Jeapordy

Jeopardy

By: Randi Evans

Justin slams down the cards on the table glancing at his son in her arms. He prayed his cards were high enough to get the kid. It was the highest stake he has ever encountered. Justin would forfeit all his money, just to have Tristan back again.

Trace his friend nudges him, “They’re hustlers!

“Bro, you know he means the world to me. I love him and she doesn’t give a crap about him. His life shouldn’t have to be jeopardized by his slut of a mother!”

Britney adjusts her sleazy outfit, not paying attention to the kid in her arms.

Justin gazes up at her, “You’re going to drop him! It’s no time to be adjusting your bra!” He sighs heavily as one by one the cards are placed down on the table. His blue eyes watch closely, “Safe”, he whispers going around the circle until he comes to Britney’s new beau, “Put them down”, he protests!

Kevin grins, Screw you Timberlake! We’re out of here!”

Justin stands rushing over to the man, ‘We had a deal put down the cards!”

“No”, the man shouts grabbing Britney’s arm, “Let’s go.”

Justin turns over his hand, you lost! Give me my kid!” He runs after them taking Tristan from their grasp, “I won fair and square”, and he takes off with his baby boy!


Chp. 1

Justin is overjoyed when he and his return home together. He sits on the bed bracing his legs, before venturing over to his son’s crib. He paces himself not wanting to fall on his sore legs. He brings Tristan into his arms, carrying him to the bed to play with him. He shows his son his teething ring that looks like car keys, “Just like Daddy’s Tristan.”

The doorbell rings and Justin goes to the door to see who it is, “Hey Molly”, he says surprised. What are you doing back in town?”

“I’m here visiting family. I see you have your own family starting!”

“Yeah, this is my son Tristan. He’s four months old and I’m raising him on my own and loving every moment with him. If you have a few minutes, you can come in if you would like too. The place is a little messy, but I’m trying to keep things in order.”

She sees he is distressed and could use a break, but isn’t about to give in on all that is going on. He could surely use a friend, but the question is if he will allow somebody into his life to guide him in the right direction.

“How are your legs she asks?”

“ My son is more important at this time.” He sighs as her hand brushes his face softly. He pulls away afraid of being hurt again. She embraces him, not letting go of him, “Let go”, he says, but she keeps holding him. He needs love. Tears drift down his face.

“It’s okay to cry. You should let it out.” She rubs his back and turns her attention to the baby snug in his arms. “I won’t hurt him. Let me hold him for a few minutes.” He slowly hands her Tristan as his body trembles. He regains his composure until she leaves but relieves emotions when he sits down at the piano.

The piano has been like a friend to Justin through all his struggles. It is there to give him piece of mind and release his feelings about what’s bothering him. His fingers slow remembering what his mother told him about taking it easy to learn what he needs too. His fingers press lighter on the keys as the pace lessens. His legs shake as he practices He sits in front of the piano every bit of free time he has.

“Justin”, his mom says sitting down next to him. “How are you doing?”

He turns to her, “I’m doing okay.” He sighs taking his hands from the keys to rub his legs. He stands walking toward his son who’s sleeping in his playpen. He smiles down at Tristan, “Our little angel has been sleeping peacefully while I play. He seems to enjoy the hush sounds coming from the piano.”

“He is growing fast, Justin, and so are you.” She kisses his forehead and rubs his hand, “Why don’t you take a small break?”

“I’m alright Mom”, but his mother, Lynn, knows he isn’t. She sees that his son is doing well and heads back to the piano.

She places her hands over his and gently repositions his hands and lets him return to playing the song to learn the correct key to play in. She smiles, “You’re getting better at piano.”

Justin can’t wait to show his fans what he has accomplished with the piano. He is going to give his fans his new single of his new record. He has put his energy and soul into the production of his new record and hopes people see that. He’s crafted a piece that is moving vocally, emotionally and instrumentally.


Everything is in Jeopardy,
Because he means the world to me,
His little voice calls out,
Puts his daddy in doubt
If my son and I can pull through
Going to through those times of blues

God we ask you,
With prayers to get us through!

Everything is in jeopardy,
He is most important to me,
He‘s worth all that I own
My heart has found a home.
May God give us many years,
To cry the happiest tears

God we ask you,
With prayers to get us through!


“I love that”, his mother states kissing his forehead. “I’m sure the fans will too!” She wraps her arms around him as the phone rings.







Chp. 2

“Why didn’t I see the signs?” He rests his head on Lynn’s shoulder. “I’m so stupid! She’s dead at 23 and……………”

“Justin, that’s the life she chose to live. You had nothing to do with it. None of us could have prevented this. It wasn’t in our power.”

“Mom, can I have a few minutes alone with her?”

“Sure, you can take as much time as you want with her, Justin. I’ll be right outside.” She closes the door leaving him alone with her.

Justin bends down on his weak knees grasping onto her cold hand, “I still…….. love you and after all you have done to me and my son. We had something special and you shattered it: all of our hopes and dreams are gone.” Justin stands as his body shakes, and he nearly falls to the ground trying to control his leg muscles, which were already weak.

Lynn places her hand behind his back as they make their way to the car. She has a sinking feeling he will be playing the piano all night to ease his discomfort.

He shuts his blue eyes to tired to look at the keys and lightly presses on them pouring out his heart in a melancholy. It brightens his sole and relaxes him into sleep.
He gets up from the bench and heads towards his room a few feet away where the baby is sleeping. Justin crawls into the covers resting his head on the pillow.

“Molly”, he smiles opening his eyes further in the early morning.

“Can, I come in for a sec?”

“You’re always welcome.” He gently rubs his son’s back, placing a pacifier in his mouth as he makes his way to the kitchen with the morning paper in one hand and his son in the other. He positions him snuggly on his lap and gazes up at Molly.”

“How are things going with you two?”

“We’re doing great. Can I do anything for you?”

“Yeah, I’m teaching a music course at the local college and wanted to ask you to be a guest speaker. The course is about teaching individuals who have handicaps how to play a musical instrument.”

His smile widens, “I think I can fit that in. Can I bring him along?”

“Tristan can come too! It’s in three weeks, J.”

This may get his mind off Britney and he’ll do anything rational to take his mind away from their current situation. He doesn’t even bother to look at the front of the newspaper, already knowing what to expect as the headline. He mumbles and sips on his tea, as he eats breakfast. He stumbles to his feet, tripping on the floor with the baby nestled in his arms. “Tristan, are you alright?” The baby is fine so his attention turns back to him. He moans and stands again grabbing a paper towel to clean the milk mess from his plastic bowl. “Stupid klutz Timberlake.”

“Justin, you should not call yourself a klutz!” He turns back to Molly blushing. “You forget I was here?”

He nods, “I’m used to being all alone” He throws the paper towel in the trash watching his step and Molly. His eyes fall on her and no matter how hard he wants to take them off he can’t. He laughs nervously, “Sorry.”

Trace comes over that evening scavenging through Justin’s refrigerator, “Dude you have no real food in here? Don’t you go shopping?”

“Yes, I go shopping, but I like to keep the food hidden.” He removes Trace’s red trucker hat, “Bet, you’re looking for a beer before the big game starts.”

Trace chuckles, “You have some?” He sits down on Justin’s comfy couch grabbing the remote controller.

Justin hands him a Red Bull, “This good enough?” He takes a seat next to him with Tristan on his lap.

“That’ll be perfect. The little tike is going to be a football fan.”

“How can you tell?”

“He already knows how to grunt!”

“That doesn’t make him a fan, Man! If anything he’ll take up basketball and golf like his father!” Justin raises the volume a bit to hear the announcer’s voice.

Meanwhile, Kevin, Britney’s abusive boyfriend throws his cards down on the poker table. A twenty-three year old blonde female hovers over him, playing with her long flowing hair and fooling with her sleazy miniskirt. “Will you please back off?”

“Whatever you want baby.” She rolls her shoulders and steps backward, leaning against the next table.”

He passes around the cards to the other players recognizing one of them, giving them a cold stare. “You played that night that scrawny kid came in and gave me a bad deck. That wasn’t honorable of you. I was supposed to win.”

“Even hustlers screw themselves at times, so just chill.” He smiles placing one hand over the other.”

“No, we had damn deal and it’s because of you everything went wrong.”

The manger walks over to them, “Keep down the noise or I will kick you out and you won’t be allowed back gentlemen.” He walks away mumbling to himself.

The game ends with Kevin losing. He stands, “I thought we were friends!”

“You thought wrong”, he snickers.

“You probably cheated that night too!”

“Too damn bad you’ll never find out the truth!”

Chp.3

Justin can’t seem to sit still through the entire game. He moves his body from side to side, annoying his friend. Trace grasps onto Justin’s arm, “Stay still. Don’t you want to know which team wins?”

“I’m not really into football at this moment.”

“J, don’t be thinking about those things.”

“I’m trying not to!” He reaches his hand into the potato chip bag and brings the chips to his mouth. He sighs, grabbing his soft drink from the table. He takes a sip and puts it back down closing his eyes and resting his head on his leather couch.

Trace turns to him and gently takes Tristan into his arms, “Your daddy’s tired. You and I will watch the game, as he sleeps.” He tells Justin softly, “I’ll take care of him while you sleep. Trace rocks Tristan back and forth placing his pacifier in his mouth.

Justin’s blue berry eyes flutter, “Where’s Tristan?”

“I put him in the crib, J. He is doing fine.”

“I think I’m going to go to bed, Trace. You don’t mind do you?”

“You need the rest. I’ll tell you the score in the morning. Good night, Justin.”

Justin smiles sleepily, “Hope, your team wins.” He turns in the short hallway entering his room where Tristan lay sleeping in his crib. He slowly undresses removing his shirt first imagining she was there with him and that they were back to their fairytale lifestyle.

He remembers feeling her warm breath on his face as her lips seduced him and her fingers worked at his shirt unbuttoning it and throwing it on the floor. “No, I can’t think about this.” It was about sex for her. Sex with the hottest pop star at the moment and like all the rest she wanted a piece of him. She claimed she loved him, but left him cold and alone. He didn’t want to be touched again afraid of being played

“Twenty-three years old, beautiful and bold,
Your intentions were heartless and cold,
Ever think this be the story told,
Of a princess who can’t grow old?

In his fold you fell
Making my life hell.

The dark perilous storm surrounds me,
The rain falling makes it hard to see
My heart is crying to be free,
I’m not the person I used to be!”

Justin breathes heavily as if it was the night after he discovered she was using him. Sweat drips down his face and he begins cursing in his sleep. The words are mumbles so it only makes sense to his mother when she is around. His body relaxes at the sound of his son cooing.

“How’s sleeping beauty this morning?”

Justin throws the pillow at his friend, “Funny man.” He sits on the edge of his bed yawning. His lower legs are stiff as he reaches for his braces. He rests his legs on the bed placing his braces on his legs. He slowly approaches his son’s crib pulling him out and cradling him.

He enters the kitchen to prepare Tristan’s bottle, smiling bleary-eyed. “Here you go buddy.” He places the bottle in Tristan’s mouth and takes a seat at the table looking at the paper. “They really should arrest that jerk.”

Trace groans, “They should, but he finds a way out of bail every time. Money speaks, I guess.”

Justin growls, “I’d shove his money up his………..” He refrains himself from saying the word. “He’s a very dirty man. That’s why I fired him. I could tell he was no good. Women hang off him.”

Trace laughs, “They hang off you too.”

Justin rolls his eyes, “They may, but I don’t play into it like he does and use them!” He puts the paper down staring oddly at his son.

“J, are you okay?”

“My vision is fuzzy Sometimes my vision blurry, bad contacts or something. I’ll just have to keep and eye on it”, he laughs.

“Cute J”, Trace chuckles. “You should wear your glasses more often. Then you wouldn’t be stressing your eyes. I saw when you were playing the piano that you were closing your eyes and was going to ask you about that.”

“Sometimes it’s easier to play without looking at the keys. I think I feel it and know where it is. Touch and the tone of the keys is how I have learned to play, but as you know I can read the notes too.”

Justin’s piano teacher is blind. She is a friend of his mom’s and has been teaching Justin for a couple of years. He had difficulty reading the notes while playing, so his teacher taught him by ear at first and then brought in the names of the notes. He usually plays without contacts or eyeglasses because he can tell where he is, even if his sight is bothersome.

Justin carries his son into the bathroom with a fresh set of clothes and a new diaper. He carefully undresses his son as he prepares a bath for the baby in the sink. He checks the temperature, “Just right for you”, he grins kissing the Tristan’s forehead. He takes a wash cloth and softly moves it around. He stops and grasps the baby shampoo. He dabs some on his hand and lightly puts it on his head, covering Tristan’s eyes with one hand and carefully putting water on his head with the other hand. Tristan flails his tiny arms cooing. “You think it’s funny that daddy is all wet.” Justin finishes the job and pulls his son out of the water wrapping him in a warm towel to dry his body. He moves him to the flat counter, reaching for his clothes and diaper. A few minutes later, Tristan is dressed and he asks his friend to watch him while he takes a quick shower and shaves.

He removes his braces and gets in the soothing water. He has a relaxing but short shower and quickly shaves wanting to be back with his son. He runs a comb through his brown curls trying to tame them and goes to see what Trace is doing with his son, after putting on his braces.

Trace is on the floor with Tristan’s body against him as they play with one of Tristan’s toys. He gazes at his friend who has a concerned expression, “He’s fine, J. Tristan’s having a great time playing with his new toy!”

Justin sits in one of the chairs, “I worry about him.”

“Good parents should worry about their kids. It’s normal, but it will get better with time, Justin. You still have a few more weeks before you have to head out on tour to spend with him.”

“I’m going to bring him with me.”

“How are you going to do that? You can’t leave him backstage.”

“I’ve made arrangements with my mom. She’s going to watch him while I perform. Then I know he’s in good hands.”

Two weeks later the wind blew against his face, a storm was on the rise as he entered the casino, gambling wasn’t one of his pastimes, but his friend loved the slot machines. Justin sighs searching for his friend who he spots seated at a table full of poker chips and five eager poker players. He nudges Trace, “We have to get going now”, he insists, but Trace doesn’t budge.

Trace begs his friend, “Just one round, Justin.”

“No, we honestly can’t stay. I can’t explain why.” He recognizes the hat one of the players is wearing and thinks it belongs to Kevin.

“Okay, I’ll go, but I want to come back later.”

Trace stands and so does the man wearing the hat. He feels a hand on his shoulder and realizes it isn’t Justin’s. He swears under his breath as the man removes his hat.

“You two aren’t going anywhere”, he states, forcing the two of them to sit down, by pressing hard on one of their shoulders. “You two hustled me and I want to know why!”

Justin gulps, “I don’t care if you kill me. I wasn’t going to risk my son’s life on chance. Did you think I was that stupid? And you cheated as well calling in your hustler friends. You can’t do anything here or you’ll be arrested.”

Kevin takes hold of Justin’s shirt. “You’re right, but who ever said it would be here that I attempted something! All I got to say is you better be watching and waiting for me to strike, because it’s going to happen, Timberlake. Now, get out of here!”







Chp. 4

He closes his blue eyes placing his hands on the keys, feeling the smooth surface underneath them as he plays a melody in his hotel sweet, with his son inches away in a portable crib. He breathes heavily the first few minutes but his breathing and everything else in his body is placid. His eyes gradually open and he lets out a slight sigh taking a momentary break from the song in his brain. His eyes flutter and close as his hands pounce on the keys and then move to a softer tone. Justin falls asleep at the piano with his clothes still on from the meeting with Kevin. His head droops forward and his hands dangle at his sides. This isn’t the first time this has happened and probably won’t be the last.

“Morning Beautiful”, Trace says with a smirk.

Justin lifts his head opening his blue eyes, “Whaaaa?”

“Morning Beautiful”, Trace laughs, waiting for Justin to react in his usual manner. “You don’t have a pillow to throw today, J.”

Justin realizes he’s not in a bed, “I’ll take you on some other time”, he states groggily.”

“I’m going to make breakfast, J. Is there something you want me to make you?”

Justin shakes his head and gently rubs at his eyes, “I’m not awake enough to eat. Give me a few minutes okay?”

“Anything you want Beautiful.”

“Must you call me that?”

“Yes, I must call you that. It is about the only way to get your butt out of bed usually, but today I couldn’t resist as you were sitting on the piano bench sleeping to call you it cause you had no defense.”

Justin shrugs his shoulders, “I know it’s all in good fun, T.”

He smiles adjusting his braces and looks down at his little boy in the crib. “You’re Mr. Quiet. You’re the best behaved out of us three.” He carries his son into the small kitchen and grabs his formula. He takes a seat and pours the formula into a bottle and puts on the top. He brings the bottle to his son’s mouth as Tristan’s head rests in Justin’s free arm. “You’re going to be just like daddy quiet and shy.” Justin yawns wanting to sleep.

Trace takes Tristan into his arms as Justin’s eyes close and Justin rests his head on his hands on the wooden table. He wishes his friend slept better so this wouldn’t happen. He lightly touches Justin’s arm, “J, you should sleep in your bed.”

“I have to take care of Tristan.”

“Don’t worry. He’s safe with me.” Trace leads Justin to his bedroom making sure he gets in the covers, instead of sleep walking.

Justin can’t get his son off his mind and talks about him in his sleep. He stays asleep for four more hours. The morning is a blur to him as he gets ready to start his day.

He has a charity running race in a couple of hours to prepare for. He is surprised when he sees a familiar face in the crowd, “Molly”, he beams. He wonders why she is visiting California and then remembers she was their checking out one of the colleges. His heart flutters as he sits in a chair tightening his braces.

She smiles and comes down from the stands to see him, “Are you sure your legs can handle this race?”

He points to a whole bunch of wheelchairs, “All the contestants use a wheelchair for this so I’ll be okay. I’m just lucky they have a contest that I can contribute to. I love helping kids. Maybe, it will help me too one day cure my weak legs.”

“That’s great. What exactly is wrong with your legs and will get worse?”

“The doctors don’t know why my legs are weak, when the rest of my body is fine.”

“Have you had practice wheeling one of those things?”

“Yeah, and I’m here to win.” He stands walking over to a blue wheelchair and sits. He wheels himself over to her and smiles, “I’ll see you after the race.”

Justin does well in the race coming in second place giving the charity of his choice the money they deserve. He poses for a picture with the kids that came answering some of their questions and signing autographs.

He wonders where Molly has gone as he searches the stands with his eyes. He sighs gazing into the sea of people. He sees Trace with his son, but Molly is nowhere. Justin frowns, but slowly turns his head feeling pressure on his shoulders. His smile returns, “Molly.”

“I came back down, because I didn’t want you falling in the stands.” She grasps onto his hand as if they were high school sweethearts leading him to the stands. They sit near the bottom and stare at each other. She gently rubs his hand, “Be proud of what you’re doing. I know those guys are real pricks, most paparazzi are a-holes!”

“I can’t believe you just said that!”

“Well, they are.”

He laughs, “Big time. I can only imagine what their next huge JT story is? If you’re lucky, you might get on the front cover of a million tabloids. I’m sure you would like that.” He begins humming a song he made about them and she thinks it’s cute that’s how he deals with them. Nobody can make out what he’s saying except for the people right next to him and they’re a bunch of old men who don’t seem a bit interested in him or the photos being taken.

“Another shame tale to tell,
Another article that sells,
Wish they would go to hell
They don’t know how I fell

Everything is credible,
To me that stuff is null,
Cause my heart is so full,
It can’t take anymore pull!

Sources say he did wrong
Who told them I did her wrong?
Now I hear a new song,
That for her I long.

Wish they could see like I do
This part I am not into,
Nights when I’m so blue
There’s nothing I can do!

Everything is credible,
To me that stuff is null,
Cause my heart is so full,
It can’t take anymore pull!”








Chp. 5

Justin reaches for the cheeseburger grasping onto it with both hands and bringing it to his face. He stops to take a drink and begins devouring his meal again.

His mother laughs, “Somebody’s hungry tonight.”

He nods taking another bite of the burger and turns toward his son who is in his mother’s arms.

“How was the race? Did you have fun?”

He swallows taking a sip of his water, “Couldn’t have been better, Mom. Well, except I could’ve come in first instead of second place, but there’s always next time. Since I didn’t come in first I wrote a check for the foundation, because they need the money more than I do and I talked with some of the kids the organization helps.”

Trace walks into the dining area, winking at Justin. “Are you going to call Molly tonight?”

Justin stares at him, “Maybe.”

Lynn smiles at her son, “Who is Molly?”

“She and I went to school together. She was at the games today. She had come to California to look at a college and get an idea of what it is like around here.”

Trace pats Justin’s back, “Cool. Can I have a cheeseburger too, please?”

Justin passes the plate to Trace, “Help yourself. I’m going to go change Tristan’s diaper.” Justin’s legs shake as he stands. The bones are stiff making his walking difficult, though he doesn’t seem to notice the difference. He is too busy with caring for his son to pay attention.

Justin sits on the bed with Tristan and gives him one of his toys to play with while he takes a breather from the days events. He loosens his braces and reaches for his cell phone to call Molly as he watches Tristan play. They have a nice chat and Justin puts his cell back into his pocket excited about seeing her again in a couple of weeks.

He puts his son in his crib and says goodnight and heads toward his bed. He removes his braces. He rubs his eyes tiredly trying to get Britney off his mind. He sighs wishing he could erase her from his memory. He glances over at the digital clock. It is 10:30 p.m. not the time he typically goes to bed at.

His mother gently wakes him in the morning, “You have to go rehearse in a couple of hours.” She kisses his forehead waiting for him to come out for breakfast. His mother gives him a soothing hug taking Tristan into her arms to allow him to prepare for the strenuous day. “You call me if you need anything and I’ll be right there.”

He forces a smile nodding and grabs the cereal box from the table pouring the contents into a bowl with milk and begins sipping on his tea.

Justin finds himself posing in various positions hours later with his son in some of the shots. He sits on a red stool, placing his feet on lower part of the stool.

The photographer is great at getting Justin to smile. He does many natural pictures. “It seems like I’ve been taking your pictures forever.”

“I don’t know how long. I was a toddler, I think.”

“Do you want to take a break from these photos to be with Tristan?”

Justin nods, “I was going to bring him to the children’s museum for a bit. I think he’d like looking at that stuff.”

“Sure, he will love it.”

Justin places his son in his stroller and wheels him through the hallways. “We’re going to go see the dinosaurs. I know you’re wondering what they are, but someday daddy can explain it to you.”

His son coos and babbles at the dinosaurs, as Justin goes into a trance like state. He hears his mother talking to him in a babyish voice and laughs. He is remembering back to when his mom brought him to the museum and met a bubbly girl toddler his age that he later fell in love with and they would come to the museum with their families each year around the same time.

Justin feels a hard slap against his head and jumps, frightened when he sees the familiar face, “Kevin”, he whispers. He rubs his head noticing he has company.

His four year old daughter pulls on his shirt, “Daddy, why did you hurt him?”

He smiles, “It was a friendly tap. We don’t hit.”

Justin is in a daze and doesn’t know what to say. He forces a smile on his face not wanting to frighten the small child, but fears for her life. He doesn’t understand how this man can have visitation rights after killing his girlfriend and endangering the other one.

The light from the camera flashes in front of his face, causing him to blink. He holds a giant colored block in his hand as he sits on an over scaled alphabet block. His blue eyes track the fuzzy toy in the photographer’s hand. He laughs at the man behind the camera not seeming to mind being back in the photo studio. It reminds him of all the photos he did as a kid. He can’t believe he’s no longer the baby anymore and that now his son is. He isn’t sure if he wants his son to follow in his footsteps. It’s not an easy road with many dead ends, but it has good points.

Justin sighs placing his son in the stroller and wheeling him to the rental car. He is happy the day is all most through and looks forward to greeting his mother and friend when they return home. His legs shake as he makes his way to the car, happy he doesn’t have to drive. He removes Tristan from the seat placing him in a car seat and putting his stroller in the back. Justin gets into the car buckling his belt and turns to his son, “We’ll be with grandma soon and Trace.” He touches his son’s tiny fingers, “You’re my little angel and in about six months you’ll be a year old.”

Chp. 6

Days have turned into weeks and weeks into years. His second record blew away the competition and he is at work on his third solo record, with his three year old son at his side and Molly his current girlfriend along with his Mom and best friend Trace. His worries of Kevin coming after him have temporarily faded, because Kevin s serving time in prison.

Justin is home for the holidays, before beginning the promo. He is overjoyed to have this time with his son, who will be staying with his grandmother when he tours in the upcoming months. A part of him doesn’t want to leave his son behind, even though it’ll only be a month of promo. A lot can happen in a month and Justin would like to be there for him and watch him grow. He feels this will be his last album for awhile because he doesn’t want to miss out on his son’s early life.

A curly haired toddler creeps into his father’s lap. His small fingers grip onto Justin’s shirt, “I love Daddy.”

Justin smiles warmly at him, “I love you too, Buddy.” He ruffles the youngster’s hair, “Are you excited about Santa coming?” The boy’s blue eyes enlarge as he nods his head and jumps down from his father’s lap into Lynn’s arms.

“What have you been up too, Tristan?”

“Making Santa a list.” He shows her the crayon written list, which is impossible to read.

“I’m sure Santa will try his hardest to bring you what you would like since you’ve been a good boy this year”, she grins placing her grandson on the ground. She sits down next to her son. She pats the lower part of one of his legs and looks over his new tougher braces.

Justin is having numbness in his weak legs. Justin’s walking at a slow pace afraid of having a fall. He realizes he may need a wheelchair soon, because the walking is getting too difficult. He doesn’t let it get to him and thinks about spending time with his son.

Justin’s writing his new songs on his portable computer as Tristan plays with his toys on the floor. He closes down his laptop smiling, at Lynn and giving her a hug. “I missed you.”

“I know, Justin, but we’re together again. What would you like for Christmas?”

“I’m excited to be home. I haven’t seen this place in so long.” He stands walking towards the closet and whispers to her, “His presents are in there. I’m wrapping them tonight.” He begins speaking louder, “I’m donating toys to the kids at St. Jude Hospital and visiting with them later today. That’s the last thing on my agenda for this year. I love those kids though!”

She sighs, “They’re very special, just like you.”

Justin blushes, painstakingly he returns to where he was before. His son runs to his side becoming cozy on Justin’s warm lap. Justin covers him with his soft blue blanket, singing him a lullaby, with him snug in his arms. He kisses Tristan’s head, standing after Tristan is asleep to carry him into his bed.

“Mom, will you bake cookies with Tristan, while I visit the kids? I’ll be back in time for the Christmas program at church.”

His mother nods her head, “Sure will, when he wakes from his nap.”

He kisses her, “Thank you, Momma, I love you.”

“You’re welcome, Sweetheart.”

Justin leaves shortly after Tristan wakes from his nap. He tells Tristan to help his grandmother make good cookies for Santa while he’s gone, and the small boy eagerly accepts the offer.

Tristan examines the large mixing bowl and other ingredients, “How we do this?”

Lynn chuckles, “We follow these directions.” She shows him the box, “We need this big bowl to mix everything together. First we’re going to pour the flour into the bowl.”

He laughs, “Poof like magic”, watching the flour mount high in the bowl and the mist from it looked like smoke.

“Okay, now we have to add the baking powder.”

“Granny, why we do that?”

“It will make the cookies rise.”

His blue eyes widen, looking up at her, “Is like magic?”

She smiles, “Yes, you could say that.”

He puts in the butter and then with help and egg yolks, and pours chocolate chip pieces into a measuring cup and in another measuring cup Lynn assists him with pouring in the milk.

“Now, we’re going to mix everything together.”

He watches as she turns on the mixers, “Looks icky.”

“It won’t after we’re done with them. Santa will love them!”

She takes a large spoon from the drawer and places it in the batter, “Okay, this part is usually fun. We take the spoon and put it into our mixture and remove it to put it on these nonstick pans. These are our cookies before they’re complete.”

Meanwhile, Justin is greeted by a friendly woman at the front desk. She brings him to a large room where several kids are chatting and playing. He plops down into a chair with his presents. This is just one of the visits he will have today. These kids are ill but able to be mobile. The kids he will see in a few hours can’t leave their rooms. He opens a holiday book and the small childeren gather around him as he begins speaking and singing the carols. His voice cracks slightly trying to hold back the tears. He hands a gift to each child, “Here you go, Sweetie.”

His gentle voice and calm persona intrigues the small child. She has a teddy bear tucked under her arm as she grasps onto the shiny book he presents her with. She sits on a beanbag chair, placing the teddy at her side. She gazes at him with excitement in her soft eyes. He can’t see her face, because she must wear a mask to prevent her from germs. “Pretty”, she states standing and grabbing onto his pants. “She has a friend now! Thank you!”

Justin smiles, “I’m sure that your bear has been looking for the perfect friend.”

Another patient notices Justin’s braces and asks, “Do you use a wheelchair?”

Justin responds to the boy, “I might have to someday, because they’re getting weaker.”

“Have you always had trouble walking?”

Justin nods, “Yep, all my life.”

The girl from before gets up on his lap with her new doll and beloved bear. She hugs the stuffed toys resting her head against his chest. Her eyes close listening to his soothing voice. He stands as she sleeps in his arms. He realizes the other patients are or have left. He gently places the little girl in the nurse’s arms.

She wakes crying and he offers to hold her again. He runs his hand through her thin curly hair. “Where are her parents?”

“They put her up for adoption.”

His blue eyes widen as he sighs and takes a seat in the rocking chair, “She needs somebody to go through this all with a parent.”

“Nobody has taken an interest to her.”

“I have”, he says.

“You’re a pop star. You hardly have time with your son.”

He shrugs his shoulders, giving a disappointing expression, “I’m not about to give in on this. I’m going to find her a good home.”

“I’m sure things will work. Don’t you have to get going?”

“I can hold out a few more minutes. This matter is important. I have a possible solution my best friend recently got married and they were looking into being foster parents. Now I know the idea of becoming attached to a child that is terminally ill isn’t easy to do because of the fear of losing them. I think from experience with these two individuals they may take this on. They’ve worked with some other childeren who suffered from illness.”

Justin contacts his friend explaining the situation and giving him contact information about the small child, before taking a quick break with his son by his side. Justin’s tired from his long day and still has to sing in the Christmas show at church. His legs are shaky and visions of the little girl linger in his mind.

Tristan leans against his father’s chest, “Daddy, why be sad? Daddy be happy!” He presses in on his arm to stand on the bed, wrapping his small arms around Justin, who gives a brief smile.”

“Daddy has a lot on his mind, right now.”

“Can I help, Daddy?”

“Just keep being the sweet son you are and loving me! It makes it all easier!” Justin hugs him tightly in his arms, “Daddy loves you just the way you are!”

Chp. 7

Justin closes his eyes and rests his head on his pillow. Tristan stays with Justin while he sleeps. He lies beside him placing his hand on Justin’s stomach. Luckily, Justin doesn’t move an inch. His body is limp. The parts of the legs he can feel are extremely sore so he opts to use a wheelchair for any walking he has to do that night.

His beautiful voice fills the church as a smile casts over his face. He is seated at the piano so he can show off all his music ability, not just his singing ability. He has big plans for the evening, after his son’s sound asleep.

He wheels himself down the narrow path to where his family is. He watches the other performers and his blue eyes widen when a bunch of angelic childeren sing “Silent Night”. His eye is on the girl in the back with thin curls and face he wouldn’t forget. He glances at the holiday program, where only four girl’s names are listed, but he clearly counts five and he questions why the ill fate child he met would be here tonight without a mask on her face. His mind draws a blank. The rest of the show is a blur to him.

Molly unbuttons his shirt at home, kissing his neck. She runs her hands softly down his body taking things slow. These past months have been difficult to get him to feel good about having sex. Three years seems like enough time for him to heal, but he never fully will be able. The emotional scars are too deep.

“Shhh”, she says, “I’m not going to hurt you. I love you and when you’re ready to take that next step we will together.”

Britney went too far after she cheated he remembers. Her hands sent chills down his spine afraid of the touching for publicity. Justin prefers the new touching. It is calming. He’s beginning to realize that true love shouldn’t hurt and feel dishonoring He trusts Molly and that is why he is asking for her hand in marriage and he does.

“I want to do this before I lose complete control of my legs. I want to be able to walk down that isle “

“You will. We can get married in about a month. It’ll be amazing.” She kisses his head and gently pokes his legs. From the knee down he has no sensations and his upper legs are tingling. She watches him fall asleep, with a grin on his face.

She reaches out her arms to him in the morning to help him to his feet. She holds his hands, “One step at a time, Justin. I know they hurt and are stiff.” He gains some speed the more he walks.

Justin’s family get him what he needs as his legs recover from the day before. He takes it easy working on the lyrics to his songs and playing quiet games with his son. Yesterday is a reminder of how hectic his life is on the road. He wonders how he’s going to fit a wedding into his busy schedule.

Trace comes over to chat with his friend, “J, we need to talk about that adoption.” His breathing is heavy and his hands shaky. “The little girl died last night, Justin. She developed a fever and was having difficulty breathing and they couldn’t bring her back to life.”

Justin’s face turns white, “What time did she die at about?”

“It was around 8 p.m. Why?”

“I saw her last night at the church show. It only listed four girls, but there were five there. I know it was her, Trace. She was a little angel smiling at me.”

“I believe you. I just wanted you to know what was going on.” He sighs, “How is the walking going?’

“It’s getting harder to walk and I need a spotter incase my legs give out. I’ve been looking into different wheelchairs. I know it’s coming the day I’ll need to use a wheelchair fully, but I don’t really mind, because my walking has never been good.” His eyes close.”

“Are you falling asleep on me?”

Justin opens his eyes briefly, “I’m really sleepy all of a sudden. I don’t think I got enough sleep the other day.” He sees the angelic girl and nearly jumps in fear knowing who abandoned her, “Kevin.” He rubs his head, “How could they do this and what is he thinking now? His precious daughter that was clinging to him three years ago at the museum is dead. That explains why she seemed so attached to him. She remembered Justin some how.

Shortly after Christmas, Justin and Molly tie the knot. He walked down the isle just as he had planned with his son as the ring bear and two of his best friend’s daughters as flower girls. The fairytale wedding was a huge success.

Molly holds his hands, “One step at a time”, she tells him. “The stage is only a few steps away.”

He sits in the wheelchair as they reach the ramp. He wheels himself on stage to practice for the concert. He delivers an amazing show.



The next morning, Justin runs his hands through his thick curls taking a deep breath. He jars the door peeking inside of the home, he hasn’t seen for three years. He opens the door further so he can get himself in with his wheelchair. Sweat drips from his face maneuvering around the objects on the floor. He’s not sure if he can deal with being at the home Justin used live with Britney in, yet he’s unsure if selling is a good idea. Memories flood his mind making his way through the one-story home.

Justin gathers anything he wants to keep placing it in a few bags and placing the bags on the back of his chair. He wipes the tears forming in his eyes and leaves before he has an emotional break down. He goes to the bus stop and waits for it to come.

The bus driver smiles, “Do you want me to wheel you up the ramp or would you like walk in?”

“It’d be better just to wheel me up the ramp, because walking is grueling.”

Back home, he receives a phone call from the police. Kevin has escaped from jail, “What? That jerk should not be out.” His body fills with fear, concerned about him coming after him.

He closes his eyes as his cell rings and he reopens them to glance down at the unfamiliar number. His heart beat quickens, “Hello”, he says in a shaky tone!

The man asks, “Is this Justin Timberlake?”

“Yes, this is Justin Timberlake. What can I do for you?”

The man chuckles, “Nothing hustler. You’re going to finally get what you deserve.” Justin hears a clicking sound and then the operator and turns off his phone.

Chp. 8

He gets out of his chair to play with his son on the floor. “What are we going to do today?”

Tristan smiles, “Dress up Daddy.”

“What are we dressing up as?”

Tristan pulls costumes and props from a colorful bin, “Magic person.” He dresses Justin in a cape and magician hat, “Daddy know magic?”

“I know a little bit of magic, Tristan.” He shows him an easy card trick, while his wife enters the room. Their eyes meet and his face flushes.

She joins in on their dress up party until it is time for Tristan’s nap. “Time for rest.” She brings him into her arms, giving him a kiss as Justin slowly stands to get back into the chair. He follows his wife to Tristan’s room.

Justin sings a lullaby in his warm voices putting all his heart in into it! He and Molly stay in Tristan’s room, until he is asleep. They go back to their room for some quiet time. He turns on the stereo system, and a soft song comes through the speakers, “May I have this dance?”

She nods helping him out of the chair, holding him close to her. His head rests against her shoulder. He lifts his head bringing his lips to hers. She undoes his shirt and he removes hers, smiles creeping over their faces. She runs her hands over his muscular upper body. “Justin”, she says softly, “You’re shaking again. Britney’s not here and can’t hurt you.” She kisses his forehead, “How was your day?”

“It was fine until Kevin called. He escaped from jail and wants me to suffer. He’s the villain in this all.”

She laughs, “And you’re Superman!”

He repeats what the Superman program says, “Able to lift tall buildings in a single bound.” He clears his throat, “I can barely lift my son.”

“Oh Justin”, she sighs, “Your powers are more from within and are great to have Superman can’t play the piano or guitar and he hasn’t sold millions of albums. All that is super.”

The two kiss! He uses his hands to move him further up on the bed. She pulls at his jeans, and manages to undo them, “Let’s see how super these other areas are.” He nods, letting her do as she wants, because he trusts her. His breaths are soft as he kisses her all over, and feels her warmth.


“Mommy, Daddy,” Tristan cries. They both go see what is going on. Tristan rubs his sleepy eyes, wiping away the tears in his eyes, “Bad sleep.”

Justin wheels next to him, “It’ll be okay. It was just a bad dream. You want me to hold you and give you a hug?” He nods and Justin takes him into his arms, rubbing his back soothingly, waiting for him fall back asleep. He gives the boy to his wife, “Maybe rocking would soothe him.”

She smiles, “It may. I think, he has the flu or maybe an ear infection. This isn’t typical as you know for him to wake crying from a nap.” Molly brings him over to the rocking chair and Justin follow in suit. “We should have another, J.”

“I would love to have another child and I’m sure Tristan would be a great older brother.” He runs his fingers through his son’s hair. “He’ll always be my baby.” He rests his head against the padding behind him. “I’d do anything for him.”

She rubs one of his hands, “I know you would.” She brings the small child to his bed covering him with his blanket. They notice him pulling on his right ear. “I’ll make an appointment for him to be seen.” She makes the phone call, “They can get him in two hours.” She wheels him back to their bedroom.

A man studies Justin at the doctor’s office. He watches his mannerisms studying him closely as he interacts with his family. He would like to cast Justin for a movie about a man his age who is wheelchair bound because of his weak muscles throughout his body, but has improvements after doctors find a miracle drug. He waits to discuss the movie with Justin, knowing this isn’t the right time to do it!

Justin has Tristan on his lap sleeping as his wife pushes his wheelchair. His wife tells him to relax, because he seems stressed. She takes Tristan into her arms placing him in his special car seat, and then working on getting her husband into the car. Justin needs to be lifted into a seat, because stepping is difficult. His wheelchair goes in the back of their car.

His leg muscles are stiff, though he doesn’t feel them, when trying to move them he can tell. His wife stretches his muscles to give them movement, since he can’t move them much.

Chp. 9

She isn’t sure how he’s going to handle touring. The one show he did was grueling, though he enjoyed it. She almost doesn’t want him to leave, but knows he has to promote the new record for a month. She realizes it’s equally hard on him to have to deal with this condition.

He does well on tour despite being home sick and he is happy it is only a month he must be gone. When he gets lonely he calls him, which is every night after the show is over with. He’s always watching his back for Kevin, because the police hadn’t found him yet. Justin feels like this month is a lifetime.

“Hey there Justin”, says a familiar voice. He turns his head in her direction and whispers, ‘hi’, back to her.

He’s on the sleepy side since he couldn’t get much sleep. His show ended late and his therapy secession is at nine a.m. He’ll do about anything to stay in shape. It is important for Justin to get enough sleep.

“I’m going to have you stay in your chair today, because you’re tired from touring and I don’t want to stress your body.” She rubs one of his hands, “Justin, I want to just observe you for the next hour. It’s okay if you fall asleep in your chair.” The rubbing on his hand relaxes him into sleep. She stops once he’s in a deep enough sleep. She monitors his posture and breathing to get a better idea of how to help him. His body is tense, so she recommends an injection into his lower spine to relax those muscles. He doesn’t feel the needle going into his skin, but notices his muscles aren’t so tight when she does the exercises.

Justin visits with kids at a near by hospital before his show that evening. They remind him of his son. He enjoys spending time with them.
Justin races some of the kids since they too were in wheelchairs some of them. The youngsters can relate to Justin in some ways, which helps them cope with their illnesses.
After two hours of reading and playing games, he says a sad, “Goodbye”, being ushered through the hall by one of the nurses to be brought outside for his transportation.

“Beam me up Scotty”, he tells the driver.

His personal driver laughs, “Enterprise 9 here you come.”

Justin feels the chair moving as he is lifted into the van. Justin talks with a cracked voice pretending to be on some type of communication device, “Thanks, this voyage is complete.”

The man makes sure Justin’s chair is stabilized before taking off down the narrow New York roads. His passenger reads on the hour long trip back to his fancy hotel sweet. “Are you still reading those Space comics?”

“Yeah, I like them for entertainment. I usually read them before my therapy sessions.”

Justin reaches into his backpack pulling out a favorite hat that he couldn’t wear in the hospital.
He finishes reading his comic book and gets out a new one that he hasn’t looked at yet. He dozes off while reading.

The driver places Justin’s comic in Justin’s backpack. His driver carefully wheels him to the platform to lower him to the ground. He prepares Justin’s harness to give him further support. He tells Justin, “I’m going to lower you to the ground so don’t be frightened”, incase Justin could hear him, though he seemed fast asleep. He wheels Justin to his room waking him long enough to get him in his room with one of his body guards.

The kids exhausted him on top of being up early in the morning. He wakes drowsy and gazes at his body guard.

“Did you have a good nap, Justin?”

“I think so. Can I do something fun before the show tonight?”

“What do you have in mind? It is very cold out.”

“I want to go to that famous wax museum on 45th Street.”

“Okay, I can arrange something. Are you hungry?”

He sighs, ‘A little.” He reaches for his notebook, jotting down ideas in his head for songs and puts it away. He eats a few gram crackers and a glass of milk before getting ready to go to the museum.

Somebody wheels Justin around the museum. She is apprehensive around him at first. She has her mind set that all people in wheelchairs can’t do things for themselves, but Justin proves to her differently.

He holds his body still to trick photographers. The person pushing his chair laughs at all his cute antics. He smiles, “Just because I’m in a wheelchair doesn’t mean I’m not smart.”

She nods, “You’re right. It doesn’t.” She wheels him into the elevator, asking if he is feeling okay. “You’re going to go backwards, for a bit, because we have a few steps we need to get you down.” Justin tightens his seat belt, for the short ride.

Justin’s brilliant in the women’s eyes. He’s witty in his responses and is extremely sensitive on certain topics like family or past relationships. His sea blue eyes widen when something excites him. His face is expressive of how he feels about what’s going on.

He enjoys the scary creatures the most. The area has minimal light for the creepy characters to dwell. Ernie music plays as he turns his head to see what is on both sides of him. They look identical to the monsters he’s seen in the Hollywood movies and television shows.

“Beware”, a voice says. The noise causes Justin to search the room with his eyes, but he can’t make out much in the dim lighting.

He asks, “What was that?”

“I didn’t hear anything.”

“Great, now, I’m hearing voices!”

“Beware”, the voice echoes.

“Beware of what?” Justin sighs after getting no answer. He feels a hand on his shoulder and shutters.

“Justin, just relax. We’re almost through with this section.” She feels his body shaking. She takes a detour wheeling him into a lighted room, hoping he’ll become calmer. “Nothing is real it’s just wax, Justin.”

His heart pounds not believing her. He knows what he heard. “She probably thinks I’m a freak”, he tells himself. His heart is going so fast he has to lean his head against the padding of his wheelchair. He forces himself not to pass out, so he can perform. He closes his eyes pretending to fall asleep.

She bends down beside him, “I’m here for you, Justin.” She gently takes his hand, “I’m going to bring you downstairs, so you won’t be as scared.”

She wheels him to elevator figuring everything is too overwhelming for him. This is a relief to him, because he doesn’t want to deal with whatever is out there after him.

Justin keeps his eyes closed as he hears, “Beware”, again. He has pressure on his legs, but doesn’t budge. Instead, his muscles relax and breathing slows. His driver from earlier takes over his care giving the frightened young man some oxygen through a mask, as Justin drifts to sleep. The woman helps get Justin into the van.
She asks, "Do you know how serious his condition is?"
He lightly rubs Justin's hand.
"His doctors believe it is a regrssive process, but are looking into things to prolong the use of parts of his body. He's beem quite sleeply the last few times I've drove him. He likes being talked too, even if he doesn't seem awake."
She nods, "Hopefully the rest of the evening won't be so upsetting for him."
Soft blue padding goes on each side of his head,"No more fighting Justin. All the scariness went away." The padding is soothing and warms quickly. Justin recivies quiet medicine through his oxygen mask, making Justin need more care than usual. The quiet medication has Justin sedated within a few minutes. He doesn’t open them until he’s at the venue.

Chp. 10

The weary young man smiles, seeing his beautiful wife before him. A worried expression floods his warm face, “How are you?”

She smiles, “We’re doing great. We wanted to come and surprise you.” She kisses him gently, “I heard about your experience at the museum.” She rubs his hands pulling him into a hug. “Do you want to be out of your chair?” He nods and feels her arms around his upper body lift him onto the couch. He leans against her bringing his lips to hers. She holds onto him tightly noticing how hard it is for him to sit up. She runs her hands through his soft curls, “I’m right here with you, Justin.” She smiles, “I loved your show tonight.”

“I enjoyed it too,” he says. “It relaxed me a little from my horror experience.” He hopes she will hold him as they lay in bed together. His body is exhausted from the day. He can’t wait to be in bed with the warm covers over his body.

She lifts him placing him back in his chair and lets him wheel himself to the special car. She talks in a soothing tone, trying to get his mind off what had happened earlier

The next morning, Justin has physical therapy at one of the near by hospitals. Justin is shaken by the events that had occurred last night. His wife and son are with him. He sees metal bars in front of him as the therapist holds onto his waist, wanting him to take one or two steps. She touches the right hand when she wants him to use his right foot. His movements are slow and jerky.

He is back in his chair, after a few minutes of the grueling activity. He notices his chair is moving. “Stop”, he says turning his head to see who it is. His face cast a sickly glow and he is unable to speak, at first, “Help.”

Kevin covers Justin’s face with his hand, as he looks around for something else.” He removes his hand hoping Justin won’t be able to struggle, much longer. He wheels Justin to the elevator. Justin rocks his upper body. Kevin takes a mask from the first room they go by and puts it over his face to hide his identity.

Justin shouts several times. He tries getting up from his chair, but doesn’t have the muscle strength too. His eyes close fighting back the tears. He feels his chair stop and many loud noises, but is in shock and cannot move. His breathing slows dramatically.

“My mind draws a blank
My heart just sank
Questioning what to do?
Can’t risk……..losing you!

Voices echo all around,
Bringing me down!

My mind draws a blank
My heart just sank
Questioning what to do?
Can’t risk……..losing you!”

Somebody grabs hold of Justin’s wheelchair, “Shhh…….,” the hush voice says. Justin hears all sorts of noises of monitors and people yelling and Kevin mocking him. He begins screaming, “Shhh………” The voice isn’t calming enough. “He’s been caught, Justin.”

“We need to relax him”, a nurse says. She takes a syringe from her coat pocket and a fresh needle filling the syringe with a sedative drug. She approaches him rubbing his shoulder as his wife continues to talk in a soothing tone to him. The medication works fast as his body goes limp, a scary experience for a young boy to watch.

Justin is put in a room for observation with his wife and son close by. His breathing is weak, which concerns his doctors.

Molly rubs his hand as a mask goes on his face to increase his breathing.

The doctor explains, “Justin over did his muscles, that is why he is having trouble with his breathing. It may take a day or two to get him back to breathing fully on his own.

Molly smiles at Justin when his eyes open, “I’m right here, Justin and so is Tristan.” She strokes his hand fading his worried expression, “He’s gone, Sweetheart.”

A month later, Justin is back home and done with his sold out tour. His head lay on his wife’s belly as she sings to him and what lies inside of her. “Good daddy”, he says softly.

She laughs at her sleepy husband, “Yes you are a good daddy.” She runs her hands through his curls as he lay still. “I’ll see you in the morning.” Justin mimics her words. She gently runs her hand down his bare chest. He manages to sit long enough to wrap his arms around her for a kiss. Her hands lightly touch his, as his head rests on her lower stomach.

She lifts him into his chair in the morning as their son comes running into the room. She puts the youngster on Justin’s lap. “Are you excited about your acting roll, Justin?”

“I can’t wait”, he smiles, ruffling Tristan’s hair.

Chp. 11

Justin meets the other cast members, later that day. He plays a wheelchair bound young man in the movie fighting for his rights. He finds the roll hard, but compelling. He can’t fathom how life must have been for disabled individuals during that time frame, as it is tough enough now.

In the first scene Justin is in a school building with his brother and father. His character Danny can’t speak, but is very intelligent. His family realizes he has a lot of potential, but can’t live up to it because people in wheelchairs or disabled people in general aren’t worthy of having what physically able people can.

Justin uses two wheelchairs while making the movie, because of the time the movie would have taken place. He prefers his newer wheelchair t the one his character had to have. His is a lot more comfortable.

“He’s a fighter”, states his wife to a friend, back home. She passes the dish in her hand to the woman placing another dish into the soapy waters.

The women nods, “He sure is. He has been through a lot. When are you expecting Justin?”

“Anytime,” Molly grins.

Justin arrives at the house a few moments later, greeted by his son at the door, “Hey Tristan.”

“Hi Daddy!” He puts his hands around his father hugging him. “I missed you.”

“I missed you too.” He runs his hands through Tristan’s curls, before wheeling the rest of the way into the house.

He heads for the piano asking Tristan if he would like to join him. Tristan sits on the bench as Justin brings himself as close as possible to the keys, “What are we going to play?”

He raises his arms excitedly, “The star song, Daddy!”

Justin chuckles, “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star?”

“Yeah”, the youngster says, placing his small fingers on the keys.

“Okay, but you need to sing it for me, so I’ll know I’m doing it right.” Tristan nods his head and Justin begins the song.

“Twinkle, twinkle lit-le s-tar! How I wonder what you are? Up bove the sky high like ugh dime in the sky! Twinkle, twinkle lit-le s-tar! How I wonder what you are?”

“That was nice son”, Justin smiles at Tristan’s cuteness. “I’m going to go see what Mommy’s doing.”

“Can I go?”

“Yep, let’s go see.” He makes his way into the kitchen receiving a kiss from his wife. He rubs her belly talking to the being inside of her, and telling Molly that he loves her very much.

She takes hold of one of his hands, “Why don’t you rest your hands, Sweetheart? You look tired.”

“I’m okay”, he states softly. “Can I do anything for you?”

“If you want to help you can set out the napkins and silverware.” She gives him the napkins and silverware.”

Justin gives Tristan the napkins, “You can place these on the table if you want to help out Mommy and Daddy.”

“Sure Daddy,” he smiles. He watches his father put a napkin on the table to see where they go. “This right, Daddy?”

“You’re doing fine, Tristan.”

Justin wears himself out but manages to get through with the rest of the day. His wife is doing the pushing after they get Tristan to sleep.
Justin enjoys the touch of her hands on his body as she holds him. His heart rate increases as she kisses his body and he hugs and kisses her.
His eyes shut and his body goes limp. His eyes open as if he is looking at something, but it doesn’t last long. She lightly runs her hand against his smooth face trying to get him to respond. Justin squints trying to focus on what is going on, but can’t.

Justin wakes peaceful in the morning. Today he’s getting a wheelchair that is motorized so he can use his energy for more important things.

He tells his wife what he saw last night, “Everything was white and placid. I was on a fluffy cloud with a baby. I felt closely attached to the baby and asked an elder man if he knew whose baby it was and he replied mine. He said it was the baby you and I conceived. He told me our baby would be healthy and happy.”

“That sounds nice, Justin.” She kisses his forehead placing him into the wheelchair. “How are your muscles today?”

“My muscles are sore, but I can deal with them.”

“Just tell me if you need anything.”

“I will! I promise!” He wheels himself through the narrow hallway, pacing himself. Justin stops unable to go further because things are in his way on the floor. His chair could over turn, if he is not careful. His wife moves the objects blocking his path. He enters the bathroom which has more obstacles.

Justin removes his shirt and has help taking his pajama pants off. He turns on the water. Molly gets Justin into a special chair in the tub. Justin feels the warm water coming from the cup in his wife’s hand. His head lunges forward, but is gently moved in a better position.

“You need to stay awake for me, until I can place you back in your chair.” She pours the water over his head. She manages to keep his body upright. She places a towel in his wheelchair, before lifting him to get back inside of his chair. His head rests comfortably against the padding of his chair. Her hand brushes against his face.

He smiles shifting his upper body to the side, seeming to be more alert than before. A warm towel covers him as she kisses his face. He sings softly to himself.






“Make me happy each day
Pushing those worries away
With songs that inspire me
And set my heart free
You seem to relate to how I feel
Which helps me deal
Watch the pain drift
Because my spirit you lift
Thank you for singing these songs
So, I can find where I belong!”

Chp. 12

Justin makes his way to the stove after getting the eggs from the refrigerator. He breaks the egg on the edge of the counter, and puts it into the frying pan. He chuckles, “What can I get you this morning?” He grabs a pad of paper pretending to write as his wife tells him her request. He puts down the pad, returning to his eggs. She reaches for the plates above his head. Once she has the plates his hands surround her frame. “We’re cooking something good together!”

“We’re the hottest item in the kitchen, right now. “ She smiles as she looks at his warm features which haven’t changed since she first met him. His dazzling ocean eyes captivate her. His eyes are soft and always searching to figure what a person real intention is. He pays close attention to the littlest of detail. She thinks that is part of the reason Justin’s so special. “Do you remember the first time we met?”

He goes into a deep thought, “I was really little and had to go see the nurse because I scraped my knee and you were in there for something. You lessoned the pain by making me laugh. “

She grabs the fork in front of her and cuts the egg. She feeds him, “Honey, what are you looking at?”

He shrugs his shoulders, not sure himself. A blank expression crosses over his face.

At the movie set, Justin is placed in the old fashioned chair, and begins practicing his parts.

The director pats Justin’s shoulder, “You’re doing great.” He gives him his comic book, “You left this here.”

“Thanks”, he states softly.

He tries to relax, as a women starts to apply his make up. The brush running across is face tickles. His body shifts trying to balance himself. The woman grabs two pieces of Styrofoam placing one on each side of him. This keeps him from moving much. He sighs looking over at the men about his age playing basketball. “What’s it like to play basketball and jump to shoot the ball?”

She laughs, “A lot of fun. You should get into wheelchair basketball, Justin.”

“I could, but it’s not the same. I hope, someday I can run and jump.” He opens his comic, sadly turning the pages. This isn’t the first time he has been bummed by not being able to do what most take for granted.

Somebody grabs the bars of his wheelchair, causing him gaze around cautiously. He is relieved to see it’s just one of the cast members. The man never talks much and is always in white.

The director asks, “Justin, how did you get over here?” He knows, Justin couldn’t make it through the many obstacles without his chair tipping over.

“There was a man in white that wheeled me over,” he yawns.

“Okay, Justin. We’re going to have you do your scene and then have you rest.”

The man reappears after Justin’s scene is over. He’s still all in white. His blue eyes follow the man, as he becomes drowsy He tries to distance himself from the man, but the man takes hold of the back of Justin’s wheelchair, “Where are we going?”

“You’re going to go play basketball, Justin.”

“How can I play basketball when I can hardly sit straight?”

The man smiles, “It’s going to take a lot of work, and it won’t happen all today. I think you can do this, Justin. I have faith in you, and I hope you still have it in me.”

Justin rubs his ocean eyes as the man rubs Justin’s hand. Everything appears white to him. His eyes shut as the man watches over Justin.

He wakes, smiling at his wife. He kisses her hand, “I love you. I’m going to figure a way to walk again.”

He starts by building his trunk muscles, after the filming is over with. The exercises are painful, but Justin is willing to try anything. His wife is his spotter. He slowly stands with her arms around him for support. He takes a step, as his body shakes. His body tenses and he closes his eyes. Tears roll down his cheeks sitting back in his chair. He lowers his head running his fingers through his curls and periodically wipes away the tears. He lifts his head gazing over at one of the corners in the garage.

“Justin, what are you doing?”

He mumbles keeping his eyes on the corner. He presses a button on his chair propelling himself forward toward the corner.

His wife follows him perplexed by his actions. “You’re always over doing yourself.” His unresponsive behaviors concern her. She sighs grasping onto the bars of his chair, turning him to face her. “Are you going to talk, Justin?” She wants him to respond, but isn’t sure how to get him too.

Justin’s eyes dart around the room, realizing he is in the house. “Can we go workout?”

“Sweetheart, we already did.” She sees the disappointment in his face. “I have an idea. I think you should learn to crawl, first.” His eyes widen with excitement. Crawling is a lot safer, for him but equally as grueling. .

Justin’s arms do most of the work. He rests his head sideways facing Molly. She strokes his head. He lifts his head tiredly.

Three months later, Justin moves his feet slowly along the pavement. He has a basketball in his hands. His mom, wife and son are all close by. Justin clumsily jumps, coming down wobbly. His family cheers, pulling him into a hug. Justin sits in his wheelchair turning to a small device on his pant loop. Small electrodes are implanted into his legs. They send small waves directly into his leg and feet muscles so he can walk until he feels fatigued. He puts his feet on the feet rest.

Justin smiles knowing now that the man was right, whoever he was. He passes the ball to Tristan, after standing. He looks nervously at his wife and mother.

They tell him to take it easy and not to rush into anything, because it will come in time.

Lynn looks at her watch, “Justin, it’s time to go to your doctor appointment. Then, we’ll go see Molly at her appointment, if you’re feeling alright.”

Justin drinks medicine at the doctor’s office, which will make him more comfortable. He is more interested in being with his wife than falling asleep for a test.

He stays in his wheelchair until he’s sleepy enough for the test. He is carried to the table and gently placed on it. The doctor gives Justin some oxygen, while he sleeps.

They move him to a bed after the test is done and Justin starts to wake. He is groggy and asks if he can play basketball.”

His mother smiles, “When you’re less tired you can play.”

He nods his head, closing his eyes.

The staff get Justin back into his wheelchair and tell Lynn to keep an eye on him as he goes in and out of sleep.

Justin wakes during Molly’s ultra-sound. A confused expression casts on his face. Molly grasps his hand reminding him what’s going on, before he goes out again.

Molly smiles, “Hey Sleepy, we’re going to have a baby girl.”

“I can’t wait to hold her.” She kisses his forehead, and gently massages his hand, just as his eyes begin to close.

She sighs, as he lunges forward, “Mrs. Harless, will you get him?”

Lynn already is on it, keeping her son from landing on the hard ground. She uses the restraints to keep Justin from getting hurt. “That’d of been terrible if he were injured after all he’s been through.”

Molly gets off the exam table to sit in a chair next to her husband. “Justin, can you open your eyes for a few minutes.” He does as she asks, looking around the white room. “Justin, are you okay?” He stares off in the distance, before everything goes fuzzy. He mumbles about some man in white.

When his eyes open, he realizes he is in his own bed with his wife and son beside him. “He can’t hurt us anymore.”

Molly nods her head, “You’re right.” She is overjoyed that his worrying is slowing, because it may help his recovery.

Justin couldn’t be more excited the day the baby is born, or more exhausted.

Lynn grabs the camera as her son holds the baby in his tired frame, as Tristan sits beside him.