Part Three

    Bailey was quiet when James said his finaly goodbyes to his Pops and then shut the door behind him. After Lance gave Bailey the news, she didn't know what to see. And when she opened her mouth to say something, the nurse interrupted to tell them visiting hours were over.
    Lance had simply smiled and asked if he would see her tomorrow, but she told him that she had lab tomorrow and couldn't go, but would be back the next day.
    Now, she walked down the hall with James, neither saying anything at first, until Bailey broke the silence. "You were awfully quiet in there," she said as he opened the door for her.
    "I didn't want to intefere," he said as he followed her out. "You two were in a zone."
    She nodded. "Thank you," she said and started to walk but paused when he stayed at the foot of the stairs. "Something wrong?"
    "What? Oh, nah, I'm just waiting for Gina to pick me up."
    "Oh...okay," she said softly and then smiled. "Well....I'll see ya."     She paused and turned toward him. "Yeah?"
    He sighed and then sat down on the steps and the patted the steps. "Sit down and I'll tell you." When she hesitated he gave her a look. "Don't tell me you don't want to know, cuz I know you do."
    She nodded in agreement and sat down next to him. "What is he dying from?"
    "About five years ago," he started. "Pops had a stroke...and paralized his whole left side."
    "Oh my god," she gasped as she put a hand to her mouth. "That put him in a wheelchair?"
    He nodded. "Yeah, and he had another one a little later after my grandmother died and well....it damaged him pretty bad."
    "But...I mean he seems so healthy and...."
    "I know he does," he said. "He can talk well, even though he can't feel the left side of his face....his body is just wearing down....just a matter of time."
    She wiped away a tear and then turned to him. He was looking at his feet an had a hard expression on his face. She knew that it was hard on him. "You're really close, aren't you?"
    He looked at her. "Yeah....my mom left me and my dad when I was little and my dad died when I was seventeen....so he's all I have left."
    "God," she whispered. "He has watched so many people he loves die."
    "I know," he choked. "He has lived a great life, Bai....and he's going to enjoy telling you."
    Bailey smiled softly at the use of her nickname. "I like that better than Miss Winters, by the way."
    He looked at her and his eyes crinkled at the corners as he smiled. "Sorry, that must have slipped out," he teased.
    "Uh-huh," she said and then patted his back before she stood up. "I have to run....want me to take you home? Or do you think Gina will show?"
    He looked at his watch and cursed. She was only five minutes late, but he knew it was going to be ten, fifteen, and twenty minutes later she'd finally show up. He didn't feel like waiting. "Sure, that would be great....Gina is probably swamped with work or something."
    "What does she do?" she asked as they walked to her car.
    "Lawyer."
    "Ha! Figures!" she said as she unlocked her car with the remote.
    "Knock it off, Winters," he mumbled as he opened the door.
    "Damn, back to that already?" she asked and then turned on the car.
    "I'll use the nickname when you deserve it," he told her as he started fiddling with the radio.
    "Hey," she said as she swapped his hand away. "This is MY car....I get control of the music."
    "I refuse to listen to whatever that group is called," he grumbled.
    "The Kryptonics, and why not? They're good."
    "Whatever," he mumbled and then looked out the window.
    She just laughed and to make him even more irritated turned up the volume as her favorite group blared through the car. "Can you hear it okay?"     "It's simple," he said. "Something small till I settle down with Gina."
    She nodded. "So ya'll are engaged?"
    "Not yet," he said. He didn't bother to tell her that even though she was pressuring him to propose, he was still hesitant about it. Something was pulling him away from her and it was just now getting stronger. "Well, thanks for the lift."
    "Sure...and James?"
    He opened the door, but turned to her. "Yeah?"
    "I'm sorry about Pops," she said softly. "He's a great guy to have as a grandfather and I know it'll be hard for you...I just want to let you know that despite our differences, I hope we can be friends....and I just wanted to thank you for allowing me be a part of your Pops' life."
    He smiled softly. "Vous avez un coeur aimable, Bai," he whispered in French and the tucked her chin playfully with his fingers before closing the car door and trotting to his house.
    Her heart ached at as she watched him go up to his house. "You have a kind heart too, James....must run in the Bass family."

    Bailey opened the door to her grandmother's house a few minutes after she dropped off James. The smell of cookies tickled at her nose and she smiled. Her grandmother always had something baking it seemed like.
    She dropped her handbag on the couch and walked to the kitchen to see her grandmother pulling out a tray of fresh baked chocolate chip cookies. "Hi, Gram," Bailey said with a smile.
    Margaret Smith turned around smiled at her granddaughter. "Bai, you're home....I just pulled out some cookies."
    "So I see," she said as she sat up on one of the barstools. "Smells good."
    "I'm glad," she said.
    Bailey smiled in admiration of her grandmother. Margaret was seventy-three, but she looked ten years younger. She was in great shape and even at this age she gets up everymorning and walks a mile. In her spare time, she wrote. She was a wonderful writer, she wrote Bailey several poems which she loved. She had published a couple of her novels in her younger days, but now she kept it simple.
    She always stood up straight and never hunched over. Her gray hair was was beautiful and she always had it back in a tight bun and that only showed off her regal cheekbones. Bailey loved her with all her heart. This woman took care of her when she lost her parents. She was her angel. And she would hope that one day she would be just like her.
    "So how was your day," Margaret said with a smile as she put another batch in the oven.
    "It was good," she said as she took a cookie from the tray and took her first bite. "Mmm, that's good."
    "Did you go back to the home?" she asked as she started to clean the kitchen counters.
    "Yes, I did," she said as she walked to the fridge and pulled out the milk. "I really like him--such a sweet man."
    "You're getting attatched to him," she pointed out. "I can tell."
    She let out a laugh. "Yes, I am. Didn't hit it off with the grandson, but today we acted civil to each other."
    "Oh really?" she asked. "How old?"
    "I dunno, looks to be around twenty-four, twenty-five.....Gram, I know that look and it's not what you think."
    She shrugged. "Okay...go on."
    Bailey eyed her. "Well, I actually found out something interesting today."
    "What's that?"
    "Turns out he was famous back in the day," she said as she poured the milk in a glass. "You might have known them."
    "Was he in a group?" Margaret asked as she turned on the faucet and began to wash the dishes.
    She nodded. "Yeah, like a boyband....he was in a group called NSYNC."
    The plastic bowl in her fingers slipped from her grip and it clattered in the sink. "Oh...I'm so clumsy."
    "Gram, are you okay?" Bailey asked.
    "Yeah," she sighed. "Just clumsy.....you uh...you caught me off guard."
    Bailey grinned. "So you've heard of them?"
    She smiled and then turned off the water and faced her granddaughter. "Yes, I was a fan."
    Bailey smiled. "That is so fun...what were they like?"
    Margaret smiled shyly. "They were quite wonderful. Um..who uh....I mean which one are you interviewing."
    "Lance Bass," she said. "Was he your favorite?"
    Margaret chuckled. "No, although Lance was quite a catch. What...I mean what has he told you?"
    Bailey laughed. "You must have been a huge fan."
    She let out a shaky laugh. "Yes, you can say that."
    "Well, he's just told me about when he first met the guys...lemme see if I can remember their names..."
    "Joey, Justin, Chris, and....and JC," Margaret said for her.
    Bailey looked at her in shock and then smiled. "Wow, you know them all right."
    Margaret nodded. "So...are they still around?"
    Bailey's smile faded and then shook her head. "No...they are all gone except for one."
    "Lance is the only one left?" she asked, her voice cracked with emotion.
    "No..No, I mean besides Lance there is one left," Bailey said quickly. "JC is alive."
    Margaret's heart leapt in her throat and she let out a sigh of relief. "Oh," she said quietly.
    Bailey eyed her grandmother. "I take it JC was your favorite."
    Margaret cleared her throat. "He was...He was quite remarkable."
    "Did you ever meet them?"
    Margaret looked at the floor. "Not all of them, just JC."
    "Really?? Gram, you didn't have like a....thing with JC did you?"
    "No, no....he just...I mean I just met him one night in New York....he uh, he saved my life I guess you could say."
    "Wow," Bailey said amazed. "Saved your life how?"
    Margaret shook her head. "That's not important...It was a long time ago."
    "But Gram..."
    "I have to get ready for bridge," Margaret said and gave her a stern look to let her know she wanted the subject dropped.
    She sighed. "Okay...do you want to come to the home and meet him sometime?"
    Margaret gave her a weak smile. "Maybe...I don't know though."
    "Okay, Gram...I won't pressure you," she said and then kissed her cheek. "I love you."
    "I love you, too," she said with a warm smile and then walked off.
    Bailey sighed as she watched her grandmother walk away. This JC meant something to her, she thought. But what? "I'm sure as hell gonna find out," she said outloud and then picked up another cookie and bit into it.

    Margaret closed the door behind her and leaned against it as she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She still couldn't believe it, she thought as she placed her hands over her face. "Bai, is interviewing Lance Bass," she said to herself and then almost laughed. "I am over seventy and acting like I'm 22 again."
    She walked into her bathroom and picked up her hand cream and rubbed the soothing cream onto her delicate hands. She looked at herself and her mind started to wander as she continued to rub her hands together. That night....that scary night haunted her for the first time in years....

    "Screw you!" Margaret said to her NOW ex boyfriend as she pushed him off of her and got out of the car.
    "Margaret," Dameon said angrily. "Get back in the car, it's not safe."
    "I refuse to get back in that car," she said as she walked down the streets of New York City with her head held high.
    "Maggie, please," he begged. "Let me take you back to the hotel."
    "Hell no," she said as she twirled towards her. "I don't want to see you again, okay? Just leave me alone."
    "You're being childish," he said. "So typical by the way."
    "Fuck off," she said angrily and then flicked him off. "How dare you force yourself on me, I told you I wasn't ready."
    "Stop being a prude and get in the car."
    "I said...FUCK OFF!!"
    "FINE, but if you get mugged don't blame me," he said and then floored the eccelator and his tires squealed against the conceret.
    "Jerk," she mumbled as she contintued to walk. She pulled her coat over her tightly and continued to walk down the streets. She was scared, but she refuse to show it. The hotel was only a few blocks away, she thought. "I'll be fine."
    She kept walking and smiled when she saw the hotel come into view. All she wanted to do was get in her pajamas and fall right asleep. She was dead tired and she just wanted this day to be over.
    She jumped a curve and trotted across the street and then made her way down the last stretch to the hotel. She walked by an alley and didn't see the man coming up behind her in the shadows, until it was too late.
    She gasped when two arms came around her...one around her waist and the other around her mouth. Her scream muffled against his had, but she froze when she felt the cold blade against her neck. "Not a word," the man's hoarsed voice said.
    The smell of liquor and smoke flooded her and she wanted to puke right here. She kicked and screamed while he pulled her into the alley and winced in pain when he slammed her against the side of a hard building. "Not one word bitch," he said as he kept one hand clasped over her mouth and the other one yanked off her purse. "Why thank you," he said when he found her wallet full of bills. "That will come in use...but first," he said as he pressed his big body against hers. "I want something else."
    Her eyes widened in fear and she bit hard against his hand. The man yelled and pulled his hand away long enough for her to yell for help. He quickly clasped his hands over her mouth. "SHUT UP...oh that's gonna cost you," he said. "I was going to go easy on you, but now...oh no, now you're gonna pay."
    She flinched when his hand got on her blouse and she started to cry when he ripped her blouse apart. Just when he was about to rip the skirt, his body yanked away from her. She saw a large black man pressing him against the other wall and she sank to her knees as the fear was still raw. "Mam," she heard someone say.
    She looked up and saw the most beautiful blue eyes looking down on her. She couldn't focus on anything else...just those eyes. "I...I..."
    "It's okay," he said softly and then reached out to cover herself, but she flinched at his touch. "Sorry...it's okay, i'm not going to hurt you."
    She felt herself start to fade. "Help...help me," she managed to say and the world went black....

    Margaret jumped at the sound of her phone ringing and she placed a hand on her heart. She was no longer in the alley, but back home....many years later. She let out a breath as she walked to the phone. "Hello?"
    "Maggie, you almost ready?"
    "Yeah," she said to her friend. "Come and get me I'm ready."
    She then hung up the phone and sat down on her bed and managed a smile. If it wasn't for JC...she never would have survived that night.

    "And you better be here this time," Gina said angrily as she pulled her silver mustange convertable in front of the nursing home.
    "And when did you pull up last time?" James asked again for the third time.
    She flipped her hair. "I was only twenty minutes late," she said with a sigh.
    "Right...and I knew you would be late because of work," he pointed out.
    "You know I can't help that, baby," she said softly.
    "Yeah, I realize that Gina," he sighed. "That's why I accepted Bai's offer to take me home."
    "Oh, so now she has a little nickname," Gina said sarcastically. "How sweet."
    Before he could say anything, Bailey pulled up in her red jeep and parked it a few feet away from them. "Why speak of the devil," Gina said with a roll of her eyes.
    "I'm going," he said harshly and started to get out of the car.
    "Baby, wait," she said quickly as she touched her arm and pulled him around. "I'm sorry, I just...I'm just scared of loosing you to someone like her."
    James looked over at Bailey who was in the middle of grabbing her bag from the car. "Gina, I love you," he said even though his eyes were still on Bailey. He turned to her finally and smiled. "You don't have to worry, okay."
    She smiled softly and as soon as she saw Bailey looking at them, she leaned in and captured his lips softly. 'This'll show her that he is off limits,' she thought to herself as she deepened the kiss.
    Bailey rolled her eyes at the couple, pushing away that slight tug of jealousy running through her. "Don't be stupid," she said to herself when she watched James pull away from her and get out of the car. She could never compete with a girl like Gina.
    James waved at Gina as she drove off and then trotted up to Bailey who had her arms crossed across her chest. "Good day, Miss Winters."
    "Mr. Bass," she said with a smirk. "Thanks for displaying that lovely display of PDA, I almost lost my lunch."
    "No one made you look," he teased as he yanked on her ponytail while walking by her.
    "OW!" she yelped and then punched him on the arm.
    James laughed as he flinched. "My my, aren't we jealous," he said as he opened the door for her.
    "Please," she sighed as she sniffed and tilted her chin up while she walked into the building. "I'm hardly jealous of that sillicone, self absorbed, bimbo."
    "Watch it, Winters," James warned.
    "Yeah, yeah, whatever," she said as she walked down the hallway.
    James stopped her by pulling at her arm. "What about you?"
    "What about me?"
    "Why don't you have a boyfriend?" James asked.
    "Who said I didn't," she said with her brows raised in questioning.
    "Um....well, I just asumed that...."
    "That what?" she asked. "That a girl like me couldn't have a boyfriend?"
    He sighed. "Come on, Bai, I didn't mean that obviously or I wouldn't have asked." He stuffed his hands in his pockets. "So, do you have one?"
    "I'm seeing someone," she finally said. "Nothing serious."
    He nodded. "Okay, then."
    She eyed him. "Why are you asking?"
    He rolled his eyes. "Just curious, Winters," he said and then walked toward his grandfather's room.
    Bailey rolled her eyes as she followed him in the room and watched him lean over and kiss Lance on the cheek. Lance smiled when he saw her. "Bai! Good to see you!"
    "Hey Lance," she said with a smile as she sat in her designated chair. "Did you miss me yesterday?"
    He chuckled. "It was hard...the nurses had to give me a lot of drugs."
    "Pops!" James laughed.
    "Just joking," he said and then smiled. "What? No McD's this time?"
    She shook her head wiht a laugh. "Nah, not this time, don't want to overdue it. But maybe one day I can come during the morning visiting hours and bring you breakfast."
    His eyes widened. "Hun, I'd love you forever."
    She laughed as she pulled out the recorder. "Ready?"
    He clapped his old wrinkled hands and rubbed them together. "Ready. What should I talk about next?"
    She smiled. "How bout the first time you met Heather," she sighed. "Was it love at first sight?"
    He let out a laugh. "Hardly....actually we pulled a James and Bailey head on collision."
    James laughed. "Really Pops? Never told me that?"
    "Well, it wasn't quite the same...it was worse..."

    Heather casually pulled her hair up in a pony tail as she waited in line for her food. Her eyes roamed the room of the Timberlake household and to find that she hardly knew anyone here. The only faces she knew were the faces of her family, and the Timberlakes.
    Heather made eye contact with her brother Josh and he smiled and waved at her. She smiled and waved back, before she moved up to the buffet line. She was so proud of him, she thought as she watched him talk to Lou. He had already accomplish so much and now he was in a group.
    The Timberlakes decided to have a get together to send off the future sucessful NSYNC to Europe. She was going to miss her brother, but she knew it was what he wanted and so she was happy for him. Even if NSYNC wasn't sucessful, she would still be proud.
    She smiled at her brother one more time, before picking up a plate and moving down the line. She plopped on a tangle full of spagetti one of the families had provided. The Fatones or something like that, she remembered. She drenched the noodles with the Itallian sauce and grabbed a slice of garlic bread, before making her way to the crowd.
    There were tables outside by the pool, so she slowly made her way, weaving in and out of the crowd. She was almost there, when her shoe got caught on the edge of the rug, causing her to trip. She let out a yelp and she fell forward and ran against something tall and hard. Her plate slipped from her hands and spagetti sauce and noodles plastered over the man's starch white shirt.
    Heather stood there in shock as she pulled the plate away from the man's shirt. "Oh my gosh," she said softly and then looked up to see a pair of green eyes looking down on her. "I...I am so sorry."
    Lance shook his head and chuckled. "No...it's fine."
    "No, it's not," she said as she started to wipe his shirt with her napkin.
    "Please, it's fine," he said and then grabbed her wrist. "Only gonna spread it if you do that," he laughed.
    "Oh! I..here, let me get something to..."
    "Really, it's fine," he said. "I have some extra clothes upstairs and...."
    "What the hell happened?" JC asked as he trotted up to them.
    "Josh, I..I ran into him, it was an accident," she said shakily.
    Josh laughed and then patted Lance's back. "Sorry man...my sister is clumsy."
    "HEY!" Heather explained and slapped her brother on his arm.
    "Well, you are."
    "Sister?" Lance repeated and then looked at her. "So you're Heather."
    Her eyes widened. "Yeah, how did you..."
    "JC told me," he said with a smile.
    "The man is great with names," JC said. "Don't know how he does it."
    Lance just shrugged. "Um..well, I'm going to go and change...nice meeting you, Heather."
    "Oh..right," she let out a laugh. "Sorry again, I..."
    "Really, Heather..it's fine," he said and then leaned closer. "Tell you the truth I don't like this shirt anyway."
    She laughed and then he winked at her before he walked away.
    Lance made his way to the crowd, ignoring the snickers that Joey and Chris were making and then turned around when he got to the edge of the crowd. He leaned up on his toes, until he saw her again. She was laughing with JC and he felt this slight tug at his heart. "Just get it out of your head now, Bass," he mumbled and then sighed and then walked up the stairs. 'That's your bandmates sister,' he told himself forcefully. "Which means off limits," he said aloud and then walked into the guestbedroom and closed the door behind him.

    Bailey's laughter filled the room. "Bless her heart, she must have been so embarrassed!"
    He laughed. "She was as red as your shirt," he said as he pointed to her red tank top. "I will never forget the look on her face."
    She smiled. "So, you felt something for her the moment you laid eyes on her."
    He sighed. "There was something about her that pulled at me. At the time, I let it pass because I was so young to begin with and let's not forget that I had a girlfriend at the time."
    "Really? What was her name."
    "Danielle," he said. "We didn't last long after NSYNC got kicked off. She was an actress, so she was just as busy."
    "An actress? Lance you must have been a stud back in your early years," she laughed.
    James was the one to laugh at. "Stud is puting it lightly," he said. "From what Pops had told me...he could have had any girl with a crook of his finger."
    Lance chuckled. "You're right I could...but I wanted only one."
    "And you couldn't have her," she said softly.
    He nodded. "At first yeah....I was so wrapped up in staying away from her, we kind of grew distant. I mean, we were friends but she had a serious boyfriend all during high school and college. And when we did see each other, it was a simple hug and a 'how are you' kind of thing."
    "I see," she nodded.
    "But we started actually getting close when I was twenty-one," he said. "We talked on the computer a lot...that's how it started. She wanted some advice about Brad...that was her boyfriend at the time."
    "On the computer?"
    He nodded. "Yeah, back then ppl could talk on the computer...we didn't have those video things like ya'll do now....we had to type back and forth."
    "Ohhh," she said. "I see, so that's how you communicated."
    "Yeah, at first...that's how we got closer. And then she would call me on the phone just to talk and vice versa. She was a really sweet person."
    "I'm sure she was. So, when did the sparks fly?"
    Lance chuckled. "September 23 2001."
    Her eyes widened. "You remember the date?"
    "Sure do," he grinned. "The night of the VMA's."
    "VMA's?"
    "Video Music Awards," he said. "On MTV...ya'll still have that right?"
    "Oh, sure we do, it's my favorite station."
    "Well....Heather was my date."
    "And what did JC have to say about this?"
    He shrugged. "He didn't care, he got the impression that we were just friends...but then again so did my wife and I."
    "So what happened?"
    He opened his mouth to speak, but a knock on the door interrupted him. "Sorry, Bai," he said when the nurse came in to announce the ending of visiting hours. "I'll tell ya tomorrow."

Part Four