Chapter Five
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The Orlando Children's Hospital was a popular charity of many in Orlando.  *NSYNC had done charity work with them on several occasions and hosted a variety of events for the kids.  With their huge success in 2000 came a lot of power and money, so the guys were more than willing to give back to their fans and the many different charities that requested their help.

As the vans came around the corner, Justin could see that there was a huge crowd on the lawns and spilling into the parking lots and streets. There were cops everywhere, directing traffic and doing crowd control. The screaming was very loud as he climbed out of the van in front of the hospital.  The guards had done a good job of giving them enough room to move and walk into the hospital.  He looked around at the girls closest to the barricades.  Some were smiling, waving and saying his name, to which he responded with smiles and waves.  Others were crying and screaming hysterically to which he responded by walking closer to Lonnie and Mike.  'How am I supposed to respond to that?' he thought.  Once in the hospital, they were herded into a large room, which was overrun with people, who were clapping and cheering.  Justin muttered to himself, "Thank GOD!  The screaming is outside."

As Justin stepped up to the podium, he nervously wiped his hands on his jeans.  The other four guys felt Justin should do the talking since this had originally been his idea and because he was so popular with the younger fans.  He wasn't thrilled, but other than his sweaty palms, it was going ok.  He held onto the podium for support as he looked out over the crowd.  They were all smiling at him and attentive.

He said, "Thank you for coming.  My name is Justin..."

The rest of the *NSYNC guys introduced themselves and then all five of them said, "And we're *NSYNC."

"Now that that's out of the way...," he said, dazzling the audience with his famous smile.  It was a common greeting that seemed to be expected all the time now.  He saw many of the people grinning back at him.

He cleared his throat and grabbed the podium tighter as he said, "We'd like to thank the Orlando Children's Hospital for the service they've given Orlando's children and community.  Dr. Richard Marta and Dr. Joseph Cano have worked with us on various projects over the last couple years.  Thanks to them for all their help and advice."

He stepped down from the makeshift stage and walked over to a small group of kids.  Johnny glanced at JC who looked at Chris.  This wasn't part of the plan.  Mike shifted to walk in the direction Justin was going.  "I see a small group of very special kids right here.  This is what it's all about," Justin was saying, genuinely smiling at the kids.

He reached out and shook one of the little hands that was stretched towards him.  It belonged to a little dark haired girl with big brown eyes.  He smiled at her.  "Hi sweetie."

He grabbed a few more kids' hands and went back to the podium.  "The five of us have been very fortunate.  We have wonderful families.  We had a place to live and food to eat.  We grew into healthy adults and are doing what we've always dreamed.  In the traveling we've done, we have met many kids who haven't been so lucky.  We've seen gravely ill kids with the biggest smiles on their faces.  We've seen the kids who were afraid to even talk.  Mostly, we've felt the love they gave us with their smiles and laughter and we've learned lessons from them in dealing with everyday life," Justin said and paused.  "We've even thought about forming our own comedy troupe to tour children's hospitals."

The crowd laughed and there were a few cheers. "Naw, I'm just kidding.  Chris isn't very funny," he said as he smiled at Chris.  "The bottom line is that we want to help however we can and are always open to new ideas.  The money we are donating today is to be used to bring music to these kids," he said as he pointed to the little dark haired girl.  "Music is a universal language.  Music is a friend, a comforter and a healer.  We are giving a check to the Orlando Children's Hospital to fund a music project of their choice, be it new stereos and headphones, CD's and tapes or musical instruments and/or tutors for lessons.  Thank you for coming."

Justin finished and stepped back with the others as JC handed the hospital administrator a check for $100,000.

When the administrator read the amount of the check, the applause was deafening.  The plan, at that point, was to spend some time with the kids as soon as the festivities wrapped up.  Several important people pressed towards them, thanking and shaking their hands.  Justin could see Mike to his right and could feel Lonnie's hand on his shoulder, helping to move the people past at a quick pace.  Justin threw a quick glance at Mike, who, after five years of working for him, knew that Justin was very uncomfortable.  Justin kept shaking hands and smiling as Mike and Lonnie pulled him in the other direction, away from the crowd.

Justin closed his eyes and ran his hand over his forehead, once they had him a safe distance away.  He took off his jacket.  He was sweating and his stomach was doing flip- flops.  "Mike, is there a door around here or maybe a window?  I really need some fresh air."

Lonnie opened a door behind them to find an empty room that Justin couldn't get in to fast enough.  He opened a window and sat down on the table next to it.  "What the hell was that?  I was only surrounded for a few minutes!" he said as he tried to calm down, taking deep breaths of the fresh air.

Justin sat there for awhile before JC came in and asked if he was ready to go see the kids.  Justin was ready.  Little kids were innocent and didn't require him to be anything but himself.  "Yeah, let's go," he said, pushing all worries to the back of his mind as he followed JC to the kids, shrugging his coat back on as he walked.

They walked down a hallway and into a small TV room where some of the kids were waiting for them.  There were a few older girls and several smaller girls and boys.  The nurse indicated that they could sit down so Justin took a seat on a couch, which immediately filled up with five of the little kids, including the little brown haired girl who he found was named Jaime.  They were all very polite and sweet, which made Justin feel much more at ease.  All the guys were practically covered with the kids, so excited to talk to them.  They talked, read, laughed and sang with the kids for close to an hour.

One of the older girls walked up to Justin as they were waiting for the bodyguards to get ready to go.  She smiled and timidly handed him her "No Strings Attached" CD, and said, "I got this from my mom before she left.  She knew how much I loved you guys.  Could you sign it for me?"

Justin smiled at her, wondering to himself why she was there, and took the CD booklet out of the CD.  "Sure, what's your name?" he asked.

The girl blushed and said, "Victoria.  But you can call me Vicki."  Vicki stood there, barely moving, looking at him as he signed his picture in the booklet.  She thanked him softly and said goodbye.  She quickly walked away and he watched her sit in a chair, alone, in the corner.

A nurse nearby came over and asked him what Vicki had said to him.  Justin said, "She said her mom bought our CD for her before she left and she asked me to sign it.  Then she just looked at me and ran away."

The nurse said, "Well, Mr. Timberlake, that is more than she's said or done in the last year.  She must really feel a connection with you because she's been unreachable since she got here a year ago.  She hasn't said more than five or six words."

The nurse smiled at him and patted his arm before walking over to Vicki.  He followed her to Vicki's corner.  He could tell that the girl wanted to say something else before she ran away.  "Nurse?" he said as he walked up to them.

The nurse turned from Vicki and smiled, "Yes, Mr. Timberlake?"

Justin smiled, saying, "Justin is fine.  Mr. Timberlake is my dad."  The nurse giggled and Vicki smiled.

"I was wondering if I could talk to Vicki again for a minute," Justin said as he stepped around the nurse, so he could see the girl.  Vicki was just staring at him again, through her sad eyes.  The nurse stepped away, leaving them alone.

Justin didn't know where he was going with this but he was touched by what the nurse had told him about Vicki.  He subconsciously checked for the whereabouts of a bodyguard and saw both Lonnie and Mike hovering close by, trying to seem like they weren't monitoring the situation minutely.

Justin grinned at Vicki as he sat in the chair beside her, and said, "How long have you been here, Vicki?"

He had to lean closer to her because she softly said, "Almost a year."

"Wanna show me your room?  I'd like to see it," he said softly.  He still didn't know where he was going with this whole thing, but felt it was important.

Vicki shrugged her shoulders but smiled sweetly at him.  "Ok," she said but quickly added, "It's not my own room.  I have a roommate."

They walked down the hall to a room that looked like any of the others they had just passed.  The nurse opened the door for them and Vicki watched Justin walk in, before following him in.  "It's not much, but this is my area," she said.

She indicated the bed and dresser on the right.  Justin saw what he had expected to see.  It looked normal, like any teenaged girl's room, complete with his face plastered all over her section of the walls.  Vicki was blushing as she watched him take it all in.  Justin looked at her and said, "Don't worry.  I'm very honored, Vicki."

He reached out to pat her arm, but she backed away.  He could see how uncomfortable that simple contact made her.  He held his hand up.   "Sorry," he said.

She nodded and offered the chair by her bed to him as she sat on the bed, wringing her hands.  Justin didn't know her whole story, of course, but did know that she was very anxious.  He checked to see Lonnie and Mike both standing outside the door.

"What's your favorite song on the CD, Vicki?" he said, trying to make a little conversation until he figured out just what he was doing there. He walked around the room a little, looking at the personal things sitting around and noticed a jean jacket draped on one of the chairs.

She answered, "I'll Be Good for You is my favorite because you wrote it."  She smiled as he looked up from scrutinizing the jacket.

"I'm glad you like it.  I hope you like some of mine on the new album, which, by the way, I'll send you personally when it's done, ok?" he said as she nodded.  "Is this your coat?" he asked as he pointed at the coat on the chair.

She looked at him, as if wondering why he asked.  "No.  My coat is that grey sweatshirt hanging behind the door.  My mom couldn't afford jean jackets, especially one like that with sparkles on it."  She paused as she looked at the jacket Justin was wearing.  "Yours is cool too."

That was it.  He knew why he was there and laughed, saying, "You like it?  I got it because of these cool sequins that outlined all the pockets and stuff.  Plus the denim is real soft."

He took the coat off and checked a few of the pockets.  "Feel how soft it is," he said as he held it out to her.

She carefully took the jacket and softly felt the fabric.  "Yeah, that's nice.  It must be expensive."

She handed it back toward him.  He shook his head and grinned at her.  "Naw, you can keep it.  It's kinda big for you, but that doesn't matter really.  Here, let me help you put it on," he said taking it and stepping behind her.

She didn't say anything but let him help her with the coat.  She looked so small in it as she snuggled into it.  "It's still warm.  Wow, it smells good too," she said as she turned to look at him.  "I really can't take this."

"Yeah you can.  I've got plenty and I think you look awesome in it.  Just don't tell anyone where you got it, ok?  It's our secret," he said, winking at her.

Lonnie and Mike were watching the scene unfold.  Justin motioned them into the room.  "Vicki, this is Lonnie and Mike.  Guys, this is Vicki."

They all shook hands.  "I have to go.  They're here to drag me off," Justin said and held his hand out to her.  He waited as she stared at his hand.  "Come on, shake my hand, girl," he said and chuckled at her indecision.  "I don't bite."

Vicki hesitantly put her hand in his and looked at his face.  "Thank you for the coat, Justin.  I'll take good care of it."

"I thought you would.  I promise I'll send you a copy of the new CD in a few months, ok?  Nice meeting you," he said.  He smiled at her before turning to leave.

Lonnie and Mike both slapped him on the back as they walked down the hall.  "Justin, that was cool of you, man.  What possessed you to give her the one on one time?" Mike asked.

"I don't know.  She just seemed lost and I felt like I needed to do something.  I didn't know what until I saw that coat.  All she has is a gray sweatshirt.  And no mom," Justin said sadly.

They rounded a corner and Jaime was standing there in the middle of the hall crying.  "What's wrong, Jaime?" he said as he knelt down to her level.

Jaime just shook her head and rubbed her eyes.  She then walked up and put her arms around Justin's neck and hugged him tightly.  He hugged her back and said, "Wow, Jaime.  You give good hugs."

Jaime stepped back and said, "Bye-bye, Justin," in a small voice.  Justin waved at her as Mike grabbed his arm and pulled him along.  He blew her a kiss as she waved back.  He was pulled into the stairwell by Mike.

The vans were parked at the entrance below.  As they rode back to the compound, they were silent.  The kids they'd met that day touched them all.  It felt good for them to feel that kind of personal interaction with people who wanted nothing more from them than a little attention and love.  Justin just closed his eyes and wished every day could be filled with kids like that.  He yearned for normal interaction with people who weren't freaking out and hyperventilating or wanting something from him.

Once back at the compound, they at some lunch that Johnny had catered and worked on the latest track for the album.  During a break in action, Justin found a quiet corner and called the phone number for Dr. Gallagher.  The receptionist took his name and said that Dr. Gallagher would be expecting him at 6:30 pm.  Justin said thanks and walked slowly out to the basketball hoop.  He was out there for 20 minutes or so when Joey walked up.  Justin was standing there, bouncing the basketball and looking at the ground.  He didn't hear Joey as he walked up behind him and slapped the ball away.  Justin jerked out of his daze, turning to Joey who said, "Earth to Justin!  We've been looking for you for 15 minutes.  JC is spazzing out about something you did on one of the tracks."  Joey turned to walk away, but not before he grabbed Justin by the arm, pulling him behind.  Justin let him drag him; he was too tired to care.  After that, Justin was so involved in the music that he forgot about everything including the appointment.

They tinkered around the studio until about 5:30 and then called it quits.  Justin said his goodbyes and started the journey in search of the office of Dr. Breana Gallagher.  He drove around for 45 minutes until he found it and parked.  He wasn't looking forward to spilling his guts to a total stranger.  If the press found out, he'd die of embarrassment and he knew his fans would be hurt that he was reacting to them with panic and fear.

He parked in the dimly lit parking lot next to the building.  There was no one around, so he proceeded, being sure to take his cell phone with him.  He was facing this appointment with a great deal of trepidation.  He'd been on stages in front of millions of people.  Why should he be so nervous about talking to one doctor?