Haunted

"You really do have a lot of secrets" - UNEDITED

Disclaimer: This chapter has not been edited from the original as posted on JBFF. There will be mistakes, typos, continuity problems and other issues.

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Justin woke up that morning with no idea where he was. It took a minute before the familiar surroundings sunk in and he remembered he was home in his own bed. Sun was streaming through the windows and one look at the clock told him it was almost 1pm.

He groaned and got up, back cracking and his other joints popping. His whole body ached. It may as well have been 1am for how exhausted he felt. To think, just the day before he'd told Clara he wasn't so sure this would be his last tour after all. Now he knew, though he'd never say it outloud: he was too old for this shit.

The kitchen was full of girls - his girls. Just the way he liked it. Clara's face still lit up when he walked in the room. Kylie's too. Hannah was there, looking equally miserable and radiant at once. Justin recognized it from watching his daughters go through their final month of pregnancy. To see his granddaughter fighting through it now was bittersweet.

"I was wondering if we'd see you today," Clara came over to kiss him. "Let me feed you."

"Love you," Justin kissed her again before he let her go.

Kylie gave him a big hug when he went to sit down with Hannah. She was dressed in casual clothes, like she hadn't been to work that day.

"I missed you," Kylie said.

"I missed you too," Justin smiled. "How's retired life? Should I be excited?"

"I'm not retired," Kylie said. "I have a conference call in a minute, actually."

"Well don't work too hard," Justin said. He sat next to Hannah. "How's it going?" he asked. "You hanging in there?"

"Yeah," Hannah said. "This part isn't so great."

"So I hear," Justin nodded but he wanted to laugh. Leave it to Hannah. Even Emily had bitched about her last few weeks of pregnancy but sweet Hannah had probably never complained in her life. "Better you than me. That's for sure."

"Ignore him, we always do," Kylie said. "Want to go for a massage? My treat."

"No thank you," Hannah said.

"Maybe going in the pool would help," Clara said. "Toward the end with the twins that was the only thing that kept me going."

"I've been doing that at night," Hannah said. "After Dad goes to bed, so he doesn't try to help me."

"He's a little overprotective, huh?" Justin grinned. That was Maddox alright. Hannah nodded.

"He almost didn't let me come over here," Hannah said. "Not until Aunt Kylie promised to drive me."

"I told him he had to relax," Kylie rolled her eyes. She had her phone out. "He'll make himself crazy if he treats all his kids like this. It's so much better if you just let it go."

"That's how I've always seen it," Justin said. Clara shot him a look. He decided to ignore it. Maybe he hadn't really always seen it that way but he did now.

Kylie went into another room with her phone, leaving him alone with Clara and Hannah. Clara brought his breakfast over so Justin dug in. She put a plate in front of Hannah too, though Hannah hadn't asked, and Justin tried not to laugh when Hannah managed to finish eating before he did.

"We were going to-" Clara started to say but she was cut off by one of Kylie's famous shrieks.

"No! No no no," Kylie was screeching. "How could she? No!"