| "Uh, hi Mandi. It�s your father. I need to talk to you. Gimme a call. Bye." Mandi replayed the simple message for the millionth time as she paced back and forth along the kitchen floor. JC sat watching her quietly at the kitchen table. "Should I call him? No. Right? I shouldn�t call him, right?" She was getting close to a state of panic. JC looked into her troubled eyes and wished he had an answer for her. "I don�t know sweetie. I really don�t know. You have to decide this one on your own." She thought about that for a second, then plopped down onto a chair next to him. "But I don�t wanna," she pouted. JC rubbed her knee comfortingly and brushed a few stubborn hairs away from her face. "I know. I wish I could make everything better, but I can�t. Not this time." Mandi scooted over closer to him and rested her head gently on his shoulder. "Can you just stay with me while I figure it out, then?" He smiled down at her and lightly kissed the top of her head. "Of course. That�s what I�m here for." They sat like that for about ten more seconds before Mandi got up and started pacing again. "But what could he want? Why is he calling now after four years?" JC sighed slightly and shook his head. "I think you should sleep on it." She continued on as if he hadn�t spoken a word. "He didn�t even leave a number. I don�t know where he is now. He could be anywhere! Does he expect me to go searching for him?" JC stood up slowly and took her hand. He led her over to the couch and sat down, pulling her down with him. "Your pacing is driving me crazy," he smiled. "Now, I think you should get some sleep before you burn your brain out thinking about this, but if you�re gonna stay up, at least stay in one place." Mandi sighed heavily. "There�s no way I�m gonna be able to sleep. I�d just drive you crazy tossing and turning all night." JC wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Wanna know what I think? Honestly? I think you should forget that he even called. I think you should go to sleep now, and go to Jon�s birthday party tomorrow, and have fun. And if he calls again and actually leaves a number, then maybe you should call him. But there�s no way you could find him now. You know?" Mandi listened intently to what he was saying and nodded. "I know. I know. You�re right. You�re always right. I�ll try to sleep. I�m not making any promises, but I�ll try." JC smiled. "That�s all I�m asking for." * * * It was 3 a.m. when JC woke up to find nothing beside him. He sat up and looked around the room as if expecting her to appear out of nowhere. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes and sighing, he stumbled down the stairs, almost tripping over his own feet in the process. Mandi looked up from her place on the couch and put her glass of milk down on the coffee table, flashing him an apologetic smile. "Sorry. Didn�t mean to wake you up." She slid over to allow him room to sit down and flipped off the TV. "I told you I wouldn�t be able to sleep." JC smiled and sat down next to her, taking her hand in his. "He�s not worth all this worrying. You know that, right? He�s not worth it.." She stood up and walked into the kitchen to get another glass of milk. "I know. You want a drink?" He flipped the TV back on. "No, I�m fine." Mandi pulled her hair scrunchie out and let her hair fall around her shoulders, taking her place next to him on the couch. "It�s not like I want to be up at 3 o�clock thinking about this. It�s not fun and I don�t like it. But I can�t help it." She leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees and her chin in the palms of her hands. JC looked at her and for the first time, he didn�t know what to say to her. It didn�t feel right to him. He always knew what to say. But what was he supposed to tell her now? He didn�t know how to deal with it. He could see the confusion in her eyes and he could see all the years of hurt and pain that just hearing his voice brought back to her. But he could also see a little speck, just a little glimmer of hope in her eyes, and that was the part that pained him the most. He didn�t want to see the look on her face when that hope was crushed. He rested one hand on her back and ran the other through his hair. "Look, sweetie... I realize how difficult this is for you. I really do. But I think you need to get some sleep. You can�t possibly think this through thoroughly on no sleep. And tomorrow�s Saturday, so you can sleep in late. And then sit and think about it. When you�re rested. Please?" She lifted her head from her hands and nodded. "Jace... please promise me something. Promise me you�re not going to come up with some idea to take this into your own hands. I know you. I can see the wheels in your head turning already." She smiled a little bit. "Just don�t do anything... like call him, or find him, or talk to him, without talking to me. Ok? Please?" JC tried to look shocked that she would even think that, but the truth was that she was right. "I promise. I would never do that. Now c�mon, it�s bedtime girl." He then proceeded to scoop her up off the couch and into his arms and run up to the bedroom, carrying her the whole way. * * * Mandi awoke the next morning on a seemingly perfect day. Clear skies, sun shining, birds chirping. She sat up upon hearing JC�s voice talking with another man, probably Justin, downstairs. Yawning, she tumbled out of bed, pulled on her pink fuzzy slippers, and headed downstairs to find that it wasn�t Justin, it was Joey. Close enough. She shuffled over to the kitchen table and sat down. She didn�t know it JC had told Joey, and she wasn�t about to ask. "Hey, Manda. Lookin� good." Joey smiled, taking in her half-out of her ponytail hair, white tank top and flannel pajama bottoms, and of course, the slippers, all the way up to the mock glare on her face that was directed at him. "Don�t you have a daughter to take care of or something?" Joey pulled out a chair and sat himself down. "I also have a lovely girlfriend who is being so kind as to do that for me right now so I can be here to make fun of you." She looked at JC and the look he gave back to her told her everything she needed to know right now. Joey didn�t know, and neither did anyone else. Looking back over at Joey, she rolled her eyes playfully. "Great, I�ll have to thank her for that." He stood up and ruffled her hair in the way that you would expect from an older brother. "Actually, I just came over to see if you guys were going to Jon�s party today. I know it would mean a lot to J." Jon, Justin�s little brother, was turning seven today, and since Justin had been overseas last year, he was going all out with this party. JC hopped up onto the counter and swung his legs against the wooden foundation. "I don�t know. You still wanna go, baby?" Mandi stood up, stretched her arms above her head and yawned. "Sure. I�m just going to get in the shower." She was halfway up the stairs before she noticed Joey was following her, and turned around. He smiled as innocently as he could manage. "I just thought I would see if you... needed any help." JC grabbed the back of his shirt and pulled him back down the stairs while Mandi ran the rest of the way up and locked herself into the bathroom, laughing. Pushing Joey out onto the front step and closing the door behind him, JC sat down on the couch and tried to sort out a sort of internal conflict he was having. Mandi was right. Ever since her father had called last night, he couldn�t help thinking that maybe he had changed, and maybe he wanted to be a father again. He knew that he had told Mandi she shouldn�t call him, but he was thinking... what if he called him himself? He could even hire one of those private detective things to find him. The problem was, he knew Mandi wasn�t going to like it, and he was never going to persuade her to see him. That meant he would have to lie to her, something he had never done before. But wasn�t it all for the best in the end? I mean, he couldn�t believe that a father could just lose the love for his daughter like that. The fact that he had come from a near perfect family and was maybe a little biased never crossed his mind. Grabbing the phone book, he started flipping through it frantically. What letter would private detectives be under anyways? "P" or "D"? He checked his watch. She had been in the shower for 5 minutes... that meant that he probably had about 15 more minutes before she came downstairs again. Taking a deep breath and then swallowing hard, he dialed the first number he found. * * * It was about two hours later that they were sitting in the backyard of Justin�s mother, Lynn Harless, celebrating little Jonathan�s birthday. Joey, his baby girl Brianna, and his girlfriend Kelly were sitting with Chris and his sisters by the food table, Justin, Lance, and JC stood close by talking with their manager/friend, Johnny Wright, and everyone else was mingling, saying hello to the guys, and having a good time. Mandi, Whitney, and unfortunately for them, Britney, were seated at a picnic table in the corner, where every so often Britney would giggle and wiggle her fingers in Justin�s direction. The other two girls at the table pretty much ignored her and discussed their own problems. Mandi told Whitney what happened, and she was as confused by it as the rest of them. "The rest of them" included Justin, who JC had told as soon as he�d managed to pry Britney�s claws off of him. Now, he pulled Justin away from Lance and Johnny. He needed help with his new plan, and he needed it without Mandi knowing. "I gotta run an idea by you, J. I was thinking about... well, I called a private detective earlier." Justin laughed. "Private detective? Cool. Kinda like in a comic book or something." JC rolled his eyes. "Yeah, except this is real life. Get a clue. Anyways, I called so they could find Mandi�s father for me. I want to meet him... and maybe have a little family reunion, too." Justin�s eyebrows were raised at him. "Mandi is letting you do this?" JC sighed. He knew, he just knew that that was going to be Justin�s first question. "No. She doesn�t know. And no, I don�t like lying to her. But if I tell her, she�ll just flip out. This way, she�ll have to at least see him because she won�t have a choice, and then she�ll see that what I did was for the better." The younger man looked skeptical. "I don�t know, man. Isn�t this guy like, an alcoholic? I mean, didn�t he kick her out of her own house? How is bringing that back into her life for the better?" JC was getting frustrated. Why wasn�t he seeing this the right way? "Because, J. It just it. Trust me. Everyone needs a father in their life." Justin sighed and threw his hands up in defeat. "Whatever, man. What do you need me to do?" JC smiled. "Just come with me whenever I find out where he is." With that, he turned around and walked over to Mandi, putting his arm around her shoulders and leaving Justin standing alone, feeling like a dork. He quickly walked back over to where Lance and Johnny were still deep in discussion. "So, what�d I miss guys?" * * * One week and a half later JC got up early in the morning, left a sleeping Mandi a quick note on the table, and hurried out to his car, grabbing his keys and his cell phone on the way. He slowly dialed Justin�s number as he started the ignition and backed out of the driveway. "You got Justin, go!" He laughed. "I always wanted to say that." JC rolled his eyes. "Ok, here I go. I need your help. I think I found him and I�m going to meet him." Justin let out a deep breath. "What the hell are you going to say to him? Hi, you remember the daughter you abandoned? Well, I�m her fianc� and she doesn�t want to see you, but I hired a detective to find you anyway because I�m just a loser like that." He found himself hilarious. JC rolled his eyes again. He seemed to do that a lot when Justin was involved. "Shut up. I need you to be serious about this. I don�t want to meet him alone. I don�t know what I�m gonna say... maybe he�s changed." Justin knew from experience that there was no use fighting him on this. "Fine, I�ll go. But I doubt he�s changed." JC pulled into his driveway. "Great, I�m here. Get in the car." He hung up the phone when Justin came out of his front door and jumped into the car. "So where are we going?" JC took a deep breath. "To his apartment. It�s about 20 minutes away. I know you think this is stupid..." Justin interrupted. He did that a lot. "I don�t think it�s stupid. I mean, it�s cool that you care. I just don�t get why you care so much. Especially since she told you not to do this." JC�s eyes flicked to his rearview mirror. "Family is very important to me. I can�t imagine being without my parents." Justin didn�t feel like having this discussion anymore, so he changed the subject. "Does this guy know we�re coming?" JC glanced at him quickly. "No... it�s a surprise attack." They both hopped out when JC pulled up in front of the apartment complex, and Justin followed him silently up to apartment number one-forty, waiting as he knocked on the door. An average height, somewhat overweight, greasy-looking man opened the door and studied them critically. "Who�re you?" JC stared with his mouth open for a moment. He hadn�t thought this far. "Uh... um... hi! Can, um, me and my friend... well, my name is JC, well actually, Josh Chasez, I mean... you can call me anything and uh, well, this is my friend... Justin... I mean, well, do you think it would be possible if we might maybe come in? It�s a long story." Justin looked at the guy nervously. "And I had nothing to do with it." The man�s expression hadn�t changed a bit. "You selling stuff? You Jehovah�s witnesses?" Justin raised his eyebrows. "Uh..." JC cut him off. "No. I just... need to talk to you. Your name is Robert, right?" Robert�s eyes narrowed. "You with the feds?" Justin smirked. "We�re with *NSYNC Incorporated." JC elbowed him hard. "No... I�m all by myself. Just a singer. So... may we?" Justin pouted and rubbed his side as Robert stepped aside to allow them in. "Yeah. Sure." He continued to look at them warily while Justin walked right in and looked around. "Um... nice place you have here." The tiny apartment was littered with beer cans. There were dirty clothes everywhere, and the stench of alcohol was prominent. JC sat down on a part of the couch gingerly. "Yeah, it is nice... Ok. This is very serious. I want to talk to you about your daughter... Mandi..." Robert grunted. "You two want a beer or anything?" JC rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "Um... no... but about your daughter... you do remember her right?" Robert helped himself to a beer. "Oh yeah, sure I do. What, she looking for money? Lotta trouble, that girl." JC looked over at Justin, whose eyes were wide, trying to take everything in. He was scared to death of the guy. "Oh no, no money. I�m, well..." He smiled. "I�m her fiance and we�re getting married in a few weeks, and, well, I wanted to invite you to come and reconnect to her maybe." Robert looked extremely confused. "What? Whatever... as long as she�s not looking for money." JC tried to remain polite and calm, but this guy wasn�t making it too easy. "I know you two have had your differences, but... I think you could work them out. I�m sure she�d like to have a dad again... I mean, she�s so strong and independent and smart and amazing and beautiful and charming and funny and... you just gotta see her again." Justin chimed in. "She�s changed a lot from... last time you saw her." Robert finished his beer and grabbed another one. "Well, good. Maybe she has money now. Can pay her old man back for all the money she sucked from me." Justin looked thoughtful. "You have a money issue, huh?" Robert crushed his now empty beer can between his hands, and JC jumped. "Yeah! Don�t have enough of it! Always need more. You boys know how it is. Damn government." Justin nodded like he completely went through the same thing. "Yeah... I know exactly what you mean." JC sighed at Justin�s stupidity. "So do you think you can come to the wedding? I�ll remind you everyday." Robert burped loudly with satisfaction. "Does she have money now? Otherwise I�m busy. Wrestling. It�s on UPN." "Why don�t we worry about wrestling later? How about you come out to dinner tonight... my treat. And see her again." Robert looked partial to that idea. "Free meal? Now boys, what�s in it for you? There�s no such thing as a free meal." Justin held up his hands. "Hey, I had nothing to do with this." JC flashed him a shut up glance. "Nothing�s in it for us. But plenty in it for you. Hey, who knows, you might even get back some of that money the government owes you." "You�re talking my language, boy. But why should I trust you... whoever you are." JC looked hopeful. "Please... just do. Because I�m doing this for my fiance and I love her very much." Justin nodded. "And she�s one of my best friends." Robert narrowed his eyes and then gave a halfhearted shrug. "So I�ll get money, and a free dinner, for just seeing that girl again... what�s her face? Mandi, right. Sure, why not. I got a good horoscope on my beer can today anyways." Justin jumped up. "Alrighty then!" JC smiled happily. "Great. Can you meet us at Mountain Jack�s at seven? And... maybe... clean up a little bit?" Robert shrugged. "Whatever. You good kids. Stay away from the government. Nice doing business with you kid." JC shook his hand. "Thanks. You won�t regret it. Come on, Justin." He walked out and back down to the car with Justin following behind. They drove the rest of the way to Justin�s house in silence. JC knew that Justin thought the dinner idea was stupid, and he wasn�t in the mood for an argument. "Man, I�m gonna be praying for you," Justin said as he stepped out of the car and went into his house. JC sighed and tried to extinguish the guilt he felt by singing along with a Christina Aguilera song on the radio. Pulling into his driveway, he checked the clock on the dashboard before turning off the car. 1:30. He had been gone for a while. He hoped she wasn�t worried. "Baby?" he called, as he walked in and threw his keys down on the counter. Mandi came running down the stairs, looking extremely happy. "Hey!" "Hey." JC smiled and kissed her. "What happened to make you so happy?" "I went to try on my dress and everything, and they had it and it�s perfect!" She was practically glowing, and that made JC happier than anything. "Cool. We�re going out tonight, Ok? To Mountain Jack�s. Nice place." Mandi couldn�t keep the smile off of her face. "Ok. For what?" JC coughed. "Just... you know, to meet up with... some old friends. |