed an answer because she had never expected the question. Swallowing hard, she looked at Faith.
"Faith…I want you to know something. Mommy loves you so much, and she's so proud of you. And Mommy loved your Daddy more than anything in this world. But because we are grown-ups, we sometimes can't love each other anymore. That's what happened between us. Your Daddy had to leave."
"Does he not love me?" Faith looked up with the innocence only a child can have.
"Oh, honey…no, don't think that. I'm sure wherever he is, he wonders about you and he loves you just as much as I love you."
Faith seemed satisfied with Madeleine's answer. Maddie hoped for her daughter's sake that she hadn't just told the biggest lie to Faith. She sometimes wondered and prayed that Justin thought about his daughter. She hoped for Faith's sake that he did.

"Well here we are…Atlanta, Georgia…"
The five guys loaded off the bus and filed into their hotel off of Peachtree. They would be in town for about a week, doing three shows and a few photo shoots. They looked forward to the opportunity of staying in one city for a few days, so they could get a little more rest than normal. Luckily, the fans hadn't quite figured out where they were staying. At least tonight they would have a night full of rest and relaxation before their busy week that lay ahead of them. Justin wondered just what was in store for them and pulled Johnny aside to ask.
"So what's on our agenda for tomorrow?"
"You have an early morning. Two magazines are doing cover stories on you guys and the charity work you have been doing, so you have a long shoot ahead of you tomorrow in one of the photography studios here in town."
"Just about how long will it last?" Justin hoped it wouldn't be an all-nighter like some of them usually turned out to be.
"I don't know for sure, but you won't be calling it an early night."
Justin nodded his head and sighed, walking away and going up to his room. Lying on the bed, he looked at the clock. It was already one thirty in the morning.
"Man, where does time go?" Turning on his side, he drifted off to sleep, trying to catch a few hours before their long day.

"Hey Maddie! I hope you don't mind having to come in a couple of hours early today." Kari smiled at her and Madeleine shrugged.
"No problem at all. Where's the schedule at?"
"Over on the corkboard." Madeleine walked over to it and skimmed over it, making mental notes as to what all she had to do today. She was going to be in charge of makeup and wardrobe change. Those weren't exactly her favorite things to do, but she didn't bother complaining. She walked back over to Kari, who was struggling with one of the props.
"So who exactly are we doing this shoot for?"
"Well," Kari stopped to take a breather. "The shoot is for People magazine, they're doing a cover story on these guys."
"What guys?"
"*NSYNC. I just pray that they aren't as snooty as some of the others that come in here and think their shit smells like roses, you know?"
When Maddie heard Kari say "*NSYNC" she was floored. It couldn't be…she couldn't possibly see Justin now, after so many years had passed them by. But she couldn't leave Kari to do all of the work by herself, either. She was stuck.
"Maddie? Madeleine? Are you okay?" Maddie snapped out of her trance and put her best smile on for Kari.
"Yeah I'm fine…I was just kind of in shock. Faith loves that group." She covered her tracks quickly, hoping that Kari wouldn't suspect anything. She didn't seem to as she moved on to the photography equipment, making sure everything was working and ready.
"They should be here any minute…will you make sure everything in makeup and wardrobe is set up properly?"
Madeleine nodded her head and walked off to the makeup room, trying to calm her nerves down. Maybe Justin wouldn't remember her…maybe if he did he wouldn't say anything.
"Of course Justin will remember you, stupid," Maddie argued with herself. "You only dated him for three years and had his baby. No biggie."
She was broken out of her thoughts as she heard the door to the studio open and several male voices talking at once. She heard Kari introducing herself to them and took a deep breath.
"Hi, I'm Kari Olson. I'll be snapping you today…just make yourselves comfortable. My assistant, Madeleine, will be doing your makeup and wardrobe today."
Madeleine knew that was her call to make her entrance. Taking a big step out of the dressing room, she smiled at them.
"Hi, I'm Maddie." Upon hearing her name, Justin looked up and his eyes met with hers. He swallowed hard as he saw her for the first time in years.
"Maddie."

“Maddie!”
The other four guys shouted in unison, running to her and giving her hugs. Although she had been Justin’s girlfriend, the other guys had been great friends with her and were excited at seeing her again.
“Do you know them or something, Maddie?” Kari asked with interest.
“Ummm…yeah, I guess you can say we are old friends.” Kari just nodded her head and went back to getting the set ready. Madeleine walked back to the dressing room and called back to the guys.
“Who’s first?” She prayed that it wouldn’t be Justin, but much to her dismay, he walked into the room, shutting the door and sitting in the chair in front of her.
“Maddie—“
“Save it, Justin. I have a job to do and I really don’t want to talk about anything right now.” Her sharp tone shocked Justin, even Maddie. “I’m sorry…I’m just not prepared to see you right now.” She apologized and went to work, adding foundation to his already perfect face.
“I’m not too prepared either, Maddie. I, I didn’t know you lived in Atlanta…”
“No one does, Justin. And let’s leave it at that.”
As much as she tried to control her nerves, her hands shook uncontrollably. Madeleine tried not to notice Justin’s blue eyes staring at her, but it failed.
“Close your eyes.”
Justin did as she told him, and she applied a thick layer of powder. A long silence followed as Maddie continued getting him ready for the shoot. Moving to the wardrobe closet, she pulled his outfit from the rack, black leather pants and a sheer black button-down shirt.
“Put these on and come back out so I can fix your hair.”
Justin got up slowly and walked behind the screen to change. Not a word was spoken between them as he dressed. Madeleine closed her eyes and leaned on the counter, trying to recollect herself before he emerged again. Sitting back down in the chair, Maddie turned Justin around so he was facing the mirror. Trying to avoid his eyes as he stared at her through the reflection in the mirror, Maddie concentrated on trying to do something to control his curls. She had always loved his curly hair, and feeling it’s coarse strands running through her fingers made her want to break down. Justin startled Madeleine by turning around suddenly in his chair and forcing her to look at him.
“Maddie, how have you been?” He looked like he was begging her, and his blue eyes looked so sincere. Maddie had tried hating him for years, but as she looked into his eyes, she felt so guilty.
“I’ve been fine, Justin. I’m doing fine.” Justin nodded his head and looked down towards the floor. “How’s our kid?” His voice was a barely audible whisper, but it was loud enough for Maddie to understand.
“She’s beautiful, Justin.” Justin looked up at Maddie.
“Do you have any pictures?”
Madeleine nodded and got her wallet out of her purse, showing him the dozens of pictures of Faith that she carried everywhere with her. Justin quietly thumbed through the pictures of his little girl, taking notice of just now much she looked like him. Blonde curly hair, big blue eyes…she even had his nose. Handing the wallet back to Madeleine, he looked up at her with watery eyes.
“I’m so sorry, Maddie. I’m so sorry…”
He began to sob and instinctively Maddie pulled him close to her, holding him as he cried. She didn’t know what she was doing, but she ran her hands through his hair, trying her best to comfort him.
“I was so scared, Maddie…so scared…I didn’t know what to do.”
He choked out the words and buried his head in Maddie’s chest, letting all of the pain and guilt he had felt for the past five years pour out through his eyes. Slowly he calmed down and looked up at Maddie.
“Please forgive me…don’t hate me.” Madeleine wiped the tears off of his face and nodded her head.
“I don’t hate you, Justin. But I don’t forgive you, either. We’ll talk about this later, okay?”
Justin nodded his head and turned the chair back around, letting Madeleine finish his hair in silence. She touched up his makeup and with one last look he walked out of the dressing room, so Madeleine could get to the rest of the guys. She took in a deep breath and sighed.
“This is going to be harder than I thought.”

"I can't believe I am actually going to have dinner with him. You shouldn't do this, Madeleine."
Madeleine sat in a corner booth of a local diner close to the studio, wondering why she had ever agreed to meet Justin for dinner. She was probably asking for more trouble than it was worth. Seeing him at the studio earlier that morning had been hard enough, and now here she was, about to have to face him one on one. She was broken out of her thoughts when Justin slid into the booth across from her.
"Hey."
"Hi." Maddie didn't exactly know what else to say to him.
"I'm glad you came. I thought maybe you would stand me up-"
"No, you're the one who is good at that." Madeleine's hand jumped to her mouth as soon as the words came out. "God…Justin I'm so sorry. I thought I was over the anger…but seeing you today…it just brought back everything…" She was stopped in mid-sentence as Justin looked at her.
"No. I deserve it. You need to be angry with me, Maddie. What I did to you was wrong…what I did to Faith was even more terrible."
"Faith doesn't know anything."
"She doesn't know about me?" Justin looked at Maddie, confused.
"No, she knows she has a Daddy. But she doesn't know what happened. She doesn't know you left me. I don't have any right to tell a five year old child that." Justin nodded in understanding.
"What does she like to do?" Madeleine smiled up at him, glad to change the subject to only Faith.
"Well, she loves to sing for one thing. I can only imagine where she got that from," Maddie smiled at him. "She won her first talent show the other day, as a matter of fact."
"Really? That's great…" Justin trailed off for a bit. "Would it be impossible for me to see her?"
"Justin, I don't know if that would be a good idea. I mean, think of how confused she would be. Not knowing who her Daddy was for five years and then all of a sudden you coming into her life? It would be too much for her to handle."
"What if she doesn't know I am her father? What if I am only a friend of yours?" Madeleine thought for a minute.
"I don't know, Justin…"
"Please? Maddie, I have to see her. Don't deny me of my right."
"Your right, Justin? You gave that up when you walked out on me. When you walked out on us."
"I've already said I was sorry…and I know that isn't going to cut it. But what else can I do, Maddie? I don't know what to do."
"Look, Justin. If I let you see her, do you think you can handle it?"
"I don't see why not."
"Well, it's just that. I know you aren't a mean person. You used to love kids. I used to love to watch you playing with your little brothers and dream of how you would be with our kids. Faith won't know who you are. Even so, can you handle seeing her? Knowing that she is your flesh and blood and she has no clue who you are? Can you handle that?"
Justin thought for a moment, his eyes clouded in frustration.
"I can't make any promises, Maddie. But I have to see her. Even if it is only this once. Please?"
"Okay…okay."

“Mommy!” Madeleine’s eyes lit up as Faith ran into her arms. She scooped her up and hugged her tightly.
“Where’s my kiss?”
“Right here.” Faith said, as she pointed to her lips. Maddie gave her a quick kiss and stood up. “Who’s he?’ Faith pointed to Justin, who had appeared in the doorway behind Maddie.
“That’s Justin.”
“Is he your boyfriend?”
“No. No, he’s not my boyfriend. He’s just a friend.” Faith checked him out a little more, making sure he was safe, and then held her hand out to him.
“I’m Faith. Nice to meet you.” She smiled at him and ran off to her bedroom.
“Excuse me…” Justin walked off towards the kitchen, and Maddie followed him.
“Justin what’s wrong?” He turned to face her, tears in his eyes.
“What’s wrong? That’s my little girl. God, Maddie…she looks just like me…I was doing fine until she touched me. Until she shook my hand. It just hurts that she will only call me ‘Justin’ and never ‘Daddy’.”
“You brought that upon yourself, Justin. You walked out on me when I told you I was going to have your baby. She would have been calling you ‘Daddy’ years ago if only you—“
“What? If only I had stayed? Maddie, I was scared. Scared to death. I didn’t know how to be a father. Sure, I could be a big brother, but it was a known fact that I was going to fail as a father.”
“No, Justin, don’t say that—“
“Maddie, look at me! What kind of human being walks out on their own flesh and blood? Me, Madeleine, me. Here I am, I have all of the money in the world, anything I want I can get, and the one thing that I finally want, I can’t have.”
“You want Faith?”
“Of course I want Faith. I want to be her Daddy. I AM her Daddy.”
“Justin, it would be too hard on her…you can’t just come back into her life now that it is convenient for you. She wouldn’t understand.”
“Wouldn’t understand? God, Maddie…doesn’t she know that little girls and boys have mommies and daddies? Or did you neglect to explain that to her?” Justin’s eyes looked crazed as he got angrier and more frustrated.
“Oh stop it, Justin. She knows damn well that she has a Daddy. And that Daddy left Mommy. I would never have told her that you were a selfish asshole who only cared about himself and not about me, or her for that sake. I would never be that cruel.”
“Okay so maybe I was an asshole. But I’m not anymore, Maddie. Please…I need Faith…she’s my little girl.”
“Mommy?” Justin and Maddie turned their heads in surprise as Faith appeared at the door.
“Faith, baby…how long have you been there?” Faith didn’t answer as she looked at Justin. Staring at him in silence for a few minutes, she broke into tears and ran off to her room.
“Oh God…”

"Jesus…oh God…Faith, come back!"
Maddie ran off after Faith. Justin watched helplessly and sat down at the kitchen table, holding his head in his hands. Sure, he had messed up before, but now he had really screwed up. Now that Faith knew who he was now, she was sure to hate him. Hate him for leaving her mother, and loathe him for not bothering to care about her for the past five years. He knew, though, that it wasn't completely his fault. Maddie had ran off and left without a trace. Finding her in Atlanta was merely a coincidence, and neither Justin nor Faith had been prepared for what would happen. Getting up from the table, he slowly walked to the doorway of Faith's room. His heart went out to his little girl as he watched her crying in Maddie's arms, confused. He softly tapped on the cracked door.
"Can I come in?" Madeleine just nodded and turned her attention back to Faith. Justin walked over to the bed and sat down beside Faith.
"Leave me alone."
"Faith…that's not the way to talk to your father."
Madeleine tried her hardest to be stern with her, even though she knew Faith's heart must have been breaking.
"Maddie…do you mind if I talk to Faith alone?"
Justin's eyes pleaded with Madeleine and she nodded her head, kissing Faith and quietly leaving the room. Faith cautiously scooted further away from Justin, not bothering to look at him.
"Faith…can you look at me for a second?" Faith violently shook her head 'no' and cuddled her teddy bear closer to her chest.
"Please? I promise if you look at me, you will see I am not as bad as you think right now." Faith slowly lifted her head and stared in his eyes. Justin's eyes watered as the face of his little girl was reflected in his vision.
"Do you see a bad Daddy?" Faith nodded her head and Justin sighed.
"Do you see a mean Daddy?" Faith paused for a moment before slowly shaking her head.
"Why don't you love me?" Her question was innocent enough, but Justin's heart ripped out of his chest.
"Oh Faith…don't think that I don't love you. I love you more than anything. Just because I haven't been around doesn't mean I haven't thought about you or wondered about you. Did you know that not a day went by when I didn't wonder about you and where you were? What you looked like?"
"But you left Mommy."
"I know I did. I was dumb, wasn't I?" A slow smile spread across Faith's face as she nodded her head. "Okay can you answer a question for me?"
"Yep."
"Do you think it would be possible for you to let me be your Daddy?"
"Hmmm…" Faith pondered on it for a while.
"Tell you what. Spend the day with me some time this week. If you absolutely hate me and find out that I have the worst cooties in the world, you don't have to let me be your Daddy. But if I can get you to laugh and we have a good day, well, you know what that means…"
"That you'll be my Daddy."
"Uh huh…so what do you say?"
"Can we get ice cream?"
"Sure! What's your favorite?"
"Chocolate."
"Okay we'll get double scoops of it and eat it until we are all messy and our tummies ache. Sound good?"
Faith smiled and nodded her head.
"You've got a deal."

"Hey sweetie…how was your day with Justin…I mean Daddy?" Madeleine hugged Faith as she barreled through the door.
"It was so fun! We got ice cream and we went to the amusement park…Daddy says I am tall enough to ride the roller coasters now so next time we go, I am gonna ride all of them ten thousand times!" Faith's animated talk made both Justin and Maddie smile.
"Why don't you go put all of your stuff in your room and play for a little while?" Faith nodded her head and ran off to her room. Madeleine turned and looked at Justin.
"So…"
"So."
"It sounds like you guys had fun."
"We did…it seems almost as if I was here the whole time." Justin smiled.
"That's good. I was so worried that Faith was going to be more hurt than this. Thanks for wanting to be there for her."
"What else can I do? She's my daughter."
"So…umm…do you want something to drink?" Madeleine was a little uncomfortable still whenever she was one on one with Justin.
"Sure…what do you have?"
"Let's take a look," Maddie said, walking towards the kitchen. "We have juice, sodas, milk, water-"
"A soda would be good, thanks." Madeleine grabbed one for her and for Justin and sat down at the kitchen table, motioning for Justin to sit.
"So, Maddie…update me on life."
"There's really nothing to update you on. I mean, you know where I live now and you know you have a little girl named Faith…she's been my life ever since, well, you know…" Justin nodded in understanding.
"How about you, though, Maddie…how have you been?"
"Doing good, thanks."
"Seeing anyone special?" Madeleine quickly shook her head.
"No. I haven't seen anyone since Faith was born."
"Why's that?"
"Well…no time, really. And no interest. Faith is my priority. My love life is on the back burner."
"That's a waste, Maddie. You are a beautiful girl…if you don't mind me saying so. Any guy would be lucky to have you…I know I was." Maddie smiled shyly and looked down towards the table. "Would you like to go do something?"
"What?" Madeleine looked up in shock.
"Just to catch up on the old times. It won't be a date…just a night out on the town. I've missed you. Really I have."
"I don't know, Justin…it would be a little weird, don't you think?"
"What? Us going out as friends? I don't see that as weird."
"Justin-"
"Please?"
"Alright." Madeleine agreed, defeated. "I don't have anyone to watch Maddie, though…on such short notice…"
Justin put his hand up in mid air, stopping her.
"Don't worry…I have that covered. You'll see."
Justin got up from the table and walked towards Faith's room. "I have to go back to the hotel for a little bit. I'll pick you up around seven…is that okay?" Madeleine nodded.
"Hey Faith…I've got to go. I'll see you later tonight okay sweetheart?"
"Alright.." She got up from her place on the floor and hugged Justin. "Bye Daddy."
"Bye…" Justin got up and walked himself to the door. He turned around and gave Madeleine a quick peck on the cheek before turning and walking out. Madeleine locked the door behind him and leaned against it, sighing to herself.
"This should be interesting."

"I hope Faith is alright…"
"She's fine. Trust me. Chris and Lance are taking good care of her. Just relax and enjoy it." Justin smiled at her and took her by the hand. Madeleine looked at him in surprise. "What?"
"Nothing," Madeleine said, swallowing hard. She smiled at Justin and then looked ahead out the car window. When he had first touched her, an electric shock flew through her body. Something unexplainable, something scary, but something that felt so right that she couldn't help but leave her hand in his. It seemed as if five years hadn't escaped between them and that they were still a couple raising a healthy little girl together. It was almost too good to be true.
"What are you thinking about?"
"Us."
"What about us?" Justin looked at her momentarily before turning his attention back to the road.
"What's going on between us, Justin? Two days ago when I first saw you it was almost as if nothing had happened. Like we had been together all of this time without missing a beat. I've comforted you, you've comforted me, Faith loves you to pieces, and here I am, going on a date with you, my ex-boyfriend, and holding your hand. It just all seems so unreal to me."
"What is it that you want, then?"
"This. I want this. This is what I have dreamed about since the day you left. I wondered what it would have been like had you stayed…and I always dreamt that it would be like this exact moment."
"Well," Justin smiled. "Then enjoy it. It can't possibly be that bad."
"It's not that it is bad…because trust me, it isn't. It's just…I don't know. Weird. That it only took two days for us to be this comfortable again."
"Maddie…we were together for three years. We have a child together. It shouldn't be so shocking that we are comfortable around each other. That's the best thing."
"I know…okay, I am done with contemplating everything. Let's just have fun tonight. So where are we going?"
"I don't know. I was hoping you would tell me. It's been a while since I have been in Atlanta. I'm just driving." Justin grinned at her and Maddie couldn't help but laugh.
"God, Justin. You really haven't changed. How about Pizza Hut? Nothing fancy…just good fun."
"Sounds like a plan."

"Man…if I eat another bite, I will spontaneously combust!"
"That would be an interesting headline. 'International Pop Star Spontaneously Combusts At Local Pizza Hut'. All of your teenaged fans would be devastated!" She laughed at her sarcasm and Justin threw his napkin at her.
"You are so dumb sometimes."
"You're dumber." Madeleine stuck her tongue out at him.
"Alright…let's get out of here. I need to walk some of this pizza off." Justin got up and helped Maddie out of her chair, getting the ticket and walking up to the front of the restaurant. Maddie followed close behind and waited.
"Okay…your total is going to be seven dollars and fifty four cents."
"What? The ticket says fifteen dollars and eight cents."
"Oh? I guess the waitress forgot to tell you. It's fifty percent off tonight for couples. You know, with Valentine's Day and all." Justin looked dumbfounded and then laughed, getting the money out of his wallet.
"Oh, we're not-" Madeleine tried to speak up, but Justin interrupted her, wrapping his arm around her shoulders.
"Isn't that nice of them, sweetie? To give us a discount for being in love?" He could be so cheesy sometimes.
"Yes, darling. That's very sweet of them." Madeleine smiled up at him, playing along. As they walked out of the restaurant, they both busted out laughing. "Can you believe she thought we were a couple?"
Madeleine laughed and noticed Justin wasn't laughing. Slowly backing her up against the wall, he smiled at her.
"What's so funny about that? Huh?"
"I don't know…I guess because we haven't been a couple since-"
"Ssshhh…" Justin put his fingers to her lips, quieting her and then replacing them with his lips. Their kiss lingered for a few seconds before Justin slowly pulled away.
"You taste like pizza." Madeline burst out laughing. "You sure do know how to ruin a moment don't you, Timberlake?"

"One, two, three, four. I declare thumb war! Gotcha!!!!" Faith let out a shout of glee as she once again beat Chris at another round of thumb war. Chris threw his hands up in the air, defeated.
"I give up. You're just too good for me."
"Ah! Chris got beat by a five-year-old. How about that, Faith?" Lance gave Faith a high five and she giggled.
"I'm the bestest."
"That you are." Just then they heard the locks on the door turning and turned around to look as Maddie and Justin came walking through the hotel room door.
"Hi sweetie! Having fun?"
"Yep. I beat Chris at Nintendo and thumb war!"
"She's too good, I swear."
"She gets it from me." Justin smiled.
"Whatever, Timberlake. Poor kid…having to be your daughter just has to be the most unjust thing in the world." Chris laughed.
"Yeah doesn't it? So Faith do we get hugs or not?"
Justin grinned as Faith came running over to them, attacking them both with hugs and kisses.
"Where did you guys go?"
"We went out for pizza."
"On a date?" Faith darted her head back and forth, eyeing them suspiciously.
"It was a kind of sort of date."
"Are you guys gonna get married?" Justin looked at Madeleine, shocked.
"What makes you think that, Faith?"
"I dunno. If you date each other you get married." Her childlike innocence shown through and Justin smiled at her.
"We'll see."

"She's so beautiful, Maddie."
"I know. She must have had a rough day, she's already fast asleep."
"Do you have baby pictures?"
"Yeah…hang on." Madeleine got up from the couch and walked over to a shelf, grabbing a couple of thick photo albums and handed them to Justin. She crawled onto the couch beside him, opening up the cover of the first.
"These are her hospital pictures…taken the day she was born."
"Wow…she weighed eight pounds?
"Eight pounds and seven ounces, to be exact. Believe me, every ounce counts when you are giving birth." She laughed slightly.
"Yeah I bet…how long were you in labor?"
"Oh…a good two days. But I didn't go the hospital for a day and a half. I was only in the hospital for a day."
"Oh, look…" Justin smiled to himself as he turned the page and saw a picture of Faith sleeping. "How old was she in this picture?"
"A week…she was my little angel. Still is."
"Why did you name her Faith?" Justin looked up at her.
"Because she gave me hope when I had none." Justin frowned slightly and looked back down at the pictures.
"I'm so sorry, Maddie-"
"Ssshhh…it's okay, Justin. I forgive you." She leaned over and gave him a kiss on the cheek. Justin nodded and turned back to the photo albums, drifting through them silently, wishing he had been there to take all of the pictures; cursing himself for his selfishness and stupidity. As he finished, he put the photo albums on the coffee table, turning in Maddie's direction and pulling her close to him.
"I don't want to leave again, Maddie." Small tears formed in his eyes as he looked at her. "I just got you guys back in my life and now I have to leave again in a couple of days. It's going to kill me."
"You're not the only one. It's going to kill Faith, too. And me." Justin looked up at her.
"You're going to miss me?"
"Of course. It's actually been kind of nice having you back here." She smiled at him.
"What's going to happen to us, Maddie?"
"What?"
"When I leave? What's that going to do to us? I don't want to leave you Madeleine. I'm still crazy about you and I can only hope that you are still crazy about me." Madeleine just nodded her head.
"As much as I hate to admit it, I still love you. Why do you think I haven't dated anyone? Faith was just an excuse." Justin pushed some of her fallen hair out of her face and looked at her.
"I love you so much." He slowly leaned forward and kissed her. As the seconds passed, the kiss grew and the passion built. Laying her back on the couch, Justin climbed on top of her and held her close to him, making love to her neck and lips with his own. Snaking his hand up her shirt, he felt her creamy skin underneath her sweater and slowly slid his hand up to her breast, lightly brushing against it.
"God…Justin…it's been so long…"
"I know…for me, too…" He attacked her neck with his mouth, lightly sucking and nibbling, his hands roaming to long-neglected places.
"We can't do this…" Justin stopped and looked at Maddie.
"Why not?"
"I meant in here…" Madeleine smiled at him. Justin slowly got up from the couch and pulled her up, taking her in his arms and attacking her mouth again.
"Lead the way, Captain." He grinned cockily at her. Maddie took him by the hand and led him to her bedroom, pulling him inside and locking the door. Justin led her to the bed and softly pushed her down onto it, climbing back on top of her.
"Now…where were we?"

Madeleine slowly opened up her eyes and gathered her surroundings as the sun filtered through the curtain covered windows. Turning her head to the side, she smiled as she watched Justin sleeping peacefully on his stomach, his arm lazily thrown across her stomach. His wild curls were thrown against the pillow and his long eyelashes laid gently on his cheek, a small smile playing at the corner of his lips. She gently rubbed the tip of his nose, causing him to slowly stir. Opening his eyes, he smiled sleepily as he saw Maddie.
“Wake up sleepyhead…” Justin yawned and flipped onto his side, pulling her close to him.
“Do we have to get up just yet?”
“Yep. We have to get Faith ready for school.”
Sighing heavily, Justin got up and slid out of bed, pulling on his pants. He laughed as he saw Maddie struggling to untangle herself from the sheets and stopped her.
“No, you just wait there. Let me get Faith ready for school…you keep the bed warm for when I get back.”
“Oh really, Mr. Timberlake? What makes you think I could quite possibly even desire for another round of last night?”
“You know you want it little girl.” He stuck his tongue out at her and bent down, softly kissing her.
“I love you, Maddie.”
“I love you, too, Justin.”
He gave her another quick kiss and walked out of the room, strolling across the hallway to Faith’s room. He was surprised to see that she was already up and getting dressed. He made her some breakfast and helped her finish dressing and finally ushered her out the door to the bus. He watched her from the window, smiling to himself, amazed that he could have had a hand in making anyone so beautiful as Faith. As the bus pulled away, Justin closed the curtain and headed back into the bedroom, jumping onto the bed and pulling Madeleine into his arms. He nuzzled his head in her neck and held her close to him.
“I could stay like this forever, never leave, and be completely happy.”
“Yeah right, Justin. Stay a few months with me and you’ll be itching to get out on that stage and dance like a homeboy because you’ll be needing some release from your relationship woes.”
“Oh really? Is that it?” He smiled at her, playing along.
“Yes, of course. You know how rough I can be.”
“If I didn’t before, I know now after last night.”
“Justin!” She playfully slapped him upside the head and laughed at him.
“What? Had you forgotten how crude I could be?”
“Slightly.” She took a deep breath and looked at him. “When do you leave to go back on tour?”
“Friday.” He stated simply.
“Today’s Wednesday. I only have two more days with you.” Maddie began to frown and Justin looked up at her.
“Don’t even think about getting sad on me now, baby girl. You still have me for two days. Let’s enjoy it while we can.”
“I know…it’s just, whenever I think about it, I already miss you.”
“Well then don’t think about it.”
“What else do I have to do except think about it?”
“This.” Justin laughed ruefully and climbed on top of her, making love to her again and again, until finally they lay spent in each other’s arms.
“I’ve got to get ready for work…”
“No you don’t.”
“Yes, Justin…I do. I can’t miss work.”
“I already called Kari. You’re off until Monday.”
“Why did you do that?”
“Honey, you aren’t going to work while I’m here. I’m too selfish when it comes to my girls.”
“Your girls?”
“You and Faith, of course. And Barbie, Tina, Lateisha and Mona.” He laughed at her facial expression. “You know it’s only you, baby. It always has been.”
“Can I ask you something?”
“Sure.”
“Did you ever fall in love again after you left me?”
Justin slowly shook his head.
“Seriously?”
“Honest to God. I didn’t leave you because I didn’t love you, Maddie. I left because I was chicken shit. But I loved you when I first saw you, I loved you the whole time we were together, I loved you the whole time we were apart, and I love you now.” He softly kissed her and she smiled.
“That must be why you are acting like a rabbit in heat this morning.”
“That’s right…I get no love…” He pouted and she pulled him back on top of her.
“Oh come here you big ape…”

“Man…I don’t want to get up…” Justin lazily sat up against the headboard of the bed, his arms perched behind his head.
“You have to, silly. You have a show tonight.”
“I know…and tomorrow…and Friday. I think this is the first time in a long time I haven’t actually wanted to perform.”
“Why’s that?”
“Because I don’t want to leave your side for one second.” Madeleine smiled at him and kissed him.
“Come on…get up. Get a shower. You have to leave in an hour.”
Justin sighed and kissed her, getting up from the bed and walking towards the master bathroom. He laughed as Madeleine whistled at him.
“Sexy…”
“You know it.” He shook his butt at her a couple of times before climbing into the tub. He showered quickly and got out, wrapping a towel around his waist and running another through his hair, slowly towel drying it.
“Are you coming to the show tonight?” “Well I don’t have tickets…know anyone who can hook me up?” Maddie smiled at him. Justin leaned down and softly kissed her.
“I think I can find someone.”
“Okay…well I need two tickets. I know two girls who simply adore the sexy blonde lead singer…gee, what’s his name? Jason?"
“Justin to you, missy.” He stuck his tongue out at her and she captured it with her mouth, bringing him in for another kiss. “You better stop that.”
“What?” Madeleine smiled innocently at him.
“I’ve got to get to the show sometime tonight. If I stay here making love to you, I’ll never leave.”
“That’s not such a bad idea now is it?”
“Not to me. But I am sure the fans wouldn’t be too happy.” Justin got up and pulled on his jeans and a T-shirt, slipping on his shoes. “I guess I better go…” He walked back towards her, kissing her again.
“Okay. I’ll see you tonight. What time?”
“Sound check is at five. Any time after that. I’ll have two passes waiting for you, okay?” Madeleine nodded and smiled at him. “Bye…I love you.”
“Love you, too.” She rolled over in the bed and drifted off to sleep, waiting for Faith to come in from school.
“Can I help you?”
“Umm…yes. There should be an envelope for Madeleine Peterson…”
“Yes. I need to see some identification.” Madeleine pulled out her driver’s license and showed it to the lady at the will call booth.
“Thanks. Here you go. Enjoy the show.” Madeleine smiled and thanked her, taking Faith’s hand and walking into the venue. Aimlessly strolling around for a little while, they finally found the door to the backstage area. Slipping Faith’s pass onto her neck, and putting hers on as well, they walked through the doors, only to be stopped by a looming bodyguard.
“Can I help you?” He bellowed. Madeleine showed him her passes.
“Meet and greet isn’t until six. You shouldn’t be back here.” Madeleine looked at her passes and felt a flush of embarrassment.
“There must be some kind of mix-up. Justin was supposed to give me two backstage passes…I guess he got them confused.” The bodyguard didn’t budge or even acknowledge her explanation.
“Yeah right. You just go back to where you came from and we’ll see you in an hour.” Madeleine tried to object, but the big man started pushing her and Faith out the door.
“Lonnie…whoa, they’re with me…it’s okay.” Lonnie stopped and took his hands off of Maddie’s shoulders, turning around and apologizing to Justin, who had run up behind them.
“Sorry, man. They had meet and greet passes instead of backstage passes. I just assumed they were trying to sneak around.”
“It’s okay.” Justin smiled at Lonnie and then looked at Maddie. He walked over to her and pulled her into a tight embrace, giving her a quick kiss and then bending down and giving Faith a kiss as well.
“How are my girls?”
“Good…Faith is excited to see you perform tonight.”
“And I want to see Lance. He’s cool.” Justin laughed and nodded.
“You’ll see Lance tonight, I’m sure.” Justin looked past Maddie’s shoulders and saw some fans standing outside the door, staring wide eyed at them, obviously trying to figure out what business Madeleine and Faith had talking to him. Justin grabbed Maddie by the hand and pushed her through the back doors, leading to the bus. Escorting them onto the bus, he closed the doors and sighed.
“What was that all about, Justin?”
“I just didn’t want the fans to harass you, that’s all.”
“Yeah, okay. You want to keep us hidden from them. Are you ashamed of us, is that it?”
“Maddie, don’t start.”
“I’m not starting, Justin.”
“We’ll talk about this later, okay? Just cool it for now.” Madeleine sighed and let it go for then, but etching a note in her mind to be sure and talk with him about it later.
“Come on, Faith. I’ll take you to go see Lance.”
Faith hopped up, grinning broadly as she stepped off the bus. Justin kissed Maddie on the cheek, but she refused to talk to him.
“See you in a little bit.”
“Yeah, sure.” Madeleine shrugged and rolled her eyes as he walked away.

“Where’s Faith?” Madeleine looked at Justin.
“She’s with Lance. He is watching her so we can talk.”
“Oh.”
“I don’t know what I did that pissed you off at me but I would like to know—“
“You want to know, Justin? Okay, I’ll tell you. You think I didn’t notice what happened backstage? You think I didn’t see those girls looking at Faith and me? And do you even think, for one second, that I didn’t notice you pushing us out the door so you could keep your little secret hidden?”
“Maddie—“
“Save it, Justin. I can’t believe I actually thought that you would be happy that Faith and me were back in your life. That you would finally admit to having me in your life. Boy, was I wrong.”
“What do you mean, ‘that I would finally admit to having you in my life?’”
“God, Justin. You couldn’t have forgotten already what I went through when we were dating years ago. You couldn’t have a girlfriend…you had to stay single…had to keep me ‘protected’. But while you were protecting me, I had to sacrifice everything that meant so much to me. I couldn’t hold your hand in public or even just brush up against you without getting whisked away by some bodyguard.”
“Madeleine, you know I was trying to keep you safe. Do you have any idea what those girls are probably saying right now?”
“I don’t know and I don’t care! What I do care about is that we are a family…or I thought we were. I don’t want to hide it, Justin. I want the whole world to see us as a complete family.”
“But—“
“But what, Justin? Even if you don’t do this for me, imagine what it would do to Faith, having to stay in the dark so her Daddy can keep his secret safe from his fans.”
“I see what you are saying, Madeleine, but, Jesus. Everyone knows everything about me…right down to the damn brand of underwear I wear. Can I not keep one thing in my life private? One thing that only I can have and know about and cherish? Is that too much to ask?”
“Yes. Justin, I want to be able to love you in public. I want Faith to be able to love you in public. Not just privately when no one else is watching. That’s all I am asking of you.”
“Maddie, I can’t.”
“Fine.”
Madeleine stood up and stormed off of the bus. Justin sank down to the couch and held his head in his hands, thinking about what to do. He loved his girls so much, but he had to weigh the consequences. Some of his fans were completely vicious. Full of cold attacks and harsh words, not caring about if they hurt him. He had been through it before with other girlfriends and other personal relationships over the years and the last thing he wanted was for Madeleine and Faith to go through the same heartbreak others in his life had. He sighed and leaned his head against the back of the sofa, closing his eyes to think.

“Come on, Faith. We’ve got to go.” Maddie pulled her up from the floor and Lance looked at her questioningly.
“But, Mommy—“
“Faith. I said it’s time to go. I mean it.” Faith stood up, tears brimming in her eyes. Lance stood up as well, pulling Maddie to the side.
“What’s going on?”
“Nothing, Lance. It’s time for us to leave, that’s all.”
“But the show…we haven’t even performed yet.”
“There will be another night.”
“Madeleine…I know something is up. Come on, tell me.”
“Nothing is wrong.”
“Fine. What will it take for me to get you to stay?”
“Well, maybe you can tell your group mate, Justin, that once he feels he has the balls to admit to having a once illegitimate daughter and can find the courage to admit it to himself and to the world, then maybe we will have something to do with him.”
“Oh God. Maddie, you know all Justin wants to do is protect you guys.”
“So? I don’t want him to protect us. I want him to be able to love us freely, without worrying what the rest of the world thinks.”
“Look. If you want to go home, let Faith stay. I’ll watch her until the show and then get Chris’s girlfriend to watch her during the show. Let her stay Maddie. Please?” Madeleine looked at Lance and knew she couldn’t tell him no.
“Fine. What time do I need to be back here to pick her up?”
“Don’t worry about it. I’ll find a way. Thanks, Maddie.” Madeleine just nodded and walked over to Faith.
“Mommy has to go. But I’ll see you later tonight. Bye sweetie.” She gave Faith a kiss and walked out the door.

“You know something, Atlanta? I was thinking today…about something to say that would make it a totally different show. I thought and thought all day long…and finally I realized something. This crowd is unlike any other audience we’ve had. And I could only think of one reason why. And you know what that is, Atlanta? It’s because God Must Have Spent A Little More Time On You.” Lance did the old routine and received the usual chants and screams of excitement from the mostly pre-pubescent crowd. The guys did the usual dance routine and then as the song neared it’s end, Justin stopped. The crowd held their breath in excitement as he looked around. Looking into the audience, he found Faith. Motioning to Lonnie, he brought Faith onto the stage and sat her down beside him. Looking out at the crowd and then smiling back at Faith, he gently grabbed her hand.
“You know…I can’t finish the song without the help of this little girl. And you want to know something? This isn’t just any little girl. She’s very special to me…she’s brought a whole new meaning to my life. Her name is Faith…and she’s my little girl.”
He held his breath, anticipating the screams of discontent, but instead got the audience’s approval with applause. They stood up and cheered, giving him a standing ovation. He stood up and scooped Faith up into his arms. Kissing her and then putting the microphone back to his mouth.
“God must have spent…a little more time…on…you…” He finished the song and smiled, feeling a rush of excitement and profound joy as the crowd cheered in approval.

“Mommy!” Faith ran inside the apartment, smiling and jumping into Maddie’s arms.
“Hey baby…did you have fun?”
“Yep…Daddy sang to me and everything! It was so cool!” Madeleine nodded and then smiled as she saw Faith yawn.
“Alright, missy. You’ve had enough excitement for a night. Let’s get you into bed.” Faith didn’t put up a fight, and strolled into her room. Maddie tucked her in and then walked back out to the living room.
“So, everything went well?” She looked at Lance and he nodded.
“Yeah…you’d be surprised.” Madeleine nodded.
“I guess you are tired, huh?”
“Kind of…I still haven’t calmed down from the show yet. It’ll be a few hours still until the exhaustion hits me.”
“Yeah…”
“Did you talk to Justin?” Lance looked at her.
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Because I’m pissed, Lance.”
“Maddie, if you only knew—“
“I don’t want to know. Look, I’m kind of tired…”
“I’ll go. I understand. But you really need to talk to Justin. Trust me.” Madeleine nodded and then hugged him.
“Good night, Lance.”

The sun woke Maddie and she rose from bed, going to Faith’s room to check on her. She was still sound asleep, obviously exhausted from the previous night. Madeleine walked to the front door, getting her morning paper and throwing in on the coffee table, not even bothering to look at it. She made herself a cup of coffee and sat on the sofa, flipping through the TV channels. Giving up on finding anything interesting, she turned to the paper. Sitting down her cup, her eyes popped out of her head as she read the top headline.
“Pop Star A Daddy.” Grabbing the paper, she gasped as her eyes skimmed over the article.
“Oh shit…”

“Hey Todd, is Justin around?” Todd nodded and led her down the hallway of the hotel, to Room 757.
“He’s in there.” Todd smiled at her and walked away. Madeleine stared at the door for what seemed like eternity, before finally knocking.
“Coming…” She could hear Justin’s footsteps as he treaded to the door. He swung it open and stopped.
“Maddie.”
“Hi, Justin.” Justin stepped back and opened the door wider, motioning for her to come in. Madeleine walked by him and sat down on the bed.
“What brings you here?”
“You.” Madeleine looked down at her hands.
“What? Did I do something else to piss you off?”
“No.” She looked up at him. “Justin, I’m sorry. I’m selfish and ignorant and—“
“You’re the girl I love, Maddie. Don’t ever believe for one second that you can find one thing on the planet that I won’t do for you.”
“You told everyone last night because of me?”
“Yeah. Of course. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do.”
“Justin, I’m so sorry…”
“For what? You didn’t do anything wrong, Maddie. I know why you were pissed and I understand.”
“Then why didn’t you call after the show?”
“I didn’t think you wanted to hear from me. You weren’t exactly happy with me yesterday.” Maddie smiled slightly and looked at him.
“Can I have a hug?”
“Of course.”
Justin kneeled in front of her and scooped her into his muscular arms, squeezing her tightly. He didn’t let go for several minutes and she lightly cried into his shoulder. He pulled away and lifted her face to his, giving her a soft kiss.
“I love you, Madeleine. Always.”
“I love you, too.”

“Man, thanks, Johnny. That’s great.”
Justin closed his cell phone and walked into the hotel lobby smiling and whistling to himself. He stopped at a group of waiting fans and gave them autographs and happily took pictures, his contentment obvious. He caught the elevator a few minutes later and rode up to his room, where Maddie and Faith were waiting on him for a dinner date. Walking into the room, Faith greeted him with a huge hug.
“Daddy!”
“Hey, baby. You ready?”
“Yep!”
“Good…so where do you want to go?”
“Umm…Discovery Zone.”
“Sounds good. You ready?”
Maddie got up and nodded, taking a deep breath.
“As ready as I’ll ever be.”
“Don’t be nervous. You’ll be fine.”
He kissed her lightly and then took her hand, leading them out the door. Madeleine took one last deep breath as the elevator doors opened and cameras began to flash all around them. She kept her head down and sheltered Faith with her arms as they slowly made their way through the packed hotel lobby. She faintly heard several voices whispering. ‘That must be his girl. What’s her name?’ and ‘I wonder what his daughter’s name is.’ Madeleine could only imagine the road that laid ahead, one surely full of rumors, lies, and hurt. But she was willing to go through hell and back to be with Justin. She’d do whatever it took. They jumped into the car and it peeled off. Justin told the driver where to go, and they sat back, finally relaxing.
“Now that wasn’t too bad was it?” He laughed sarcastically and squeezed her leg. Leaning over and kissing her, they both laughed as Faith quickly disproved of their affection.
“Eeewww! Gross! Please stop!” Justin looked at Faith and gave her a wicked grin.
“Well if I can’t kiss your Mommy, then it looks like I am just going to have to kiss you!”
He grabbed her and placed her on his lap, tickling her and kissing her, laughing as she giggled uncontrollably. Maddie looked at them and smiled. It was like no time had been lost between either of them, and she loved it. She was sure no one could ever be a better Daddy than Justin. She smiled at them again and drifted off into her own world.

“Come on, baby, we’re home…” Justin quietly opened up the back door to the car and carefully scooped Faith into his arms, being careful not to wake her too much. Maddie unlocked the front door and turned on the lights in the living room as Justin put Faith to bed. He closed the door to Faith’s room and slipped off his shoes, walking over to Maddie and wrapping his arms around her.
“Do you really have to leave tomorrow?” Madeleine could feel her heart breaking at the thought.
“Yeah…we have to finish the tour.”
“I don’t like the idea of having to share you with everyone again.” Justin laughed at her and squeezed her tighter.
“Look at me…” Madeleine turned around and brought her eyes to his. “You are not ‘sharing’ me with anyone. No one can or ever will take me away from you. Sure, there are millions of beautiful girls that I see over the course of the world tours and the promotions…in my life, basically. But there’s only ONE that I love. You.” Maddie smiled at him and sat down on the couch.
“I love you, baby.” Maddie smiled and rested her head on his shoulder. “Come on tour with me.” Maddie shot up and looked at him in surprise.
“What?”
“You heard me.”
“Justin—“
“Madeleine Peterson! Don’t even think about telling me no. I will not take no for an answer. And you know it’s true.” Madeleine laughed at him.
“But what about Faith?”
“She would be there, too. I can’t have one of my girls and not the other.”
“But Justin, she has school.”
“She can get a tutor.”
“But she’s almost done with her kindergarten year. I don’t want to uproot her now. No way.”
“Okay, so come on tour with me after she gets out of school. We’ll work things out until then. When does school end?”
“Her last day is May 17th.”
“Then I expect you on a plane no later than May 18th.” Madeleine laughed at him again.
“But you guys are touring until November. She has school again. She starts first grade.”
“Maddie, baby…we’ll work something out. I have got to have you guys with me or it’s going to kill me. Don’t tell me no.”
“I’m just trying to think of the best possible way to do this.”
“Come on tour with me this summer. We’ll get Faith a tutor if need be. Or you guys can fly back to see me every weekend.”
“But what about my job? I can’t leave Kari, Justin. She’s done so much for me.”
“I’ve got that one covered already. Kari is one of the highest-profile photographers in Atlanta. In the Southeast, hell probably in the whole country. Johnny is going to make a deal with her and her company to be the official photographers of the *NSYNC tour. Of course, they’ll need a photographer on the road twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. That’s where you come in.”
“You really did all of that just to get me on tour with you?”
“Of course, baby. It’s driving me crazy thinking about not being able to be with you.”
“Oh goodness…Justin I love you!” Maddie kissed him and hugged him tightly.
“Does that mean a ‘yes’?”
“Yes!”

“Crap!” Maddie threw down her keys and purse and ran to the phone, trying to answer it before the caller hung up.
“Hello?”
“Do you always sound that sexy when you answer the phone?”
“Hey baby. I’m glad you called. It’s just what I needed.” Madeleine sighed and plopped down on the couch, propping her feet up on the coffee table.
“Why? Bad day?”
“Horrible. We had a twelve hour photo shoot, Faith had ballet lessons that lasted forever…I never thought they were going to end. She’s in a bad mood and stressing me out…and I haven’t even thought of anything for dinner. I can’t let the kid starve.”
“Maddie…hang on just a sec. I’ll call you back in thirty, okay? Don’t do anything. Just sit there and relax.”
“Okay…” Maddie wondered what he could possibly be up to.
“I love you.” The phone clicked off and Madeleine put hers back on the receiver, closing her eyes to rest for a few minutes. A knock on the door startled her and she realized she had slipped off into sleep for a little over twenty minutes. She slowly got up and answered the phone.
“Delivery for Madeleine Peterson.” The smell of Chinese food wafted into her living room and Madeleine smiled. She tipped the man and closed the door, taking the food into the kitchen and ruffling through the bag to see what Justin had ordered. As soon as she opened the package a little note was on the top.
“Hope this helps your day out a little bit. I love you.” No sooner had she read the note, than her phone rang.
“Hey baby…”
“Justin, you didn’t have to do that.”
“Yes I did. My baby was hungry.”
“You are too good to me.”
“I know.” Justin laughed into the phone.
“So where are you at tonight?”
“Phoenix…and tomorrow is Los Angeles and then the next day is San Diego…and then another state after that…it never ends.”
“Justin, don’t get me wrong…I’m glad the tour is going well and it’s so successful, but I wish they would stop adding dates all of the time. I hardly get to see you anymore.”
“I know, baby. They said only two more months.”
“But it’s already December. You were supposed to be home for Thanksgiving.”
“I’ll be home for Christmas.”
“I’m not so sure.”
“Maddie, listen to me. I said I would be home for Christmas. And I will be. Don’t worry, okay?”
“Alright.”
“Okay well I have to go. We have sound check and meet and greet. Give Faith my love.”
“ I will.”
“Bye, baby. I love you.”
“Love you, too.” Maddie sighed as she hung up the phone. “Faith, dinner. Daddy ordered us Chinese.”
Faith ran into the room, peering into the bag.
“Did he get me a fortune cookie?”
“Yep.”
“Can I open it?”
“No…not until you eat dinner.”
“Mommy, please?”
“Alright. But just this once.”
“You have to open yours, too.” Maddie grabbed hers and opened it.
“What does yours say, Faith?”
“That I’m lucky.” Maddie laughed.
“How about yours?”
“Patience is a virtue.” Madeleine laughed to herself as she thought about it. She didn’t know how much more patience she could muster.

“Hi, you’ve reached Madeleine and Faith. We’re not in right now, so leave us a message and we’ll think about getting back to you. See ya!” Beep.

Justin sighed in exasperation as he closed his cell phone. He didn’t want to seem obsessive by leaving yet another message on the answering machine. It had been days since he had talked to either of them, weeks since he had seen them. It was true…things weren’t going as smoothly as he had hoped with their relationship. Madeleine had been extremely distant since their last fight a few days ago. Of course, it was over the same old bullshit: ‘I miss you’, ‘I never see you’, and all of the mess that goes with that type of thing. But Justin knew he had made a mistake when he blamed Madeleine as the reason behind their long separation. He had worked hard to get a job for her as the official *NSYNC photographer…she would be on tour with him, as well as Faith, he would get to see her every day…but Madeleine had turned it down at the last minute. She thought that maybe absence did make the heart grow fonder and that if Justin and her were really meant to be together, they would be able to make it through. And as always, it turned out to be harder than either of them expected. Justin was sure that somewhere in the back of her mind, Madeleine questioned his fidelity. Yes, thousands of girls would kill to get in his pants, but Justin knew there was only one girl that could. Madeleine. He tossed his cell phone onto the bed and laid down, trying to get his thoughts off of her.

“Maddie, you really should try talking to Justin. He’s worried sick about you.”
“Lance. I am not talking to him. He’s God as far as he’s concerned. He doesn’t care what I think. Anything that goes wrong in this relationship is on account of me. He does nothing wrong. I can’t deal with that. I have a child to raise; I have a full time job. I don’t need his bullshit mixed in with everything else.”
“You know, Maddie, between you and Justin no one else could get a word in edge wise.”
“Shush.”
“But anyway…I happen to know that you are wrong. Justin does in fact care about what you think. I cannot even begin to tell you how he has been acting the last few days. He mopes around like a little lost puppy. It’s actually cute in a way. And you know what? Every time a phone rings me and the rest of the guys run because he comes charging into the room like an angry bull hoping that it’s you on the other end.” Madeleine smiled in spite of herself.
“Okay…” She started with a yawn. “I will think long and hard about calling him. But you need to make sure he knows not to blame anything on me.”
“Okay, Madame! Hey Maddie?”
“Yeah?”
“Are you sure everything else is fine? You don’t seem like yourself.”
“Yeah, everything is fine. I’m just tired that’s all. Probably all the stress I’ve been under. Don’t worry Lance. I’ll be fine, really.”
“Okay. I’ll talk to you later.”
“Bye Lance.”

Madeleine hung up the phone and plopped down exhausted on her bed. She managed to kick her shoes off and laid still, thinking about Justin. There was no doubt in her heart that she loved him, but she wasn’t sure if she could deal with the relationship. It had been so much easier when they had first started dating so long ago. There wasn’t a care in the world as far as she was concerned. Maybe motherhood had changed her. She had added responsibilities, and instead of looking out for her best interests, she only looked out for Faith. Faith was her main priority. She wondered if she had maybe even become a little boring. Maybe she just wasn’t the same person at all. She shrugged and turned out the light, grateful to be getting a couple of more hours of sleep than usual.

“Oh God…” Madeleine prayed another short prayer as she lunged for the toilet again. Only the third time this morning. She finished and cleaned herself up before walking out into the studio again. She rolled her eyes at the concerned look Kari shot her.
“Are you sure you are okay? Because I’m definitely not seeing anything that slightly resembles ‘okay’.”
“Kari, I’m fine. I probably caught a bug or something.”
“You’re not pregnant are you?” The question stunned Madeleine and she willed herself to move.
“No way.”
“That thought didn’t even occur to you did it?”
“Well, no. But there’s no reason that I should be.”
“Honey, you and Justin had a lot of catching up to do in that department. Are you positively sure you were careful every time?”
“Well, yeah…I mean, well…”
“Uh huh. There’s your answer. I say on lunch we walk to the drug store and just find out on our own, shall we?”

“Come on…one line, not two. One line, not two.”
Madeleine paced around the studio anxiously, praying that only one line showed up. She grabbed the box and reread the directions for the hundredth time.
“Madeleine, give me the damn box. You have memorized the damn thing. Just sit down.”
“How much longer?”
“Two minutes. Think you can stand it?” Kari cocked an eyebrow and received a ‘go to hell’ look from Madeleine.
“My God I wish this thing would hurry up.”
“So what if you are?”
“What do you mean if I am? Kari I am not pregnant. Justin and I cannot…we just can’t.”
“What? Can’t make babies? You never seemed to have that problem before.”
“Okay, you are seriously not helping me at all.”
Kari threw her hands in the air.
“One minute.”
“Shut up!” They sat in silence for a few seconds before Madeleine jumped up again.
“Oh God, what if I am pregnant?”
“Look in a few more seconds we’ll know the answer. Let’s not freak until we find out—ummm…” Kari picked up the test and squinted to make sure she read it right. She mentally recited the directions.
One line means you are not pregnant. Two means you are pregnant.
“What? Kari, tell me!”
“Madeleine…it’s two.”
“Oh shit!”

Justin jumped at the shrill ring of his cell phone. He snatched it up and answered, hoping it was Madeleine.
“Hello?!”
“Justin?” He breathed a sigh of relief when her voice came through.
“Madeleine…oh my God, baby…I’ve been calling you…have you gotten my messages?”
“Yes, Justin. I have.”
“Then why didn’t you call? Why didn’t you answer? You’ve had me worried.”
“Justin the last time we talked you blamed me for everything. I’m just supposed to forget about it and act like you didn’t hurt me? It’s not that easy.”
“We could have at least talked about it.”
“Funny…every time we try to talk, we end up screaming at each other.”
“We do not fight all of the time, Madeleine.” Justin noticed the growing anger in the tone of his voice, and took a deep breath. “Maddie, we don’t always fight, baby. We don’t.”
“Justin…so much has happened between us and I don’t know how strong we really are. I am not sure if we really can make it.”
“Madeleine, listen to me. We’ll make it baby…I need you. More than anything. You know that, don’t you?” Silence. “Maddie? Jesus! Don’t even sit there and tell me that you don’t know that I need you and love you. Don’t even fucking go there.”
“You know what, Justin? I don’t appreciate the way you talk to me. The way that you assume that I will just know how you feel or what you mean at any given point in time. And I sure as hell don’t appreciate the language that you use. It’s not healthy for me and it’s certainly not healthy for our children. Goodbye.”
Had he just heard her right? Children? More than just Faith? “Madeleine, don’t hang up…” His voice was met by the sound of the dial tone. “Shit.”

“Lance? LANCE!!” Justin pounded on Lance’s door until he heard the locks began to turn. A sleepy Lance slowly opened the door and stared him down.
“Justin? What the hell do you want at two in the morning? This better be good.”
“Oh it is.” Justin pushed the door open and barreled into the room, throwing himself onto the unoccupied bed. Lance turned a light on and stood in the middle of the room, waiting.
“Okay…any time now. I would really like to go back to sleep.”
“Madeleine is pregnant.”
“What?”
“Yeah. Pregnant. Again. My God I must be talented.”
“I’ll say. Two for two. How far along?”
“I don’t know. We didn’t get to talk that long before she hung up on me.” He shrugged his shoulders sheepishly and rested his head in his hands.
“Justin, man, you really need to start paying more attention to what you say to her. I mean—sometimes without even meaning to, your words become almost cruel.”
“Lance, she told me that she’s not sure that she knows that I love her.” He looked up at his best friend, with tears in his eyes.
“Justin…wow. Do you tell her?”
“Yes. I tell her. And I mean it. But she says she’s not sure sometimes how I feel. How can that be? How can I show her and rest assured that she knows?”
“I don’t know, man. I really don’t know. I’ve never been in a situation like that before. And besides, I’m sure she’s at fault for many things, too. I’m sure it’s not only you.”
“I know. We both need to work out a few things. We’re older now. We shouldn’t have to fight like this.”
“Go see her.”
“We have a show tomorrow. I can’t.”
“So leave after the show. We have two days off after that. Go see her. Get your ass in Atlanta and show her that you love her…that you want this baby and that you want her and Faith.” Justin smiled for the first time since he had found the news out.
“Okay.”

“Justin? What are you doing here—“ Justin burst open the door and grabbed Madeleine, pulling her close to him and kissing her. He didn’t pull away for several moments, and when he did, Madeleine’s heart softened as she saw the tears pooling in his eyes.
“Justin, baby…”
“Madeleine…I am so sorry for everything I have ever done to you. For every cruel word I have ever said, anything that I have ever done to hurt you. You and my children are my world, my everything. Please forgive me.” Madeleine just nodded and pulled him tighter. His hand snaked down to her tummy and he quietly felt it.
“Our baby is in there, Maddie. Ours. We did that. Our love did that.” She nodded her head and smiled.
“Maddie…no more false promises. Okay? I’m here. I’ll do whatever it takes. I love you.”