Date: Sun, 29 Jun 2003 19:14:33 -0700 (PDT) From: JC Fanfic Subject: Picking up the Pieces of my Life Chapter Five A Work of Fiction by JC Fan Fiction Nut Publications (c) Copyright 2003 Disclaimer: All Characters and situations of this story are fictional. Any similarities to actual living people and actual situations is purely coincidental. All fictional characters and fictional situations portrayed in this work of fiction remains the property of JC Fan Fiction Nut Publications. Republishing of this work of fiction is strictly forbidden unless permission as been given by JC Fan Fiction Nut Publications. Permission granted to Nifty Archives for the sole purpose of posting on the Boy Bands section of the Archives. Permission may be obtained by e-mailing JC Fan Fiction Nut Publications at JC_Fan_Fiction@yahoo.com Comments are welcome too. Constructive Comments and advice are welcome. Honest opinions are welcome as well. And if you want to vent all over me as long it is good natured than feel free too do that to. E-mail me at JC_Fan_Fiction@yahoo.com Now onto Chapter Five of Picking up the Pieces of my Life >From JC's point of view. "You did what?" Justin yelped as he shook poor Don again trying to get him to wake up. "You slipped him a sleeping pill?" "I'm sorry!" I whined as I tried to wake him up too. "I was so worried that he wasn't getting enough sleep that I tried to get him to take it and he wouldn't. So I slipped it to him in his water last night. How was I supposed to know he would sleep forever!" I was panicking now. I mean really panicking. Don had slept through the night. I mean really slept. It was now just after nine in the morning and Justin was late for his meeting. "I can't wait any longer!" Justin sighed. "You are in so much trouble!" "Take my PA with you!" I offered. "I'll stay here with Don and try to wake him." "I don't like your PA I like Don! He is smart and he is good. That is why I hired him. He knows me like of the back of his hand! I need him! AUUUUGGGHHHH!" Justin yelled as he stomped out of the room. My poor PA Nathan followed him out giving me a help me look. I shrugged and turned back to Don. "Please baby," I whimpered softly. "Wake up!" He groaned as he turned over. "That's it sweetie," I smiled down at him. "Wake up for me." "UUUUUGGGHH!" he groaned as he opened his eyes. He looked at the clock and immediately panicked. "I'm late!" "No wait!" I exclaimed putting my hand on his shoulder. I was relieved that he was awake but I was also scared as hell what he would do when he found out that I had laced his drink of water last night. "You're not late. My PA is with Justin right now." "Nathan?" Don yelped. "Excuse me sweetie you may be the cutest thing that walked this face of the earth and I love you and all but the truth is this. Nathan is a ditz! Justin needs me! Oh God, He is going to kill me for being late!" "Don!" I exclaimed putting both hands on his shoulders and turned him towards me. "It is my fault that you slept in this morning." "How is your fault?" Don demanded. "What did you do?" I looked down at the floor suddenly ashamed at what I hand done. "Josh?" he asked with his voice quivering as the reality sank in. "Oh no," he whimpered. "You didn't." "I'm sorry baby," I sobbed. "But I was worried about you. You weren't sleeping and I was worried. So I slipped you sleeping pills so you could get a good night sleep." "What kind were they?" Don asked in a harsh voice. I handed him the bottle. "Fuck!" he muttered as he walked into the bathroom and dumped them into the toilet and flushed them down. "Why?" he demanded with angry tears flowing down his face. "Why?" "Sweetie," I said softly. "They were just sleeping pills." "Not to a recovering drug addict!" he screamed at me with tears flowing down his face. Silence racked the room as the realization what I had done finally sank in. "I need to be alone," he muttered. "Don--," I started. "Get out now!" Don screamed. Those three words hit me square in the face. I looked into his eyes and saw the anger sorrow fear and betrayal. I wanted to hold him and I took a couple of steps closer to him. "No," he said with clenched teeth. "If you love me you will grant me my space and take Donny to the park or something and leave me alone!" I nodded quickly and left our room and got Donny and Trixy and we left the hotel. On the way out I wondered if I had fucked everything up. Would I loose Don because of something I did? >From Don's point of view. "Get out now!" I screamed at him. Those three words still echoed in my head. I had just told the man that I loved to get out. What the hell was I thinking? I'll tell you what I was thinking. I wasn't thinking. I had reacted. A year after I had gotten married and just a few months after Donny was born I was in an accident. An accident that required me to be on some pretty strong pain killers. I got addicted. The addiction almost cost me every thing that I loved. I had finally gotten clean and sober and I swore that I would never walk that path again. And now Josh hand thrust that path in front of me again. Do I forgive him? Of course I forgive him! He had no idea what my past was like. But that didn't give him the right to make a decision like that for me. To give me a controlled substance to help me sleep with out my knowledge was inexcusable. He knew it too. I saw the fear on his face when I shouted those three words. They cut him to the soul. I knew they would. Hell I had hoped that they would. I needed him out. I walked to the phone and dialed a number that I hadn't dialed in over three years. "Speak to me!" a cheerful male voice sounded over the ear piece. "Robert?" I sobbed out. "Don?" Roberts voice flowed over me like a warm comforting blanket. "What is it sweetie?" "I fucked up!" I wailed. "I've ruined everything!" "I'm sure it is not that bad sweetie," Robert's voice said softly. "Now breathe and tell me all about it." >From Justin's point of view. "Thanks for your help Nathan," I smiled at the shy PA of Josh's. "I really appreciate you pitching in for me in this tight spot. I'll see you later." I opened the door to Josh and Don's room and walked in. "I know it wasn't my fault," Don said with tears flowing down his face. "But my sobriety was compromised. What is that going to do to my recovery? God! I thought I got rid of that monkey!" I walked in to the room the rest of the way. It was at this point that I realized who he was talking too. I mentally kicked myself for interrupting. He didn't need me interrupting his talk with his sponsor. He looked at me and than looked back at the phone. "Listen," he said quickly. "I gotta go. My boss just walked in. I quickly grabbed the phone from him. "Hello?" I said into the receiver. "This is Justin Timberlake, Don's boss. Are you his sponsor?" "Yes I am but I gotta tell you I can't talk about this too you," a man's voice sounded back to me. "Don't worry," I quickly assured him. "I want you to continue talking to Don. I'll step out of the room and let you to finish. This is important and what I have to tell him can certainly wait." I handed the phone back to Don. I saw a mixture of fear and relief wash over him. I quickly hugged him. "I'm so sorry that he did that too you. But you need to understand that Josh loves you so much. He would never do anything that would hurt you. And you really need to work this out with your sponsor. Don`t worry about your job it is safe and I completely understand what happened. I may not be happy about what Josh did but I understand." Don nodded and went back to talking to his sponsor. I quickly walked into the living area of the suite and sat down and put my legs up on the table and closed my eyes to catch a quick nap. I heard a knock at the door and I opened it. I was shocked to see Josh standing there with this hurt puppy look on his face. "Why are you knocking at your own door?" I asked. "He threw me out," he sniffled. "Justin, I'm going to loose him!" By now Josh was sobbing. I looked down to see a scared Donny looking up at me. I quickly ushered them both in and sent Donny to his room and than sat Josh down and wrapped my arms around him and pulled him close. "I fucked up Justin!" Josh wailed. "Yes you did," I said soothingly. "But I think it will be all right." I heard the door open and watched as Don walked in. "Josh?" Don asked in a soft voice. "Can I talk to you?" I felt Josh tense up. I kissed him on the fore head. "It'll be all right Josh," I whispered as I wiped the tears from his face. He swallowed hard and nodded. I followed Don into the room and sat down next to him. He looked at me with sad eyes. "First things first," he said softly taking my hand. "I love you very much. And even though you did a horrible thing to me I'm not going to let it affect our love for each other." I heaved a sigh of relief. "But," he added. I cringed at the `but' word. "I promise it is not that bad," he giggled. It felt so good to hear him giggle again. I smiled and braced myself. "I need to tell you something." I nodded. "Three years ago I was in an accident and messed up my back really bad. I was on some pretty hard pain killers and well I got addicted. It is easy enough to do when you are in pain and the pain stops and you suddenly find yourself relying on them for sleep and comfort. Well that is what happened to me. When the prescription ran out I started to go to different doctors to get more. It worked for about six months. Than Pam found out. She begged me to get help. I tried to convince her that I didn't have a problem. When I heard myself trying to convince her that I didn't have a problem I realized that I did have one. So I checked myself into rehab and got the help I needed. I swore that I would never go back down that road again. And when you tried to get me to take them last night I said no. I thought that was the end of the story. But when you told me that you had slipped to me anyway I saw it all come back to me." By now I had tears flowing down my face. I had jeopardized Don's sobriety. "I'm so sorry," I sobbed. "I had no idea." I laid my head on his shoulders and welcomed the feel of his arms surrounding me. "I forgive you sweetie," Don's sweet voice drifted over me like a comforting blanket. "I called my sponsor and he assured me that taking one sleeping pill by accident wasn't going to destroy my sobriety. But this is it, I can't take anymore." I had no idea that hell that Don had gone through. If I had known that I would never have put him in that position. "Are we ok now?" I asked hopefully. He looked at me and smiled and leaned over and pressed his lips to mine. I was in heaven again as we kissed softly and tenderly. "Yea," he replied with that crazy lopsided grin that I fell in love with. "We're ok now." We heard a light knocking at the door. "Come in," he called out. Justin walked in and looked at us with a questioning look on his face. "Are you two all right?" he asked cautiously. "Yea we're fine," Don giggled. "So how was your interview Boss?" "Not bad, not bad at all. Nathan actually worked really well for a change," Justin replied with a grin. "It was almost as if he had something to prove or something. Well that is it for this place. We leave in the morning and head back home. So what do you two want to do for the rest of the day?" It was at this time that my stomach made an announcement that it was hungry and needed to be fed. Josh and Justin snickered at me as I blushed and pouted for a few minutes. "So lunch it is than and no arguing. It is my treat!" >From Nathan's point of view. I sat at the table trying to choke down my grilled chicken. Josh and Don made me sick. Well actually Don made me sick. The only reason I got this gig was that I had the hots for JC. But Don had to step in on my turf. I had to figure out a way to get rid of him. You know like send him back to his little Colorado home. I winced as I heard the giggle of his brat. I hated the little brat. He was just to fucking cute for his own good. As I sat and played nice and chocked down dried out grilled chicken I finally caught my chance. And to think it dropped into my lap with out me even to have to work to hard for it. It happened as Josh offered Don a drink of Wine. "Want some wine sweetie?" Josh asked as he started to pour Don a glass. "Can you have that?" Justin asked concerned. My ears perked up when Justin asked. "Will it affect your sobriety?" "No," Don replied. "It is just drugs that I had the problem with." He was a fucking druggy? I asked myself. JC is involved with a fucking loosing drug addict? "I am so sorry that I slipped you that sleeping pill," Josh mumbled looking down. I watched as jealousy raged through me as Don's hand reached out for his. "That is forgotten baby," Don replied softly. "Hey!" I blurted out in anger. "Watch the public displays of affection!" >From JC's point of view. "That's enough!" I barked at Nathan. Quite frankly I was surprised at his out burst. Nathan was usually very quiet. He glared at Don for a few seconds before mumbling an apology and went back to eating. I made up my mind to talk to him about this. "So what is on the schedule for the rest of the week?" I was hoping for a few days off so that Don and I could have some much needed quality time. "Well we have a few days off so we can relax a little," Justin replied. "But we start off the tour after that." "What do you guys do for the 4th?" Don asked. "The 4th of what?" Nathan snapped at him. "There are 12 fucking months in a year dick head!" "What the fuck is your problem Nathan?" I demanded. He was my Personal Assistant and he was not acting like one. He was acting like an ass and his hostility seemed to be directed at my lover. "He is my problem!" Nathan hissed at Don. "His unprofessional stunt he pulled this morning should've gotten him fired!" "Hah!" laughed Justin as he smirked. "This from the PA who screwed up JC's schedule and Don had to fix it. Don't talk to any one about professionalism especially Don. He is the best PA I have had in a long time." "Yea but he is drug addict!" Nathan muttered. "A recovering addict!" I shouted. "And you are real close to loosing your job Nathan!" I smiled a little evil smile when I saw Nathan face pale just a little. "Thank you JC," Don said with a smile that was full of love and understanding. "You don't have to protect me." "Yes I do!" I said pleadingly. "I was the one who fucked up! I was the one who slipped you that sleeping pill last night. I was the one who made you over sleep! And this ass is about to loose his fucking job if he doesn't lay the fuck off!" By now I had tears flowing down my face and I quickly got up and left. I ignored the pleas from Don as I left the room. Finally I made it to the bathroom and sat down on a bench. I knew he had forgiven me but I had made a huge mistake. One that almost cost me the love of my life. I continued to sob as I thought about what I had done. I heard the door open and watched as Justin walked in. "Hey," he said softly. "You should see Don right now." Justin giggled softly as he shook his head. "He is reading Nathan the riot act and Nathan is just sitting there with a dumfounded look on his face. It is really kinda cool to watch. You know if we hurry up we might be able to catch the final act!" I knew he was just trying to cheer me up and I smiled a small smile at him. "Hey I try!" he replied giving me his million dollar smile. "Well Nathan is out of a job!" I muttered drying my eyes. "What he said was so un called for. He had no fucking right to but in like that. No fucking right!" "Hey," Justin said soothingly. "It is all right. Don still loves you like crazy and he is not going to put up with the shit that Nathan said. So don't let it get to you. He is so not worth it! Just say the word and he is out of here!" "But what about the fact that I need a personal assistant?" I asked frowning. "I'm working on my solo album now and I can't be with out a PA." "I'll share Don with you until I help you hire someone new. And you will let me help you find a new one," Justin suggested. "No offence JC but you suck at hiring people. You go by looks first and than you go with experience. And trust me, Nathan has no experience with being a PA. So let me hire your next one ok?" I had to admit that Justin was right. I did suck at hiring people. I liked to be surrounded my beautiful people. And preferably gay people too. Nathan was a hottie and for a while before Pam called I thought that maybe we could be a couple. But that all ended when I met Don. "Come on let's go back to eat," Justin said putting his arm around my shoulder. "And let's go rescue poor Nathan from Don." I laughed softly at the prospect of Don giving Nathan a piece of his mind. When we got to the table I was in for a shock. "Listen you fucking gold digger you are not good for Josh and I am going to see that you two are history!" Nathan hissed at Don. I was about to step in and say something until Justin's firm hand landed on my arm and he shook his head no. I was glad that I didn't and I was so proud of Don. He nodded for Justin to take Donny away. We had forgotten that Donny was sitting there listening to Nathan's crap. The poor kid had this scared look on his face. Justin moved quickly to move him out of the way and in no time we were rewarded to his little giggles and laughs. Leave it to Justin to save the day. Ok back to Nathan and Don. Nathan was still cramming his foot down his throat and Don, well let`s just see how this plays out. "Oh yea and I'm so fucking tired of you bringing your fucking little brat along to everywhere we go!" Nathan sneered. He honestly thought that he was getting the upper hand. "All you are trying to do is get Josh to support his sorry little white trash ass!" "Ok you really need to back the fuck up now! You are really pissing me the fuck off and you are hurting my lover and I won`t tolerate that so if you know what is good for you, you had better back up now!" Don said in a deadly quiet voice. "Take a step back and think about what you are saying." "Fuck you!" Nathan hissed as he tossed a glass of soda at poor Don. To his credit Don just politely brushed him self off and looked up. "Take your sorry little white trash ass back up to Colorado and morn your fucking dead ass wife!" "Ok that's it!" Don shouted standing up knocking back his chair. I cringed at the racket it made. Nathan realized that he had pissed of Don and even took a couple of steps back. Inside I was cheering for Don. I looked over at Justin and saw that he had taken Donny to the video games and they were giggling and laughing and carrying on. I breathed a sigh of relief thankful that Donny didn't have to see that. "First you rag on me? Than you rag on my son! Now you insult the memory of my wife! Take your sorry looking twinky pimped up ass the fuck out of here now! I'm tired of you telling what I can and can't do and as for your so called professionalism that you claim to have well you can shove that up your tight little bent out of shape ass too!" He than took a condom out of his pocket and tossed it too Nathan hitting him in the chest. "And use some protection to when you shove it up your ass, ass wipe! Because the fucked up job you do has to be catching!" I choked back a laugh only to elbowed by Justin. " It took me three hours to fix the fucked up mess you created for Josh. And I am really not in the mood to fix anymore of your fucking mess ups! You don't know the first thing about being a PA and maybe if you quit hanging around Josh like a bitch in heat than maybe just maybe you would learn something! But than again I seriously doubt that anything could possibly get through that twinked out little bleached blonde head of yours!" I tried really hard not to bust out laughing. Don was letting Nathan have it and it was funny to watch an amateur like Nathan lock wits with Don. Finally Nathan just hauled off and tried to hit Don. Note, I said tried. Don easily blocked it and shoved Nathan into the arms of my body guard. "Don't even try it twinkie boy!" he laughed. "Jake take the fucking trash out!" "With pleasure sir," Jake said softly as he picked up the squirming yelling and swearing Nathan and started to walk out of the restaurant. "Wait!" I called out to Jake. He stopped and Nathan actually smiled because he thought I was going to take his side. "Nathan you are fired," I said calmly. "I'll mail you your last check." The look of pure hate I got from Nathan actually made me nervous. I calmed down when I felt the comforting hand on my shoulder. I looked down to see Don looking up at me with concern in his eyes. "You ok sweetie," he asked softly. We were in the back room of the place so we could show some affection. I lowered my head so that my forehead was touching his. "I'm more than ok love," I whispered. "Now what do you say we continue our dinner?" I motioned Justin over and he swung Donny up on his shoulders and walked over. Donny was babbling about something and Justin just laughed and started to tickle the day lights out of poor Donny. Soon the room was full of the little boy's laughter. >From Don's Point of view. "Ok so where were we?" Justin asked. "Something about the 4th?" "Yea I was wondering what you guys did for the 4th of July?" Don asked again. "Why do you ask?" I slid my hand into his and squeezed. "Fire crackers!" Donny exclaimed. "I love fire crackers!" We all laughed and smiled at Donny as he tried to take a huge bite out of his cheeseburger. He looked so cute with ketch up on his cheek. "Well," Don said. "I was kinda wondering if maybe we could have a cook out or something." "And your pasta salad too?" Josh asked grinning widely. "Yes dear," I giggled. "More of my pasta salad." "And lots of Fire Crackers!" Donny exclaimed clapping his hands together. "Yes buddy," Justin laughed. "There will be lots of Fire Crackers." Donny seemed very happy about that fact. After dinner we walked out and into our cars and headed back to the hotel. We would be leaving later that evening to get back home. I was looking forward to going home. I wanted some serious alone time with Josh. >From Nathan's point of view. My plane touched down less than an hour ago. I climbed into the car that Kevin had sent me and it took me to their home. Once there I walked into the living room where Kevin was waiting for me. "Well?" Kevin asked as he took a drink of brandy. "What happened?" "Well you are never going to believe this," I gloated. "It seems that the Josh's precious little boy friend has a drug problem. And Josh slipped him a sleeping pill last night." "What happened this morning?" Kevin asked perking up right away. "Well Justin couldn't wake Don up and well as much as I would like to say that Don got his ass fired I can't. Josh owned up to slipping Don the pill and so Justin just took me to the meeting," I replied. "And you think this is going to help me how?" Kevin asked getting pissed. "I think that with a little careful planning we can get Don hooked back on pain killers or sleeping pills," I replied quickly. "I see where you are headed," Kevin replied. "But how will this help me?" "We can make it look like JC is slipping them to him. Once Don finds out Josh is gone and that leaves you free to move back in with Josh," I explained. "It could work," Kevin said thoughtfully. "Do you have some?" I tossed him a full bottle of black market prescription strength sleeping pills. "These should do the trick," I smiled. "Good slip Don the first one tonight," Kevin smiled. "Tomorrow night increase the dose." TBC (Don's Pasta Salad) Two cups of cooked pasta (Macaroni: Use your imagination! Pick out the colored or flavored kind. You can also by the pasta in different sizes and shapes, like shells or bow ties to wheels. Stay away from Spaghetti or noodles. ) Ranch Dressing mix (Powdered Works best) One to two packs depending on taste Bacon bits (Real or Bacos) if you like a little crunch than use Bacos. 1/4 cup maybe a half again depending on taste Mayonnaise or miracle whip 1- 2 cups ( again work it in to the mix according to taste.) One half cup of chopped onions (adjust amount to your taste) One fourth cup of sharp cheddar cheese cut up in small cubes (again adjust amount to your taste) One half cup of cooked frozen sweet peas Use Frozen ones because canned ones are too mushy. Don't cook all the way so they are tender. Make them about 3/4 of the way done. Don't season or ad butter. Just boil them in plain water (Ingredients can be added or left out depending on taste. After mixing all ingredients together refrigerate for a few hours and than take and enjoy!"