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.