Monday...

He had done this a million times. Maybe not that much in the past year or two, but it was sooo much deja vu. It was 9 am on a Monday morning, and here he was strolling casually through the elevator doors and towards Johnny Wright's lounge area outside of his office.

The glass doors, showed him that one of his bandmates were already there, laying on the couch. Upon approaching the large glass doors, he recognized the bandmate as Chris Kirkpatrick, but not the normal CK.

This CK had sunglasses over his eyes, and was sprawled out on a couch with sweatpants on and a fleece pull over on his top. His face was pale, mouth wide open and he looked like he has just been run over by a dump truck.

Reveling in a time like this, the younger blonde quietly strolled over to Chris and stood right above him.

"Chris.." He whispered.

"Uhhh.."

He leaned down and got inches from his face. "WAKE UP!!!!!!!"

Chris shot up and his head hit the blonde's with a bang.

The shouter fell to the floor and grabbed his head. "OHHH Fuckin piece of..."

"SHIT!" Chris finished for him.

"Damn, I try and for ONCE get you back for the hell you put me through and it backfires."

Chris narrowed his eyes behind his glasses at his younger mate and collapsed onto the couch. "Lance you just...go away!"

Lance picked himself form the floor rubbing his forehead and plopping down on the other couch in the room. "There's a meeting in like 5 minutes. No I will not go away. You go away."

A groaned bubbled up in the older man's throat. "Bass I have a hangover...I'm not in the mood to be pestered by you."

Lance was never one to pout, but right now seemed like a good time so his bottom lip poked out and he slouched in his seat. "You pestered me for a bazillion years."

"buddy you are like 28..that does no equal a bazillion."

"Just shut up Chris you need to get out of this I'm old and lonely deal and just-" Lance halted his speech and sat up on the couch. Chris followed his gaze and took off his sunglasses and stared mouth open at the two that were coming down the hall.

The squeal that emitted from the young woman's lips, being carried down the hall, made Chris cringe. His night of drinking was now catching up with him.

"Joshua Scott put me down!!" Lance and Chris watched and heard Christina squeal and scream as JC casually had her over his shoulder, carrying her and spinning her down the hallway. IT was a sickening display of immature flirting, well at least to one of the men in the room.

Chris turned to Lance. "What is that all about?"

The deep-voice man just crossed his arms and raised and eyebrow. "Chasez movin in on your woman."

"Nah she turned me down cold. But obviously not JC."

Lance shrugged. "Maybe he's just carrying her like that because..."

Chris's eyes cut straight to Lance in a bored "you know better than that" look. "That's the way Justin carries Mere when she does something cute...that's the way your scrony ass carries Leslie when she does something cute...Its what couples do, its flirting."

"Yeah yeah..."

By now JC and Chris were in the lounge. JC bent over and deposited Christina on the couch beside Lance. She giggled and hit Josh playfully. "Hey guys..."

JC plopped down on the couch and casually brought an arm to rest on the back of the couch behind Chris. "Ohh, hehe hey dudes, what's up?"

CK yawned and got nice and comfy on the couch, fluffing his pillow. "Just waiting on Justin and Joey to get here."

"And Johnny" Lance added.

"And Kris."

Lance nodded at his older friends added person. "And Mere.."

Chris waved off that name. "She'll come with Justin."

"late probably..." Christina giggled.

JC took his hand and playfully rubbed his palm and fingers over Christina's scalp making her dark hair become frizzy and static filled, totally messing up her ponytail. "With hair disheveled" He received a light punch in the stomach for his actions which made his cute grin turn to a open mouth, in his mock pain.

Lance rolled his eyes at JC and Chris's flirtations and said. "and a goofy "I just got laid" smile on her face."

The glass doors busted open and Joey came in and plopped down in a chair, sighing like he had been in a rush. "Hey guys...sorry I'm late, kel was sick this morning."

Christina's face turned to worry as she redid her ponytail to her liking. "She ok?"

"Yeah, just morning sickness stuff..wheres everyone else?"

JC nodded. "Johnny's probably getting donuts and coffee and Kris..where is she? Meredith and Justin are...well..hmmm." He grinned and the others in the room chuckled at his wiggling eyebrows.

Just then the wood door to Johnny Wright's office opened and the man walked out of his office. He looked worried and tired, not like his usual casual, calm, almost stress free self. "Morning all..." He drawled out.

"Hey man...get donuts.." Joey patted his belly with a smile as the man came in, pushed Chris' feet off the couch, making the hungover man whine.

Johnny sat down on the couch opposite end of Chris. "No s sorry..."

Christina smiled, happy to be asked to join them in this "Nsync" meeting. "Where's Kris?"

Johnny looked up and forced a smile. "She's on her way."

AS if on cue, the glasses doors cracked open and Kris slid her way through to the group. She delicately sat down beside Johnny with the same worried features on her face. She handed him a stack of folders she was carrying. "Here are the paper's from Meredith's office."

"All right well let's get this started."

Chris groaned and rubbed his temples. . "Wait aren't we missing J and M."

"They aren't coming." Kris and Johnny looked at each other and cringed because they had embarassedly said the same thing, at the same exact time.

"Umm, why not." JC asked.

Kris cleared her throat and spoke softly, "Sick."

Lance's eyes narrowed. "Both of them?"

Johnny's stern look seemed to make everyone in the room sink into their chairs. "Listen they called and took a sick day. You want details ask them."

After a brief moment of silence CK could no longer hold back his chuckle. "You know what that means."

JC then timely opened his mouth and sang loud. "Baaaby..im hot just like and oven...." In no time. Everyone in the room but Johnny and Chris was singing and grooving "Sexual Healing" by Marvin Gaye.

Kris sighed. "Cut it out guys."

"Ya know I called Meredith Friday...she never got back to me." Christina nudged JC and nodded.

Joey pointed to her like she got a question on Jeopardy right,. "Kel said the same thing."

Chris yawned and at the same time said. "I bet Justin swept her away after their doctors appointment and they went baby making."

"That's enough!!"

The voice echoed through the large neutral colored room.

Joey spoke for everyone when he took in a deep breath and whispered. "Whoa...calm down Johnny.."

"Let's get this started, we don't have time to fuck around."

The room stood still after hearing "Mr. Wright" cuss like that. It wasn't like he never had before, but it certainly wasn't something they heard everyday. Ever since Johnny and Kris had came in a very uptight mood had settled in the room. The Nsync crew wasn't use to uptight moods. They were use to carefree, laid back, humorous sessions.

Joey turned to look out the glass door and windows into the hallway when he saw someone walk through the hallway out of the corner of his eyes. He noticed the figure, although dressed down and sunglasses over her eyes,. She was dressed much like hugnover Chris was. But even though her appearance wasn't one to turn heads, a smile came to his face anyway. "Well lookie here, Mere decided to show up."

"WHAT?" Johnny said shocked.

Kris patted Johnny's shoulder and stood up, walking swiftly out the door. "I'll go check on her."

After a few quiet moments, JC cleared his throat and stuttered. "Wh what's going on?"

Johnny met his fierce blue eyes. "Don't ask me."

JC shook his head and stared even harder if possible. "Johnny you must know something."

"I said do not ask me./"

JC shot up out of his seat and pointed down at his manager. "No no...you and Kris know something you guys are being really uptight and are freaking out because mere is here.."

Joey spoke up. "and mere looks like..."

"hell..." All heads turned to look at Lance as he stared at Kris hugging Mere and then following her into Mere's office.

Johnny sighed. and rubbed his forehead like he had a god-awful migraine. "ok...guys, I know you all care about Justin and mere...but its not my place to say."

JC's eyebrows indented and his mouth dropped a bit. "Well then it is someone else's place. What the hell is going on. It's obviously not some perfect get away that Justin has taking Mere on."

"Josh, sit down."

He crossed his arms over his chest and defied Johnny's wishes. "No."

Christina tugged on his forearm in an effort to calm him down. "JAce, just chill."

He turned to everyone else in the room. "You guys wanna know what's up don't you?"

Nods and yeahs were sounded throughout the room. "Well I'm going to go find out..."

"JC..dont..dammit.." But before Johnny's words got to his ears, Josh was walking down the hallway.

The older man sighed and looked up. 4 curious sets of eyes were staring at him.

And he really didn't want to have to be the one to tell them what he knew the would be figuring out shortly.

----

"So how's he?"

Kris grinned at Meredith. She was sitting behind her desk searching for something in her desk drawers.

"Horrible."

Her voice was monotone. Not to mention it had a scratch to it that was normally not there. IT was obvious she had been crying a whole lot. Her face was pale, her eyes hid behind glasses, her lips were dry and cracked and baggy comfy clothing covered her body. Her hair was in a sloppy bun/ponytail and looked like it hadn't been washed in at least a day or two.

Kris sighed and rubbed her hands over her face. "God mere, I..."

She was interrupted by a cold, hard voice. "I know, you don't know what to say. Lynn didn't know what to say, my parents didn't know what to say. NO one knows what to say. That's why we haven't told anyone yet."

Kris just stared at Mere's sunglass guarded eyes. Before she could respond, someone else did.

"Told anyone what?"

Kris whipped around in her seat and put on a fake smile. "Oh um, hey josh."

He nodded to her and rolled his eyes because he had already really said "hey" to her earlier and her plan of a cover-up failed...miserably. "Yeah hey...what's going on."

"Nothing we were just talking, weren't we mere?" She turned and smiled at Meredith.

Meredith returned it with a frown and a tired sigh. Her elbow rested on the edge of her desk and she head her head up with her open palm.

"Kris, can you give me and jace a minute."

Kris nodded, and tried to smile. It didn't work very well. "Yeah, I'll um..I'll go back to the meeting." She pushed back her chair and left the room with a silent, shy, almost scared wave.

JC stood there. Something was up. He knew it. You would have to be blind not to see it. Meredith had always been his little sister ever since that first summer she went on tour with them. And seeing her here, with some obvious painful experience going on, he was almost afraid to ask what was up.

But he gathered up enough courage to ask. But his stuttered voice showed he wasn't that sure of asking it. "W wh what..a are you ok?"

With a simple grip and glide of her fingers her sunglasses slide off the bridge of her nose and fell to the desk with a slight "clang" She rubbed her eyes. "No I'm not." And then her eyes opened and locked on his.

His breath caught in his throat. Her eyes were red, glassy, watery, awfully tired and she looked like at any moment she would start bawling.

The breathe left his lungs and he fought to speak. "Meredith what's going on."

She chuckled. But it was one of those chuckles that were forced, and seemed to hurt more than make you feel better. "God, you'd think it'd get easier to tell people the more you did it."

"Huh?"

She looked up at him. He stood there. Hair needing a hair cut, but not as long as it once had been. Baggy yet somehow fitted jeans and a regular button down blue shirt. His face was lost and she knew that she had no choice but to let him know. She had called Johnny and Kris that morning and had told them over the phone.

She wanted Justin to be there with her.

But he was conveninately taking a shower.

Funny thing, when she walked past the bathroom the shower wasn't running.

And when she asked him that morning if he needed anything from the grocery store, or the studio to be brought back to him. He just mumbled a "no" and said "I'm going out for a drive. Be back later."

He had gone out for a lot of "drives' the past weekend.

In fact the one the night before had kept him away for almost 6 hours. When he came in and plopped down in bed and she timidly asked him where he went he shrugged, fluffed his pillow and muttered an "I don't know."

If she had a dollar for how many times she had heard him mutter "I don't know" in the past weekend, she would be a millionaire, no doubt.

She licked her dry lips and pointed to the chair across from her desk. "Sit down Joshua."

"Why." He asked sharply.

"I..." Her voice cracked and she looked away from him. She couldn't bare this. She hated being the one that had to tell everyone.

She hated having to tell everyone...alone.

He felt for the chair and sat down cautiously, never breaking his stare from her face. "You..."

Her eyes closed and she whispered. "I can't have children."

He didn't think he had heard her straight. "Wait, what did you say."

She turned her face to him and tried her best to not bitch at him. "I can't have children."

He looked at her long and hard and narrowed his eyes. He half chuckled. "You're kidding right?"

And that's when it happened.

He watched, as she slowly closed her brown orbs and a tiny, delicate tear slowly slipped down her cheek and to her chin where it lingered, and then fell into oblivion.

His shoulders hit the back of the chair and he gasped when her eyes locked on to him. "Oh my god..." Back Forward