5 days later...December 31st

around 7:30..........

Heels clicked against the bathroom floor once, twice, and then halted. "Damn, you look hot."

The girl in front of the mirror applying mascara rolled her eyes. "Oh pulease."

"No, for real. God your man's jaw is gonna be on the floor. Hell, my man's too."

Chris laughed and looked at her friend as she glanced over her hair once more making sure everything was in place. "Thanks. You look...amazing Mere."

Meredith smiled and took a bottle of perfume in her hand and sprayed it a few times in the air. "I better. This is not the most comfortable thing." She walked quickly through the perfumed air making a strange face and waving her arms about.

Chris couldn't help but giggle at the scene Meredith made. "Then why wear it?"

"Justin asked me to." She shrugged and walked back into her bedroom.

"Uh huh. So um, I'm guessing you two are good eh? I mean, I don't wanna pry or anything, but you just ..seem happier since the last time I saw you."

A sigh fell from her lips as she sat gently on the bed thinking about her past week. "I've spent every day with him since Christmas. We haven't fought once. I've gone to bed each night telling him I love him and him telling me the same thing and every single morning I've woken up with him RIGHT beside me."

Chris appeared in the doorway of the bathroom, smiling. "I'm so glad, we were all so worried."

"M..me too. But he just, he's different now. He's my old Justin, and that makes it easier for me to be myself, ya know?"

"Totally..."

Eagerness fell over her small frame and she stood up excitedly. "So come on...lets get on down there."

"No way! We have to make them wait. It's like, dating etiquette."

"But Chris..." Meredith whined. "I peeked at his outfit this morning...he's wearing these black pants that make his ass..."

"Ok, ok...we can go on down there." Chris interrupted.

"Yay! I bet Joshua is lookin wonderful tonight."

Her friend rolled her eyes once more. "Yeah right, he probably has on jeans and flip flops."

Meredith grabbed her purse and her small jacket, draping them over her arm. "I don't think so. He likes comfort but for a big party, especially on New Years he totally can get dressed up and look reallll nice. Ya know, leather is back in."

"Leather?"

"JC in tight leather pants...it should be illegal honey." Meredith winked.

"Hehe, you ready to go wow them?"

"If they don't wow us first."

The two women started giggling as they walked out of the bedroom towards the steps.

Meredith's giggling was a little harder to contain than Chris's. She was just so...happy. For the first time, in months...she was truly happy.

Earlier in the afternoon Justin had gone over to JC's to get ready and Chris had joined Meredith. The boys had arrived a few minutes before, as their dates, ready to take them to Johnny's New Years party.

A few weeks before, Meredith had left Justin a message on his cell phone that she didn't want to go. But now that they had spent Christmas together, and now that they seemed to be happier and working through their problems, they were on schedule to go party up the new year...together.

She could hear his laughter as they started down the steps, and she loved hearing it. It was such a beautiful sound.

And then it stopped.

Her and Chris's heels were making too much noise on the wood steps, so the guys must have heard them coming.

About halfway down she saw him, sitting there in the recliner, Josh on the couch, them just staring up.

"Wow." JC said loudly. "Well aren't we the luckiest guys on the face of the earth."

Meredith just smiled and looked over her shoulder at Chris who was blushing a little. She turned back around and found Justin...staring at her.

And she found herself, staring at him.

He looked perfect. Not good, or fine, or anything like that. He looked...perfect. And in that moment he was just that.

Perfect.

She reached the bottom of the steps and both the men stood up. Justin walked towards her slowly, smiling just barely.

"Hey." He said, loud enough so only she could hear.

She mimicked his tone of voice back. "Hi."

He sighed, them inches apart but not touching at all. "I would give anything to kiss you right now."

"Why don't you?" She smiled, her eyes sparkled as he looked down at her.

"I don't wanna mess up your lipstick." His white teeth nibbled on his lips, his blue eyes, so dark, staring at her, looking deep within her.

It was getting too intense, too fast and she nudge him a little, laughing. "Just save it for later then and give me a hug instead."

"I can definitely do that." And he did. His arms surrounded her and she pressed her check on his shoulder and held on to him tight. He smelled so amazing. Felt so strong underneath her hands.

And when she felt his lips by her ear, whispering how much he couldn't wait to bring her home that night and make love to her until they passed out so tired, she wished she could fake sick or something and pull him up the stairs and ring in the new year curled up to his warm body, as close as two people could be..in bed.

She held him tighter against her and wished she could run her hands through his hair and kiss him feverishly, as he laid her on the floor and began to shed their clothing.

She could feel him, just barely through his pants as she hugged him tightly, smiling to herself that she had that much effect on him already.

To the everyday person it might have been seen as well, horniness. But the truth was, she couldn't get enough of him. She had gone too long without him being sexual, or really doing any other physical activity towards her as well.

They were making up for lost time.

Time spent wasted, at least in her mind.

But at least now things were seemingly back to normal.

"Hello!? Two eager partiers here. Come on, you can be all lovey dovey when we get there." Chris called out and interrupted their show of affection. Justin, like the pro he was, pulled away and winked at her, extending his elbow and pretending like nothing sexual had gone on during the few seconds they were touching.

"Okay. Ready miss?"

She smiled back at him, biting her lip a little, in love with the man that stood before her. "Yes sir, thank you." Her hand and then arm slipped through his and she allowed him to escort her to the door, behind JC and Chris.

The ride to Johnny's was ok. Justin drove while Josh and Christina sat in the back. It was a little awkward for Meredith though. The 3 had obviously bonded in the few weeks Justin had stayed with them, they were joking, telling stories, talking about things she really didn't know much about. So she just sat on her side, tilted a little bit towards the window so that she could look up at the stars.

A few minutes later she felt a warm hand on her thigh and looked over to see Justin looking at her a little while he drove. "You ok?" He mouthed to her.

She nodded in response and he squeezed her thigh and then reached for her hand and locked it with his.

Her nerves relaxed a little and soon they were walking through the door at Johnny's.

But then people were staring at them, whispering, looking shocked to see her, and him together.

And that made all her nerves crash back.

Justin must have sensed it and pulled her close and lead her through the crowd of people, further into the house.

They made their way into a crowded room and fitted themselves in the corner.

Chris laughed and looked around, "Who did he invite? Half of Orlando?"

"Looks like it." Josh nodded.

"Uh oh, Freak at 1 o'clock."

Meredith looked at her husband strangely. "Huh?"

Moments later one of their friends came up to them, squeezed in-between Chris and JC and smiled. "Hey guys. Christina.." He looked at her and winked.

She rolled her eyes as everyone else laughed. "Hi Christopher."

His eyes landed on her and he looked surprised to see her and clobbered her in a hug. "MERE!"

She mocked his tone and said his name. "CHRIS!"

"You're HERE!"

She felt nervous. Was it really that big of deal that she was out and about? She smiled a tight smile and squeezed Justin's arm that she was holding on to even tighter. "Yeah."

"Ooo, you guys want drinks?" He shouted.

JC scoffed and looked at him like he was crazy. "You're offering to go get us a drink!?"

He shrugged. "There's a hot blonde over there."

Chris left the group and Meredith watched closely as Christina tugged on JC's arm. "There's Kris and Joey and Kel, let's go over there and talk."

He smiled brightly and let her pull him away. "Kay, see yall later."

Her eyes watched them get disappeared into the crowd. She then turned her eyes to her high heeled shoes that were already starting to make her feet sore.

Then her eyes closed and she tensed when she felt his warm breath against her ear. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." She looked at him quickly, enough so that she could see his eyes and reassure him that she was ok, but not too long so that he could see straight into her.

She didn't know why her nerves were going wack on her, but they were. Maybe in all her time alone she had picked up social anxiety disorder. She had never really felt that good in big crowds, but usually if there were people she knew around, she was ok.

And if Justin there, she was always perfectly fine.

But now with him there, she was more nervous. She could see people looking at them, people she knew from work. She knew they all knew different versions of the Timberlake story. Most all of them knew her and Justin were having problems, maybe not specific. But they knew something.

She felt like she had something to prove to them. Like she had to make them see that her and Justin were happy and perfect...

...the crazy in love couple they had been a half a year ago.

"You sure?" He kissed her cheek and she took in a deep breath to try and relax herself.

"Positive." She nodded sharply.

He turned her around and held her in his arms a little, smiling down at her and chuckling a little. "Are you worried about Shorty!? He'll be fine, he can be in the garage for a few hours and entertain himself."

"I knowww..."

"Come on, lets go get us a drink and go dance. Forget about everyone else ok? Lets have some fun."

She nodded and he leaned in to kiss her on the lips. It was just for a moment, but it made her finally smile the first real smile she had since they had got to the party.

Plus she was ready to get some champagne in her system and lighten up. "Ok."

--------

hours later, a little bit past midnight

Whispers of love, lust, and passion filled his ears. Drunken giggles, quiet moans, heavy breaths.

The alcohol had drowned out the sounds of the party, which had gotten a lot more rowdy now that it was officially 2009. They had found a dark corner in the large dining room. Not many people were in the room, and the ones that were, were near the door.

Justin was sitting down in the chair and she was straddling him, kissing him hungrily.

Her hands started to work on the buttons of his shirt and he pulled his lips from hers and bathed her face which his ragged drunken breaths.

"babyyy, what you doin?"

She looked up at him, smiled and kissed him briefly, then in a hush toned said, "Shhh, don't tell anyone but I'm taking your clothes off."

"Not here." He pouted a little.

"No one will seeee."

She was so enticingly sexy when she was like this, horny and drunk, and he wasn't complaining at all. "But what if someone comes in, then i'll be all embaarr-embarrrrassdd." He laughed at his own attempts to spell out the word, which with his slurred speech was a little hard.

"Heheheh, you sound funny." She fell into giggles and pushed into him, adding more pressure to exactly the part that needed it.

He slid his hands from her back to her ass and squeezed her firmly, kissing her ear and growling, "You are funny."

She pulled away and matter of factly said, "No, I'm sexy."

"That you are."

"Guess what?" She started bouncing on his lap just a bit, and he thought he was gonna die.

"Whut?"

But then, her hand slid in-between them and she grabbed his crotch, squeezing him gently and biting her lip. "I want this insideeee me."

"H-huh?"

Her head tilted and she looked down in-between them. "He's a big boy."

"Shh, don't talk like that." He whispered.

"Why nottttt?" Her head shot up and almost hit his in the process. She was still rubbing, and caressing him, making him crazy.

Either they needed to find an abandon bed room in this house or they needed to get home...fast.

He lifted his chin and kissed her lips passionately, letting his tongue invade her mouth and making her moan against him. He wanted to swallow her up, right there in the corner, but he was trying to remain a little sensible.

But several glasses of champagne and his wife sitting in his lap grinding into him was causing every sensible part of his body and brain to fly out the window. "Because it's making me wanna lay you down on that big table and give all these people a live sex show."

"ooo, that's kinky." She looked generally excited about the idea, and that just made his body ache for her more.

"I know."

She leaned in, kissed his neck, sucking on every spot that she knew made him want her, and whispered against his skin. "It's making me wet."

He couldn't help but chuckle at her statement, she had said it on purpose. "You're sooo getting punished for that."

"What?! It's the truthhhh." She sat up on his lap and smiled at him, her arms around his neck, gently wrapping her fingers around his curls. His arms were still around her and his hands were still planted on her ass, keep her hips tight against him.

He laughed and growled at her, nipping at her lips. "Rawrrr"

He meshed their lips together and thought to himself, this was it. His body couldn't take anymore. He needed to get her somewhere more private.

And just when he was about to ask her to go somewhere with him, Joey popped his head in the doorway of the dining room and shouted at them, "Hey guys! Come on out here, Lance has got an announcement."

Meredith pulled away and started bouncing again. He wished she would stop, but on the other hand wished she would never stop. "IS HE GOING TO SPACE AGAIN!?"

"To the moooooooonnn." Justin laughed.

She giggled and stuck her tongue out at him. "You sound like a cow."

"moooooooooo."

"Come on guys..." Joey said impatiently.

They stood up and resituated their clothing. Justin leaned down and said in her ear. "Walk in front of me."

"Whyyy?"

She looked at him, and he couldn't help but let himself turn a little pink. "Because I'm pokin'."

"I knowwww."

He pinched her side as she walked in front of him and towards Joey. They finally made it into the den where Lance had Leslie by his side, standing up on a couch.

People were loud and rowdy and drunk throughout the room which was now way overly crowded.

"So Lance spit it out!" Someone called.

The group started whistling and yelling. "Yeah!!!"

Justin noticed the pink in Leslie's cheeks and had a good idea about what all this was about.

Lance calmed everyone down with a hand motion and cleared his throat. He then picked up Leslie's hand and pointed it towards the crowd. "Well, I'd like everyone first to take a close look at this."

Her diamond ring sparkled in the light and soon yells, whistles and congratulations were being echoed through the room.

Meredith looked at Justin and yelled. "HOLY SHIT!"

"I know baby." He held her tight, remembering when they had announced their engagement to everyone.

The crowd seemed to tighten around the couple and Justin felt Meredith reach for him as to not get lost in the crowd.

He pulled her away. "We can wait to say congrats. I don't wanna get caught up in that mess."

"Kay."

The crowd started getting rowdy again and someone shouted, "Speech. Give us a speech Bass!"

Lance chuckled deeply and started talking again. "Ok, ok. Well first I wanna thank Leslie for saying yesssss." Everyone awwed as Lance kissed his fianc� on the cheek. He then scanned the crowd and pointed at Justin. "And I gotta give Justin a BIG thanks for going ring shopping with me."

Justin just laughed and said, "No prob man. I tell ya, its about damn time!" Everyone started to talk and laugh and agree with Justin.

Leslie smiled and asked, "So is everyone happy now!? We're getting married, you can get off our case."

"Next thing you know they'll be getting on us for a baby." The room erupted into laughs and voices once again at Lance's statement, but Justin didn't.

Suddenly Meredith started to pull away. He tried to grab for her hand but she was already making a beeline out of sight. "Mere..."

He followed her into the kitchen where she has a glass and a bottle of some liquor in her hand. "Meredith."

He got behind her and put his hands on her shoulders before she was able to pour. "What is it?"

She jumped at his touch and shied away from him. "N..nothing."

"Baby...what's wrong?"

"I just..nothing, don't worry about it."

She looked pale and it hit him that she definitely had had too much to drink. He reached for the bottle she was holding and put it beside him on the counter. "You look sick. Too much champagne?"

"I..I don't know..." Now she was shaking and pacing...she looked scared.

Now he felt sick.

"An..angel?"

Her hands covered her face and she started to sob. "I cant do this anymore."

Justin was honestly lost. He didn't know what was going on or why she suddenly was going insane on him. And he was afraid to ask. "Cant do what?"

"I cant keep ignoring it Justin. I cant just forget all about it, cause then it'll come crashing back into my brain and its makes me crazy."

"Baby..."

She looked at him and glared. Her voice hissed. "Don't call me that."

And it hit him. Like an anvil.

Once again, it was baby stuff. He thought maybe they were getting to a point where it wouldn't bother them that much anymore, and maybe, just maybe they were at a point where they could talk about this without losing their minds.

But he didn't want to do it in the kitchen of a house that was currently being partied up.

"Come on."

"What?"

"Come ON." He growled at her, taking her by the arm and trying to get her to follow him.

"No, where are you goin?"

"Outside, now."

She jerked away from him. "No."

She was starting it up again, and he knew it. He mocked her position and stood there with his hands on his hips. "Meredith, lets go! I do not wanna discuss this in the middle of this fuckin house."

"Fine." She glared at him as she passed him and walked trough the house and towards the front door. He followed her, almost afraid.

At one point he thought about whisking her around, kissing her and telling her to come dance with him and to forget about everything that just happened.

But he knew, if he did that, then once they got home she would break down even more so than she had in the kitchen.

Once outside, and away from the few people that were hanging out on the front porch, Justin turned to find her standing there in the middle of the front yard, arms crossed, eyebrows raised, challenging him. "Well what do you want to talk about?"

"I don't know. I just didn't want you going psycho in there." He ran his hands through his hair and sighed.

"Going PSYCHO!? So now I'm a psycho!" Her arms flayed about and she gave him a crazed look.

"Don't do this." He pleaded.

"DONT DO WHAT?! WHAT AM I DOIN!?"

"PICKIN A FIGHT!"

She pushed him when he came closer to her and started biting her lip hard, something she didn't when she was really pissed. "You just called me a fuckin PSYCHO!"

"I didn't mean that."

Her eyebrows were wrinkled as well as her forehead and he hated the way she was staring at him.

He hated the whole situation. Moments before they were perfectly happy, and now...here they were... again.

"Well then what do you MEAN Justin.? You come back home for 5 days and spend it with me for what?! Did you actually wanna start trying to rebuild this shitty relationship we have or did you just need to get your dick off?"

He was taken back by that comment and tried his best to control himself. But she should have known better than to accuse him of only wanting her for sex. "What!? First of all, I came back home because I missed you, and I wanted to spend time with my wife. And our relationship isn't shitty."

"Newsflash Justin. We barely even HAVE a relationship right now."

"What does that mean?"

"I haven't seen you for weeks and then you just come to my doorstep-"

He crossed his arms over his chest and growled. "Our doorstep."

"Whatever..and you just expect me to be all happy to see you."

"Well you sure seemed like you were happy until 5 minutes ago. Just because other people can try to have a child doesn't give you the right to blow all up on me."

"Well you aren't TRYING Justin!"

He couldn't believe that once again she was putting all the blame on him. "I'm not trying!? I'm NOT TRYING?! I've been trying in the ONLY way I know how. To give you SPACE to figure out what the hell you wanna do. I've been WAITING for you to come to me and say "Justin lets do something." But you haven't."

"Well I've been waiting on you!"

His face softened and he stepped closer to her but she just recoiled. "I know that now. And I'm sorry I was to blind to see that. But dammit Mere, I cant do this all on my own. You aren't helping much either. You aren't trying either. Dammit you aren't even taking fertility drugs, and don't snap at me or anytihing...I KNOW you aren't. We could at least try ya know...It wouldn't hurt to try."

"How can I try to have a baby with you when I cant even stand to be in the same room with you?"

His heart almost stopped beating when she said that. Now she didn't even want to be around him. "Wait a second..."

"I didn't mean that."

"No..what do you mean by that?"

She walked towards him and pulled on his arm, forcing a smile and strangely changing her attitude at the snap of a finger. "Nothing, lets go inside."

He shook her off him and stared at her hard. "Ugh, this is so fuckin hilarious. I cant believe this."

"You think this is funny?"

"YES! Life has a funny sense of humor. One minute I'm content, living a life in heaven and NOW...I'm in hell..."

It was the wrong thing to say at the time, but it was the truth and he couldn't stand there and lie to her just to try and smooth things over. It was too far gone and too far out of his hands now to try and heal anything. "Hell, eh!? You're in HELL!? Well you're the one that left me. You're the one that left! Is...is that what you want..a separation? Is being around me THAT hellish?! Are you gonna slap a divorce on me next!?"

And then, his world came crashing down. He thought he was going to hyperventilate. Images of himself in the hospital when he first heard the news of her not being able to have children came to his mind.

Now, she was thinking about a divorce?

"...what did you just say." He asked in a harsh whisper.

"Nothing..." She mumbled.

"You think that I'm gonna divorce you!" Tears stung the corner of his eyes. Never in his life had he ever thought he could divorce her. She was too much of a part of him, and letting her go would be like letting his own self go.

"I don't know anymore Justin. I just..I don't know." Her hands covered her face again and he could tell she was about to pull out the tears.

But he had somehow gotten use to her cry now. Seeing her emotional didn't stab him in the chest like it use to, because now it was just an everyday occurrence, so it seemed.

And she should have known better to say anything about divorce. It hadn't been too long ago, when they first got married, that he had finally come to terms with his own parents divorce. He tried not to let anyone see how much he was truly affected by it. And to hear her bring that up in their own marriage was enough to make him want to go on a rampage. "I..I cant believe you would say something like that. I don't even know who you are anymore."

She didn't say anything. She just stood there staring at the grass of the front yard like nothing had happened. She was distant now, surrounded and being closed in by her own sadness

And he was terrified that she was going to choke on it.

He shook his head and turned and started walking away. "Tell Leslie and Lance I said congratulations."

"Where are you going?" She called out to him.

He stopped and stared down at his shoes. He felt like he had just got hit by a train, and in his mind he had.

He had just discovered how far off the cliff their relationship had gone, and for the first time since it started...his hope that they were going to be ok had vanished.

He turned around and stared at her as he spoke. "I'm going home. I'm gonna get my things, and I'm going back to my apartment. I'm tired of having to deal with this Meredith. I'm leaving this up to you. I tried my best to do everything I know how. I feel like when I do try and spend time with you that its great for a little while and then something happens and it just blows up. And I feel when I don't spend time with you I'm being a asshole. God Meredith, if we cant get through this something's wrong. You know where I'll be, you know my number, if you need something you can call. But until you decide that you need me again, I'm not gonna bother you."

Her eyes lifted from the ground to him. She stared at him a little bit, emotionless and then rolled her eyes. "Do whatever the hell you want Justin. I don't care anymore."

That was the last straw for him. He couldn't speak, he couldn't think, and he could barely move.

There was nothing like a good fight with your wife to sober you up. And he was definitely obered up now.

His feet and legs started moving and he wasn't even paying attention. It wasn't until he was in his car, buckled in, ready to put the keys in the ignition when the realization of what he had just done, set in.

He had given up, and given in.

And now their future was all up to her. Back Forward