Her hand shook as she took the test in her hands, amazed that her fate could be sealed by one test. She read the directions twice before finally deciding to look at it and see what it said. She dropped it onto the floor like it was on fire when she saw that mocking little plus sign in the window of the test. She sighed and dropped it into her purse and wondered how she was going to tell him, he was her boss after all. Would he even believer her? She didn’t know, but she did know that she was late picking up his dry cleaning and pregnant or not she still had work to do.

     He sat at the piano, his long fingers trying to make something that was pleasing to his ear but coming up empty. He dropped his head on the cool keys with a loud clang that made him smile a little. He looked around him wondering where all the people that were usually creating such a buzz around him might be. His best friend wasn’t even around annoying people like usual, and her, she was always trailing along behind him. He was started to hate it less and less, liking her company more. But she had been a little weird for a little over a month now, ever since she got drunk at a party he was throwing and he let her stay with him. So they had sex once or maybe three times, but it was just sex and there was no reason for her to be avoiding him. He guessed he had the morning to himself and it wasn’t something he was going to complain about. He decided to go take a walk and enjoy his next few quiet hours, before someone remembered they were supposed to be bothering him.

     As he was walking out, he ran into her, literally. His clothes that she had been carrying in encased in protective plastic went flying on the ground and so did the contents of her purse. She gasped, watching that little white stick sail to the ground among all of her other things. She prayed he wouldn’t notice it or that he would think it was a tampon, not that she would need those anytime soon. His eyes locked on hers the moment she gasped and followed her gaze to her things hitting the ground. It was his fault he decided, so he bent down to pick up the things, until she stopped him.

“I’m so sorry A. I got this stuff. I didn’t see you there.”
“Oh no Mr. Timberlake, I should’ve been paying attention to where I was going. I will pick this up.” She bent down to gather things before he could. She couldn’t find that test though; it wasn’t where she saw it fall. She looked over to him and bit her lip when she saw it was in his hand.
“A?” He looked over at her and she swallowed hard.
“Uh. . .I. . .uh..” Her voice was thick and shaky.
“Congrats A! I am so happy for you and. . . .” He smiled at her and waited for her to fill in the name of the man who she was having a baby with.
“You.” She whispered, her eyes on the ground.

     He didn’t get it at first, his forehead wrinkling with confusion. She glanced up at him for a moment and silently begged for him to understand so she wouldn’t have to say it again. He slipped a hand around her wrist and pulled her closer to him. She looked up at him, her lips pressed into a thin line but otherwise betraying no emotion. He slipped his other hand through her long curly hair and pressed a kiss to her temple.

“Ayelet…did you say me?” He whispered, his lips still touching her skin.
She nodded before she answered. “Yes, I just found out this morning.”

He slid a hand under her shirt and rubbed it across her belly where his baby was now growing inside. She smiled and pressed against him lightly.

“There’s nothing for you to feel yet.” She whispered.
“No, but he’s in there and I want him to know I am here and I love him.”
“Him?” She raised an eyebrow.
“Or Her.” He amended, smiling up at her.
“Justin, let’s go inside and talk, k?”

     He nodded and walked inside the house with her trailing behind him carrying all of his clothes. He noticed and turned around, taking everything out of her hands and setting it on a chair next to the door.

“You’re not going to be carrying anything anymore Ayelet, except my baby. You don’t have to work anymore either. We will make Trace do everything, it will be kind of fun to see him do things besides drink and smoke pot.” He nodded in her direction and smiled down at her tiny frame.
“Justin, we can’t make him do everything, plus I would really like to stay employed right now. There is no reason I can’t be doing things.”
Justin shook his head and frowned. “A, you are carrying my baby and you will do the least and have the best care. I am not some loser in an alley who will make you work until you have the baby.”

     She sighed and sat back in the chair she had chosen to sit in. She didn’t know what she wanted, if she wanted to argue with Justin or just do whatever he said to make it easier. And were they going to become something or raise this baby as friends? She didn’t even know if he had thought about being with her, but ever since that night when she had felt his hands on her skin and his body on hers she had been hoping he wanted to take their relationship past a professional level.

“Justin. . . What are we going to tell people?”
“What do you mean? We tell people that you’re having my baby. Let’s start with my mom. This is going to be great!”
     Justin seemed so confident that everyone would be happy with this news and it was infectious, Ayelet found that she was the happiest about it that she’d felt all day.
     Trace busted in the door while they were busy telling Lynn the news. She was so excited to be having a grandchild that she didn’t even care that it was with someone who Justin had never had a relationship with.
     True, Ayelet had been around longer than most of Justin’s girlfriends and they had spent the past 4 years together while she was working for him. While Justin was on the phone, Ayelet took it upon herself to inform Trace of the situation, perhaps he would’ve wanted to hear it from Justin but her and Trace had been around each other for just as long as her and Justin.

“So, what’s this big news that you guys have? J texted me about some news and to get my short ass over here.” Trace said, stretching in the doorway.
“Trace, hey! Justin’s on the phone so why don’t we just go talk in the other room?” She walked into the other room and Trace followed her cautiously, thinking maybe this was a joke or something.
“Well?”
“I am pregnant.” She shrugged lightly.
“Oh that’s great A. Congrats. Whose mini-me you going to be poppin out?” He laughed.
“Um, Justin’s.”
“Yeah right, real funny Ayelet. No seriously, you hate him, who is the dad? We don’t need to take you on Maury do we? I didn’t figure you for the 10 baby daddy type but it’s always the quiet ones…” He was rambling now.
“No really Trace. It’s Justin’s.”

     Trace felt his mouth drop open in shock. Justin had openly hated this girl for about the past 3 and ½ years, it wasn’t until about 4 months ago he decided maybe she wasn’t as bad as he imagined.

“Justin’s?”
“Yeah. . . I know, it shocked me too.”
“He’s gonna make you take DNA test, right? I mean he has a lot of money and you could be making this up.”

     Now it was her turn to feel her mouth drop in shock, she couldn’t believe he’d said that.

“Make that up? I expected this from some people but not from you, I thought we were closer than that.”
“I’m just saying, you of all people know what he has and what a catch he would be.”
“Well no, he isn’t making me take a test; he seems to believe that when we had sex we made a child. That’s actually exactly what happened, I don’t need you to believe me but I would like you to. I would like to think we are friends, you know?”

     The tears welled up in her eyes but she didn’t let them fall, she turned on her heel and left him standing there alone, still looking shocked.

     Ayelet paced the house in anger, wondering how he could leave her like this. “Our little Lila...” She mocked, looking out the window for a sign of headlights. She had called him 20 minutes ago to let him know that she was in labor. In labor and he acted like he was wrapping something up, yeah probably his dick before he slipped it someone else. Nobody could frustrate her as much as him.
    

     She sat down on the steps as a contraction ripped through her, taking a deep breath and rubbing circles on her stomach. The door clicked open and she finally relaxed, glad that he was home to take her to the hospital. Then she heard footsteps and she realized that they weren’t Justin’s and the anger consumed her again.

     Trace rounded the corner with a concerned look on his face and she tried to manage a smile for him.

“Hey puddin.” He whispered as he sat next to her on the stairs.
“Where is he Trace? Don’t you dare lie to me.” She spat.
“He didn't say. He will be at the hospital though, he promised.”
“His promises mean nothing to me. He promised he would be here for me, he promised he loved me, promised he wasn’t seeing anyone else.” She rolled her eyes at Trace and let out a sigh.
“I know, I know. Listen; let’s get you to the hospital and get Lila into the world ok? Stay calm and relaxed for her, ok?”

     She took another deep breath and raised herself from the stairs with Trace’s help. He grabbed her bag from the floor and rushed it out to the car before coming back inside to help her and lock everything up. Ayelet was being surprisingly quiet the ride there, her breaths sometimes coming in sharp hisses, which let Trace know she was having another contraction. He slipped one hand into hers and smiled in her direction.

“Squeeze when it hurts.”
“Trace, I don’t want to hurt you.”
“Don’t argue with me, just squeeze when it hurts."

     She nodded and squeezed on his hand, Trace feeling like maybe he had no bones left in it when she finally let up, but he said nothing about it. They were quick to arrive to the hospital, luckily it was later in the night and the traffic wasn’t anything too terrible. The hospital staff was very quick to admit Ayelet and get a monitor strapped on her. All of her vital signs looked great, Lila’s too.

     Trace waited at the door until he was given the all clear, meaning Ayelet’s entire bottom half wasn’t exposed anymore. They sat around cracking jokes about nurses and doctors in between contractions, at which time Trace would take her hand again and calm her enough to make it through them. It was getting close to delivery time and Justin was no where to be found, he hadn’t called or texted either one of the two and hadn’t checked in with the hospital. Ayelet wasn’t even thinking of him then though, she was saving her energy for the road to come. It wasn’t going to be easy to get Lila out and she knew it. She had read 'What to Expect When You're Expecting'' and had even forced both Trace and Justin to watch numerous birthing videos. They both informed her that was not the way they ever wanted to see that end of a woman.

     Her doctor came in to prep her for delivery and let her know he would be back in about 20 minutes and had a feeling it would be time to push. She glanced at Trace and realized then that Justin wasn’t coming. He didn’t care about her or their daughter, didn’t care about anyone but himself. She started to cry but then held the tears back when a much stronger contraction hit her suddenly.

     Trace left the room to get changed into scrubs, now aware he was going to have to be the one to be there for this moment. Anger flooded him, how could his best friend act like this? This experience was one that Justin and Ayelet should have together, not Ayelet and Trace. He made up his mind then to do the best he could for her, she didn’t ask for Justin to abandon her, and neither did Lila.

     When he came back in the room, the doctor was seated at the bottom of the table and a sheet was covering her lap. Sweat was dripping down her face and her breathing was ragged. Trace took his place at her upper half and wiped the sweat and stray hairs from her face and took her hand again. He continued with the encouraging words, often just repeating what the doctor was telling her and she kept smiling the same sad smile to him. His heart broke for her; nothing could feel worse than this.

     The doctor told her it would be only two or three more good pushes and she grit her teeth and began the final few. By this time, Trace’s hand felt like it was falling off but he didn’t let go. He just kept telling her how amazing she was doing and how they were about to see Lila. Finally she heard a baby’s cry and she knew she’d done it. Ayelet was beyond exhausted but so happy to hear her little girl for the first time. They laid the tiny girl on her chest, not yet cleaned off and wrapped in a blanket, and even then Ayelet loved her from the moment she saw her. She knew this little one was going to be her life.

     Trace softly touched Lila’s little fuzzy head, looking to Ayelet amazed that she had brought another life into the world. Then, the staff came and took the baby again, to get all the measurements and get her cleaned up. Ayelet finally sat back and relaxed for the first time since this had started. Her body was sore and tired but she was happy to have her daughter.

“Trace…” She whispered, looking up to see him.
“Yeah, puddin?” Ayelet smiled at his apparent new nickname for her.
“Thanks. For being here more than he is, even if she isn’t yours.”
“Hey, don’t talk like that. I got you your crazy food when he was on tour; I rubbed your feet and painted your toenails when you couldn’t see them anymore. I told you if your shoes matched except those times I thought it would be funny for you to go out when they didn't. From what I can tell, she’s pretty much mine too.” He grinned to Ayelet and then over to the hospital crib that Lila was now sleeping in.
“Yeah, she pretty much is. I guess that means you’ll take the Godfather title now, right?”
“Yes, and because I am tired and so are you, I will spare you the horrible ‘offer I couldn’t refuse’ jokes.”

     Trace bent down and kissed her cheek, causing a small blush to creep into her cheeks. She calmed herself quickly and it’s a good thing because Justin opened the door to the room moments later. She looked him up and down and could tell he’d been home to shower and change before coming here. He was carrying presents and handed a blue Tiffany’s box to her and a box she didn’t recognize to Trace, while still holding a tiny pink box Ayelet assumed was for Lila.

     She opened the box and inside was a small charm with tiny platinum A, J, and L intertwined on a short chain. She rolled her eyes where nobody could see and gave Justin a smile. She didn’t want to fight with him now, but she would definitely remember to mention all of this later, he missed the birth of their daughter and no charm with their initials was going to change that.

     Justin walked over to the sleeping Lila and picked her up in his arms. He was talking to her quietly so nobody could hear him as he explained about the present. The he opened the box and it was a little silver ring with a white ribbon attached. The ribbon would keep it on her hand, as he proved by slipping it on her tiny finger and looping the ribbon on her wrist. She nestled against him, seeking warmth from his body and being comfortable in his arms.

“A, she’s beautiful.”
“Yeah, I know.” Ayelet answered with her voice flat and devoid of emotion.
“I want to see her with her eyes open.” He whispered, nudging the girl’s face with a finger.

     Lila sleepily opened her eyes, now a mottled blue that were certain to lighten and become crystal clear like her father’s. Her bottom lip pouted out and Justin could see a cry was going to follow soon. He tried to soothe her, rocking gently, but that didn’t stop the cry. A high pitched wail escaped the tiny child and he looked completely bewildered.

“What do I do?”
“Figure it out, dad.” Trace grumbled.
“What?” Justin asked, turning to face Trace.
“She’s your daughter, so step up and figure it out.”
“Dude, what’s with the hostility?”
“You missed being here for Ayelet because you were too busy probably having sex and buying guilt presents and now it’s your turn, so figure out how to calm her.”
“Trace, I…” Ayelet tried to interrupt, hoping to save this fight for another time and place.
“Hush Ayelet, let big boy Trace keep running that mouth.” Justin warned.
“Justin, you’re acting like a child, give me Lila, I know how to fix this.” Ayelet said.
“Fine.” He handed Lila to Ayelet where she immediately began to calm their daughter.

     Justin was still staring at Trace and it seemed the two were circling each other like two animals sizing the other up. Ayelet shook her head, couldn’t believe they were going to act like this in the hospital where she gave birth mere moments ago. She hugged her daughter close and tried to relax. They had started to argue again, now each throwing up their hands, voices getting louder and louder.

“Why don’t you just say it? You don’t give a fuck about either of them.” Trace yelled.
“I’ll say it about the same time that you admit you are in love with MY girlfriend and Lila is MY daughter.” Justin yelled back, pointing at Ayelet and Lila.
“Yeah, right. YOUR girlfriend and daughter. When is the last time you came home to YOUR girlfriend instead of sending me in your place? She was in labor and you couldn’t keep it in your pants long enough to be here for the birth of YOUR daughter. But guess who was here Justin, guess who has been here the entire time, me.” He had stopped yelling and was now talking calmly and staring Justin in the eye.

     Ayelet watched in horror as Justin’s fist connected with Trace’s eye, causing Trace to go stumbling backwards. A gasp flew from her mouth about the same time as Trace followed up with a blow of his own and before she could do anything, both men were on the floor sending blow after blow to the other one. It was causing a commotion and Lila started to cry in fear. It was loud enough for a whole set of nurses to come and see what was going on.

“Oh no sir, not in this hospital.” A nurse said, picking up the phone in the room. “This woman just had a baby and you guys aren’t paying attention to mother or child. I’ll take care of this.”

     The nurse called hospital security and soon two men were pulling the pair apart from each other. Ayelet was trying to comfort Lila, giving her a pacifier and rocking her gently, speaking in calming voices while her father and Godfather were being taken away. They were now both banned from the place, probably for the entire time Ayelet and Lila would be there. Ayelet couldn’t believe how they had both acted, and now it was only her and Lila in the room, tears on both faces.

     The next morning, Lynn came to the hospital for a visit. She looked a little embarrassed for her son's behavior, most likely for Trace's too since she had always been like a mother to them both. She gushed over her grand-daughter for a good hour before Lila decided she was done with being a delightful child and started fussing. Lynn knew how to handle that though and soon enough she had the baby sleeping peacefully, leaving plenty of time for her and Ayelet to talk.

"So," Lynn opened. "I had a chat with my son this morning."
"I'm sure that was interesting."
"More than interesting actually, seems that he and his friend decided to act more like children than Lila."
Ayelet laughed. "Yeah, you should've seen it Lynn, two grown men fighting like 5 year olds in the summer when one got the only ice cream cone."
"Lovely visual dear."
"I can't figure out what their problem is. One minute, Trace is pissed and Justin wants to be friends and the next minute it's completely opposite and I'm too exhausted to deal with this."
"They'll work it out, they always act like this when both of them want the same girl. Never been settled by blows before, but they are grown men now."
"What are you talking about Lynn?"
"Nothing sweetie. I'm off to get my hair done, Paul is taking me out tonight. Take care and call me if you need anything, seeing as my son definitely can't bring it to you. I'll be around tomorrow afternoon to pick you and Lila up and take you home." She kissed Ayelet's cheek and smoothed a hand over Lila's head before she dashed out of the room and Ayelet was alone again.


     Lila grew with each passing day, seeming to shoot up like a little sunflower right before their eyes. Justin had been unsurprisingly distant, Trace seeming to fill his place for both girls. They had made up after the fight, and Trace was back to stepping in for Justin in almost every way. Ayelet, on the other hand, was spending less time fighting to fix things and more time venting about it to Trace. It was as if Ayelet actually giving birth to Lila had made Justin a different person. Different than the one he promised her he would be and she didn't know how to change that. All she knew was that her daughter had dark hair and the most amazing clear blue eyes, Justin’s eyes, which made for an almost too perfect combination. Sometimes when Lila would look up at her, she could see that rosebud mouth quiver in the beginnings of that signature pout of his. She had unintentionally given the world another Timberlake that was sure to break a few hearts.

“Trace, I don’t know what to do about him anymore.” Ayelet sighed, more for herself that for him.
“I keep telling you to just let him be and finally he will come around.” Trace murmured, cradling Lila against his chest.

     The baby wriggled against him but seemed to remain calm. Her mother took her from Trace and nuzzled her face into Lila’s soft baby skin. She often did this to drown outreality, which was that Justin would rather be anywhere but there and Trace was becoming more like a father day in and day out. Something about her child’s pink skin comforted her though, knowing she would need to be everything for this little girl kept her strong.

“I need to know when he will decide if he wants to be around you know, what if it’s too late? What if I should really be looking at other options for her, people that would actually want to be in her life?” She looked pointedly at Trace, hoping he would understand what she was referring to.

     He shook his head and sighed loudly. This was getting harder for him too, while Justin had asked him to be around for them he found himself getting more attached to the pair and knew that most definitely wasn’t part of Justin’s plan. If Justin had any idea what he was thinking he would probably punch Trace in the face again, even though that didn't go so well for either of them at the time. No, there was absolutely no way he was getting in the middle of this.

“Well, you know that he will come back to you. I told you that I’m just filling in until he’s ready for this. I can’t get involved any further than that.”
“Trace Ayala, you’re already more involved than that. I see the way you look at her, like you wish you were holding a girl with brown eyes instead of blue.”
“It can’t happen A, you know that. You’re just lonely anyway, as soon as he comes around you will forget all about me again and be glad you didn’t fuck around on him during all of this.”
“I’m not talking about fucking around as you so lovingly referred to it; I am talking about making a happy family for her. Something that Justin can’t apparently do at this time but you seem to be able to, he did send you in his place after all.”
“Yeah, in his place to look after Lila, not in his place to fuck his girl. I can’t do that to him and I can’t be a happy family for her without that, so like I said, it’s not going to happen. Sorry.”

     He left the room with heavy footsteps and Lila began to cry. Ayelet started to cry also, not sure of what she could do with what she had been given. She focused herself on the wriggling infant in her arms screaming because she missed who she assumed was her father. Ayelet comforted the two month old child and was finally able to quiet her.

“Lila, I know it’s bad. You're real dad has all but abandoned us and now Trace left us too. But I promise you I will take care of you darling.” She whispered.

     Justin chose that moment to walk in the house, Ayelet pacing, tears streaming down her cheeks and a just comforted child in her arms. He smiled and strolled over to greet the two of them.

“Afternoon lovelies. A, what’s wrong?” He asked, kissing her cheek and then the child’s.
“Where have you been Justin?” She asked, ignoring his question.
“I have meetings and things to do; I can’t just stay at home all day like Trace.” His voice was thick with contempt for his friend. “Where the fuck is he anyway?”
“He left, said if you weren’t going to do it then he wasn’t going to do it either." She lied, wanting to hear his answer. "So it’s me and Lila I guess.” She stroked the baby’s little cheek and watched her eyes fill with tears again. “Here, take your daughter, I’m going to take a shower.”
“A, I have things…” She had already passed Lila off to him before he could finish the sentence.

     He looked down at the child in his arms and sighed, watching her nose wrinkle up and waited for the wail to escape her. It wasn’t a long wait; Lila had surprisingly loud screams for such a tiny baby. He tried to comfort her, but had no idea what to do. He sat on the couch with the baby screaming her lungs out.

     Ayelet stood in the shower and let the thoughts run through her head; she had to get out of there. She didn’t have Justin and now she had alienated Trace, she was all alone. So she decided she would take her daughter and her things next time Justin was out of the house. She would go as far as she could and not tell him where she was.

     Justin came home to a quiet house, he couldn’t remember the last time he hadn’t heard a baby crying or Ayelet bitching at him for something, and he liked it. Finally, he thought, finally they are sleeping. He jogged up the stairs to take a shower, pausing at Lila’s nursery door. He cracked it open and was met with emptiness. The furniture was all there but the clothes, the toys, the bottles, the diapers, everything else was gone. All evidence of a child being there was gone.

     Justin began to feel worried, his brow creased with concern. He just always assumed that they would be there when he got home. He couldn’t process what was going on, so he went to look for her in their bedroom. What he saw there worried him more. The closet was thrown open, hangers all over the place. The suitcases she had moved in with were gone, along with everything of hers in the bathroom. He felt his breath coming in short gasps, he was starting to hyperventilate. He called her number, no answer. He tried again and again, each time met with her voicemail.

     Justin called Trace, explaining to him what was going on, and begged him to try to reach Ayelet. Trace said he had talked to her earlier in the day, and she said something was going to have to change. That she couldn’t deal with all of this anymore and she wasn’t going to make Lila deal with it either and that she’d hung up quickly after. Justin told him to get dressed, they were going first to her apartment and then to the airport to see if she had boarded a flight.

     Trace wasn’t able to reach her either, she hadn’t been at her apartment and no airports had any information about her leaving for anyplace. Justin went home in defeat, feeling like an asshole for how he’d treated her but being angry at her for giving him up. He hadn’t done anything too bad, right? God, he didn’t know. Trace went back to his house, vowing to call her all night long, he was sure she’d eventually answer for him.

     Ayelet paced the hotel room while Lila slept in the king size bed with a pillow on each side of her so she couldn’t roll off. Her phone wouldn’t stop ringing, first Justin and then Trace. Calling over and over and each time she let it go to voicemail, knowing that if she talked to either of them, she’d never actually leave. She had to leave though, she couldn’t spend her life living like this and she couldn’t make her daughter either. She refused to go back to Israel though, she didn't want to admit she'd been wrong about everything, she would just go far enough to be away from his influence and his charming smile that could make her take him back in minutes. She had boxes of her things all stacked in the hotel room, she had a flight to New York in the morning. It had cost her an extra hundred bucks to get the desk at the airport to say they wouldn't give Justin any information. She was going and she wasn’t ever going to look back.

     Ayelet had been pacing since she got off the phone, which was 3 days ago. It was a quarter til 4 and Lila was being extra difficult, changing her dress about ten times. Ayelet told her they had to leave or she wasn’t going to see her father and she immediately ran to her mom and put her coat on. They walked to the subway station and boarded the train heading towards the Garden. Ayelet was a bundle of nerves, wondering what to expect from him. Would he love their daughter, refuse to see them, she didn’t know.

“Mommy, let’s go.” Lila broke her from her thoughts, tugging on her coat sleeve.

     She took her daughter’s hand and left the train. The arena loomed ahead of them, and with every step her feet felt heavier but her little girl dragged her forward. They walked in the doors and Ayelet looked for Trace, he said he would be in the front to meet them. She saw a shadow leaning against a column and she called his name.

“Trace?”

     The figure turned towards her and walked her way. Out of the shadow she could make out his features and felt her mouth turn into a smile. He couldn’t keep a grin off his face either, despite wanting to be angry with her. He looked down at the little girl and gasped, even though he knew how old she was, he still didn’t expect her to look so grown up. He let his eyes wander over the two of them, mother and daughter, and felt a tug at his heart for these girls.


“A, I was worried you weren’t coming. Hey there little miss Lila.” He said, bending down to her level and pinning a backstage pass on her dress.

“You ready to go see your daddy?

“Yes sir.” She whispered, her curls falling in front of her face shyly.

     He held his hand out and she looked at her mom to make sure he could be trusted first. Ayelet nodded and Lila slipped her hand in Trace’s hand. He smiled and handed Ayelet her backstage pass with the other hand so that she would be able to get in with them. Lila’s eyes grew wide when they walked past the double doors to the craziness that was tour life. People were running around all over the place and Trace picked her up in his arms and hugged her close to him.

“Don’t worry little one, I got you.” He whispered in her ear.

     She pressed her face into his neck, hiding herself from everyone around her. He loved this little girl already and hoped Justin would feel the same. He walked towards the door marked ‘’Talent’’ and knocked softly, setting Lila back on her feet. Ayelet held her breath when she heard his voice telling them to come in. When Trace opened the door she could make out Justin's tall, lanky frame stretched across the couch lazily.
     His eyes moved to the door and saw his best friend, which got a grin from him.

“Hey fucker, what happened to that meeting at 4?”

“That is a bad word; I’m going to tell my mom.” A tiny voice gasped.

Justin raised an eyebrow and followed the voice to the small girl at Trace’s side.

“Oh yeah? I’ll give you a dollar if you don’t.”

She shook her head and held up five fingers, signaling that she wanted 5 dollars.

“Man, bribery went up.” He chuckled and pulled a 5 dollar bill from his pocket. “Come over here little bit and get your cash.”

     Trace nudged her toward him and she glanced back at her mom before nodding and walking over to the couch. She studied him for a minute, her little eyes going over all his features before a grin broke out on her face. When he looked at her it felt like he was hit by lightening, and a gasp flew from his lips.


“Trace…is this?” He looked up at his friend, searching his face for a clue or something.

“Yeah J, this is Lila.”

“And you’re my dad.” Lila said, pointing at herself and then to him.

     Justin sat up and took a deep breath, rubbing a hand over his buzzed head. He had been waiting for this moment for the past 5 years, when he could see her again. All of the sudden he realized that if she was here then Ayelet must be close, his eyes searched for her. She was standing against the door, trying desperately not to be noticed. He looked at her and smiled softly; she blushed in response and raised her hand in a wave. He pulled the girl in his arms for a hug; he had wanted nothing more than this for 5 years. When he pulled away he wiped a tear from his cheek and looked to Ayelet.

“Hey.”

“Hey J, it’s been awhile.”

“Yeah, I missed 5 years.” He pulled Lila into his lap, not wanting to let her go.

“Daddy, will you pick me up from school tomorrow, all the other kids have a dad to pick them up cept me. Please dad, will you?” She pulled on his arm and bounced lightly on him, eyes pleading.

He beamed over being called “Daddy” and nodded softly. She jumped from his lap and ran to her mother, excited to tell her in case she hadn’t heard. Justin looked over at Trace and grinned, unable to keep the smile from his face.

“Trace, my schedule is clear for the afternoon, right?”

“Uh, phone interview I think, but you can call in from the car before you pick her up and I’ve already sent a text to Lonnie to make sure he will be able to go with you for both of your safety.”

“Seriously, you deserve a raise.” It was her voice, Ayelet’s.

“Did you hear that Jus? I deserve a raise.” Trace nudged Justin slightly and grinned.

“And I should know, I did that job once.”

“But I do it better than you ever did. Especially since you got knocked up.”

“At least you don’t have to worry about that with him, huh J?” Ayelet asked, glancing at Justin.

“That’s wrong in so many ways. Plus, I wouldn’t trade this one for anything.”

     Lila was clinging to Justin’s side, seemingly afraid to let him go, afraid he might disappear again. He ruffled the curls on the top of her head and hugged her tightly to his side. It was like falling in love, the way he felt about this girl, and in a way he was falling in love with her. He hadn’t spent much time with her even when he had the chance, it was this moment he realized how selfish he’d been. That is wasn’t his career choice that had driven her away, it was his foolishness.


“You guys gonna stay for the show?” Justin asked.

“I don’t know J, seeing her father grind on dancers isn’t something I think she’s ready for yet.”

“She’s not ready for or you’re not ready for?” He quietly muttered to himself.

“Not that it’s any of your business but I’m perfectly fine seeing you rub against any lady of your choosing, it’s not like I expected you to remain celibate while I was gone. You couldn’t even be faithful to me when you were getting it regularly.” She scoffed, a fire burning through her, she was beyond angry.

“Oh here we go; you couldn’t even be in this room with me 5 years later without bringing that shit up.” He heard the girl gasp and dropped another 5 dollars to her. “Yeah, I know it’s a bad word sweetie, I am sorry I said it.” He whispered to her before turning to face Ayelet again.

     Trace could feel the tension rising in the room and watched Lila’s face begin to look panicked. She was watching her whole world crumble to ruins. He whispered her name and she looked in his direction to where he was holding his arms out for her to come to him. She pulled at Justin’s pants and when he didn’t seem to acknowledge that she was there she crossed to where Trace was standing.


“How about me and you go get some ice cream around the corner? What kind you like?”

“Hmm…chocolate a course. What kind you like?”

“Chocolate a course.” He mimicked and winked at her before putting her on top of his shoulders and leaving Justin and Ayelet alone.

     She giggled with delight at being on top of his shoulders and held on tight around his neck. They walked around the arena for awhile first and Trace introduced her to everyone as his new girlfriend and she thought he was so silly. When they stepped outside of the arena and into the bright afternoon he looked up to her as best he could with her being on his shoulders and asked where she’d like to go. She pointed to the nearest ice cream shop on the street and they made their way over to it. He ordered her a child’s size scoop of chocolate ice cream with pink sprinkles on it and ordered himself a regular scoop of chocolate ice cream with blue sprinkles on it. They sat in a table in the front of the place so they could watch people through the windows. She was being pretty quiet while she ate, almost as if she was thinking about things.

“Mr. Trace, why is my daddy and mommy so mad at each other?” She asked, big blue eyes beginning to fill with tears. “I think because daddy said that bad word. She gets mad if I say that word too.” She sighed and took another bite of her ice cream.

“First of all, it’s Uncle Trace, and well Tiny,” She laughed a little at his nickname for her. “Your mom and dad were friends for a very long time before you were born. She used to work for him like me and they went all around the world together. Then one day they found out they were going to have a baby…”
“
Me!” She interrupted, excited to get to the part she was in.

“Right,” He nodded, grinning at her enthusiasm. “You. Anyway, while you were in your mommy’s belly they decided they loved each other very much and wanted to be together always, more than friends. You follow me so far?” He said, looking over at Lila whose face was covered in chocolate but she was mesmerized by the story.

“Yes. Mommy and Daddy loved each other.” She giggled at the thought of people in love.

“Exactly, they loved each other so much that your daddy asked your mommy to marry him.”

“Marry!” She gasped. “What did she say?”

“She said no, she didn’t want to marry him then, but if he waited a little and asked again she would say yes. Because she still loved him, she just wanted to wait a little bit.”

“Because of me in her belly? She showed me a picture of me in her belly and her belly was so big. Probably wouldn’t fit in one of those dresses, that’s why she wanted to wait I bet.”

“Maybe so, she didn’t tell me or your daddy why she wanted to wait. Anyway, then your daddy went back to work, being a singer. And he was going all over the world again but he wouldn’t let your mommy go because she needed to stay home.”

“Aw, mommy stayed all alone?” Her bottom lip stuck out a little and Trace recognized that pouty face he’d seen from his best friend.

“No, not all alone, your Uncle Trace stayed with your mommy so she would have a friend to be with while daddy was going places.”

“Is that why mommy is mad? Because daddy went places without her?”

“No, your mom found out that while your dad was going places he met another lady to be his friend. And he started being her friend more than your mom’s friend. And this made your mom sad, but I took care of her and tried to make her happy again.”

“Why would Daddy do that?” She whispered, getting upset.

“Sometimes grown-ups don’t know as much as we think we do and we make some bad choices. He didn’t think about how he was making your mom sad, he was having fun playing with his new friend.”

“Then what happened?” She was dribbling ice cream across the table because she wasn’t paying attention, but Trace didn’t really care.

“Then one day your mom decided she didn’t want to be your dad’s friend anymore, that it made her too sad and she moved far away and took you with her, all the way here. We didn’t know where you were or if you were ok. But now we know you are ok and you are beautiful.”

“And Mommy is beautiful too.”

“Yes, mommy is beautiful too.” He closed his eyes and thought of Ayelet for a moment.

“You think Mommy and Daddy will kiss like grown-ups on TV?” She laughed at the thought.

“I don’t know, I think they have a lot of things to talk about though.” He tried to suppress the disgust he felt when thinking about the two of them kissing and wanted to hope it wasn’t happening.

     Justin and Ayelet were not kissing; in fact they were glaring at each other from across the room, enemy forces waiting for the attack. They seemed to be at a standstill, neither willing to admit that perhaps they had a little to do with the trouble they’d had before.

“You honestly thought you had to run away to New York and keep me from my daughter for your sanity?” He threw his hands up in the air and huffed a little.

“I did it for her. You didn’t want the responsibility. You were always mysteriously gone the moment she or I needed something. I needed more from you if you were going to say you were her father.” She wouldn’t meet his eyes, her gaze on her nails that she kept picking at.

“I AM HER FATHER!” He screamed, standing from his seated position on the couch. He began to pace the floor, his eyes locked on Ayelet.

“Justin, let’s be real here. I did you a favor.”

“That’s a favor? Damn,” He chuckled bitterly. “I might be dead if you decide to do another favor for me. Taking my daughter across the fucking country isn’t a favor. If I wanted to hurt you I could take her now and you’d never see her again. Then you tell me what a favor I’ve done for you.’’

“You wouldn’t.”

“Don’t push me. Don’t tell me how you did so much for me by taking my child away from me. I didn’t have a clue what happened to you two.” His hands slid over his face and he seemed to be waiting for her answer.

“Don’t act like you cared.”

“What do you think Ayelet, that you left and I partied it up, thankful to be free again?”

“I don’t care what you did.” She ran her fingers through her hair nervously, shaking the curls free from the top knot she had secured them in.

“You’re lying to yourself sweetie. If you didn’t care about me then you would’ve at least let me know where my child was these past five years. But for some reason you were too afraid to see me.” He was coming closer to her now; the pacing he was doing was getting slower and more deliberate.

“Why do assume I was afraid? Maybe I just didn’t want to be around you anymore, maybe I had enough of your lies to last for a lifetime.” She whispered, her face inches from his.

     He stopped and looked up at her, the life gone out of this fight. Her eyes held so much hurt, he knew he couldn’t fix this in a day. He had to figure out what he wanted from her before they continued this fight. He was in no place for any type of relationship right now, he was on tour, yet he was going to have to make time for his daughter that was for sure. She stood looking at him, still close to his face and blinked slowly. Then suddenly she turned away and was back on the couch, looking down at her feet.


“A?” He whispered soothingly, deciding to change tactics.

“Yeah?” She didn’t look up from her feet.

“Just let me be around. That’s all I want.”

“Sure, there is no way that girl is going to let me keep her away now anyway.”

“Right, for you too I mean. I want us to be friends.”

“We will be as close to friends as we can be in this situation.” She stretched a little in her seat.

“Good, you know one day we will be a family again.”

“Justin, stop. No lies this time.”

“I’m not lying. We will be.”

“Uh-huh, speaking of families, where is our child?” She closed down that subject as soon as possible, leaving him no room to continue to try to persuade her.

     Trace was still sitting in the ice cream place with Lila, their ice cream completely melted but she was too into hearing about her parents to care. Trace was telling her all about how her dad had traveled over the world and met all kinds of famous people, but she wanted to go back to her parents again. This subject seemed like the only thing she was interested in, but he had to remind himself that she was 5 and he was lucky to find one topic that wasn’t Dora the Explorer for her to be interested in.


“Does Daddy still have that other friend?”

Trace shook his head. “No, Daddy got very sad when you and Mommy left and stopped being friends with everyone except me.”

“So now they can be friends again!”

“It’s not that easy Tiny.”

“Yes huh, Mommy says when you hurt your friend to tell them you are sorry and then you can be friends again. All Daddy has to do is tell Mommy he is sorry and they can be friends again.”

“I don’t know if that’s going to happen right now, honestly. It might take a long time, so don’t get your hopes up.” He nodded. “Now, let’s get that face cleaned up so we can get back to see your dad before he has to sing and you have to get to bed.”

     She stuck out her chin towards him and he cleaned the syrupy mess off her face delicately. With every bit of chocolate he rubbed off he could see more and more of Justin’s features in this tiny girl. It was so strange to see her again; she was so smart and well behaved.

“Ready to hit the road Tiny?’’

“Ready.” She nodded and took his hand with her small one and they set off to return to Madison Square Garden.

When Trace and Lila left the restaurant there were cameras going off around them. Of course they were curious who this mystery child that was with Justin’s best friend was. He didn’t think they would find out this fast and he knew that both Justin and Ayelet would flip when the photos were all over the internet before the show would even start. About that time, his phone started buzzing in his pocket and he slipped it out to see who might be calling. It was Justin so he quickly answered it.

“Hey J, what’s up?”

“Tell me you have my daughter.” He panted, seemingly worried.

“Oh yeah, she’s right here. We went to get ice cream so you wouldn’t have to pay her your entire net worth for all the bad words you were going to say.” He chuckled, looking down at Lila.

“Thank God.” He heard Justin cover the phone and tell Ayelet that Trace had Lila.

“Um, Ayelet says and I quote ‘Are you out of your fucking mind taking a 5 year old around New York like that?’ So?”

“Am I out of my mind? She’s the one who moved here with an infant.”

Justin’s laugh boomed through the phone and Trace knew he was off the hook. He explained that they would be there shortly and hung up the phone.

“So,” Justin smirked, turning to Ayelet. “They will be here in about 10 minutes. What do ya think about making good use of those 10 minutes?”

“Justin Timberlake!” She gasped. “We just spent an hour and a half fighting and you expect me to fuck you now?”

“Well I just thought after all of that fighting you might want to make up a little bit. And no, I don’t expect you to fuck me.” Justin mumbled to himself.

“You seriously disgust me. This is not how I pictured it at all.”

“How did you picture it?”

“I don’t know, but you trying to get in my pants wasn’t part of the equation.”

“Give it time, you’ll like the idea. You liked it once.”

“Yeah, when I was drunk, 5 years ago.” She scoffed, throwing a look at him over her shoulder.

“Low blow Ayelet.” He let out a sigh and scratched the top of his head again.

She watched him for a moment, wondering what was going through his mind. She felt so drawn to him but was trying hard to remain strong. She kept thinking of those times right after Lila was born when she was up at 4 in the morning with their daughter and he was coming in smelling like perfume. Or how he sent Trace to come to all of her appointments and ‘’fill him in on the important stuff’’ so he didn’t have to leave whatever he was doing. It was these things that kept her hardened to him. She didn’t think about how her daughter’s eyes lit up the moment she saw him or how they seemed to form a bond almost instantly.

Justin could feel her gaze from across the room, he wanted so badly for things to be resolved between them. He wasn’t sure why he hadn’t found them before. Maybe she was right, he thought, maybe she had done him a favor. While he didn’t want to think that being away from his daughter was a favor, perhaps it was. He pinched the bridge of his nose; this was the last thing he wanted to think about with this show coming up. He was playing a sold out show at Madison Square Garden and no matter how many times he played here he still got a little nervous before he went out. The fans in New York made sure to let you know if you were horrible and he was afraid to be even a little off of his game. He felt even worse once he realized that he was feeling so selfish again, letting his career play a more important role in his mind than his own child. He made a note to start thinking of Lila first, it was going to take some time, and he knew that.

“All right Ayelet, let’s figure this out.” He let out a heavy sigh and went closer to her.

“What am I supposed to be figuring out exactly?” Her tone was anything but friendly.

“I think we should figure out when I’ll be seeing our daughter.”

“Justin, you’re on tour. Are you suggesting I let her traipse around the country with you at 5 years old?”

“I don’t see why not.”

“Not gonna happen, think of a new plan.”

“Ok, what if every day I have off I come here?”

“Don’t make promises you don’t intend on keeping.” She raised an eyebrow at him.

“I’m not, but you have to be willing to be flexible with her schedule. I know flexible isn’t exactly your middle name.” He grinned at her, hoping to at least get some sort of reaction.

“Here’s what I offer you, your days off while you’re on tour. If you have more than two in a row then you don’t get to take her and do whatever you want with her for that whole time. She still has school, she still has dance. Any other appointments I make for her, she keeps. When you are finished with this tour we sit down again and discuss further arrangements. Take it or leave it.” She sent him a glare, daring him to challenge her.

“I don’t like that I have no say in it, but I’ll take it.”

“We will talk about your say once you prove that you might actually be around this time.”

“Look A, about before, 5 years ago I mean.” He began to mumble off.

“Justin, I can’t hear what you’re saying and I’m not sure if I want to hear it.”

“No Ayelet just let me say this.” He reached out and touched her shoulder, turning her to face him. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry for hurting you and making you feel like you had to come here. I know you don’t believe me but it was the worst thing I ever did in my life and I know that.”

“Don’t tell me you’re sorry, show her you’re sorry. For missing out on a big chunk of her life.” Her eyes were starting to tear up and when she felt like they were going to spill over she turned away from him.

“I wouldn’t have missed that part of her life if you… forget it, no excuses, I will. I know my promises don’t mean anything to you but I’m going to make this up to both of you.” He wrapped his arms around her from behind her, holding her tightly and taking her in.

“You just worry about making it up to her and that is all I need.” She whispered softly, taking in the feeling of his arms around her.

About that time Trace opened the door, shocked that they were so close. He had figured they would still be fighting. Judging by the looks of both of them though it seemed it hadn’t been an easy conversation. Justin was still holding her, he thought, so they must’ve worked something out between them, must’ve decided to give it another go. This was the last time he tried to do something nice for either of them, but then he remembered Tiny and how she had laughed with him and been so happy with the ice cream all over her face and he thought maybe this one time it was worth it to let Justin get the girl.

“Mommy, you and Daddy can be friends again, because Daddy isn’t friends with the other lady anymore so now he can say he is sorry, right?”

“What are you talking about baby?” She looked confused and turned first to Justin then to Trace.

“Uncle Trace told me that you stopped being Daddy’s friend because he was friends with another lady and you got mad and left. Then Daddy got sad and stopped being everyone’s friend.”

“Oh really?” She looked over at Trace. “What are you telling my daughter?”

“I gave her the kids version of what happened; she wanted to know why you were fighting.”

“Yeah, and I think now you can kiss like the movies.”

“UGH KISS LIKE THE MOVIES!” Ayelet yelled, pretending to be disgusted.

“YES! Kiss Daddy like the movies.” She instructed, pointing to both of them as if her pointing could make them do anything she said.

“Wait, wait, you want me to kiss Mommy?” Justin gasped.

“You have to; it’s what grown-up friends do. Kiss her!”

“I have to kiss a boy?” Ayelet said, looking over at Justin and then back to Lila.

“No, just Daddy.”

“But Daddy is a boy.”

“Daddy is a grown-up. He’s not a boy.”

“Yeah, I’m a grown-up Ayelet.” He mocked, glancing to their daughter.

“So kiss now. Be friends and kiss.”

The both sighed like the very thought made them sick. Lila watched both of them as if she were actually watching a movie. They leaned closer to each other and finally their lips met. Their daughter clapped with joy, thinking that her parents would be friends now and everyone would be happy together.

Trace was the one to interrupt the moment, clapping his hands loudly and announcing that Justin was due in hair and makeup and wardrobe so the little party would have to end. Ayelet could sense an edge to his voice and knew that something like that must’ve been hard to witness after she practically threw herself at him and told him she loved him and not Justin 5 years ago. She gave him a small sympathetic smile and gathered her and Lila’s things before turning to Justin.

“Will we see you again before you head out?”

“Of course, I’m picking up little bit from school tomorrow and bringing her home, you’ll be there right?” He asked hopefully.

“Yes, I’ll be there. So tomorrow then huh?” She searched his eyes for some emotion.

“Yeah, tomorrow.” He pulled her in and kissed her softly. She didn’t return the kiss, but didn’t pull away from him immediately either.

“Two kisses!” Lila shouted, breaking them apart.

“Yeah, what you think about that?” Justin asked, leaning down to her level.

“That’s pretty good. Maybe tomorrow you can kiss her again.” She said excitedly.

He laughed and picked her up in a hug, squeezing her tight until she told him to let her go. She kissed his cheek and he kissed her forehead and told her he loved her. She went over to Trace and lifted her arms up for him to pick her up. When he did, she hugged him as tight as she’d hugged Justin and kissed his cheek too. He tickled her a little and then set her back on her feet.

“So we will see you ladies tomorrow then, later Ayelet.” Trace said, a little too breezily, before he walked out the door. “Timberlake, let’s roll.” He shouted back into the room.

“I have to go, bye girls.” He said, turning to wave at both of them. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Bye Daddy!” Lila said happily, waving her arm off in his direction until she couldn’t see him anymore.

Ayelet walked along the corridor momentarily before turning around and going in the direction where Justin and Trace has disappeared. Lila was confused but followed her mother anyway, and they quickly found the hair and makeup area where Justin was seated and Trace was standing there chatting to him about some things he had to do the next morning.

“Miss, you can’t be in here.” A gruff voice greeted her.

“That’s my Daddy.” Lila said, before pushing past the man and running to her father. “Daddy! We came back, we came back!” She squealed and jumped into his lap.

“Little bit, what are you doing here, where is your mom?” He looked worried.

“Being harassed by your security team, will you tell them I’m with the band or something?”

Justin let out a sigh of relief, afraid for a moment that the girl had chased him without her mom. By looking at the tiny girl in his lap, tugging on her curls absentmindedly, he knew she was completely capable of doing this and not being afraid at all. She stretched in his lap and curled her small frame into his, looking up to meet his eyes. His heart burst with love meeting those eyes, like meeting his own.

“Yeah, guys, this is my daughter” He said, pointing to Lila, “And this is my daughter’s mother.”

“J, when did you get a daughter?” Lonnie, the security guard, asked her.

“Um, bout 5 years ago.” He mumbled, looking down at Lila again.

“So they are good I guess.” He turned to Ayelet. “Sorry miss; you know how it is on tour.”

“Of course Lonnie, I’m just upset you don’t recognize me or Lila, you protected both of us back when she was only as big as a peanut.”

“No, it can’t be. Ayelet?” He gasped as she nodded. “Girl, get your little butt over here.”

He enveloped her in a big hug and squeezed her until she pulled away. He asked if he could meet Lila but the child wouldn’t leave the safety of her father’s arms. It was amazing how she so quickly attached herself to him, no fear of the unknown. Ayelet had been watching their interactions all day, amazed at the ease at which the two of them interacted. Justin had taken to being a father better than anyone could’ve imagined.

Trace had been standing in the corner, watching all of this with anger building inside him. He knew that he had told himself that Justin could have Ayelet but his gut felt differently. What did Justin know about being with Ayelet anyway? He had ruined it the first time, what would be different about this time?

“Justin, you have about 15 minutes before show time. You have the pre show prayer and stuff, plus you need to get fitted for your mike.” A voice called, a soft southern feminine voice and Ayelet knew she was fucked.

“Well girls, here’s your last chance, you going to see the show or you plan on hanging out around here?” Justin asked standing and shifting Lila to his hip, giving her a kiss on the forehead.

“Lila, you have school early in the morning. We should get going.” She said, hoping to avoid the inevitable.

“You can stay and then head to my place afterwards if you want.” Justin supplied, hoping she’d take him up on it; he wasn’t ready to let them go yet.

“Justin, we can’t. We have to go home and get a bath for Princess L.” She poked Lila in the belly and the girl giggled. “Lila, tell Daddy bye sweetie.”

“Mommy no, I want to stay with him.” She clutched Justin’s neck and hid in his shoulder.

“Justin, a little help please.”

“I’m with little bit on this one.” He shrugged and rubbed a hand over her back.

“Well I make the rules so Lila we are going.” She pulled Lila off Justin’s neck, to the protests of both father and daughter.

“You’re going to see your dad tomorrow when he picks you up from school, give him kisses bye.”

Lila sighed in defeat and hugged Justin and kissed him quickly. Justin whispered something in her ear and she nodded, then they shared matching winks before he released her and let her go to Ayelet. He rose to his full height and pulled Ayelet in for a hug, daring to steal another kiss from her, causing a giggle from their daughter.

“You’re kissing again!”

“Gross isn’t it?” Trace mumbled and Justin looked at him in question.

“Anyway, I guess I’ll see you girls later. Love you Lila.” Justin said, kneeling down to Lila again.

“Love you too Daddy.” She whispered back to him.

“Lay one on me kid.” He pointed to his cheek and she kissed it.

Ayelet waved to both Justin and Trace and took Lila by the hand, leading her out of the dressing room. She almost ran right into Lynn on her way in and Ayelet heard Lila cry out before she could stop her.

“Grandma Lynn! What are you doing here? Do you know my daddy too?”