Careless Mistake
by Kelli
Part 60
Late January 2006.......
Britney stood to the side of the Today Show set before they went to a break. She nervously rubbed her stomach to try to calm her nerves. This was the first interview since she found out she was pregnant and she wasn't sure how it was going to go. On top of it all, it was live and that didn't ease her nerves any.
"After this break, we'll talk to Britney Spears, don't go away," Katie said before they went to a commercial.
The producer walked over to her.
"Britney, would you come with me?" he asked.
"Sure."
They walked over to the set and he motioned for her to sit down on the couch. Katie wasn't on that part of the set yet.
"Do you need anything to drink? There's water in that mug right there," he said, pointing to the mug on the side table.
"Um, no that should be good enough," she smiled up at him.
"Are the pillows supporting your back well enough?" he asked.
She chuckled. "You must be a father. Only men who have been around pregnant women know to ask that."
He smiled. "I have two myself."
She smiled back and moved around in the seat a little. "This is fine," she said with a swipe of her hand.
In a few minutes, Katie came back.
"Hi Britney. You comfortable?" she asked.
"Yeah, everything's fine."
The sound guy came by one more time to make sure her mic was hidden and hooked up.
Katie took a sip from her mug and looked over her notes. She smoothed out her skirt and then looked over at the director.
"We're back in thirty seconds," he yelled toward them.
Britney took another deep breath and tried to sit up straighter. She made sure that not too much of her legs were showing in her dress.
Before she realized it, Katie started talking.
"Welcome back. One of our guests today is most likely no stranger to you. She's sold millions of albums world wide and has a few movies under her belt as well. And to talk about one of those movies with us today is soon to be mommy of two, Britney Spears. Welcome to the show and congratulations," Katie said with a smile.
"Thank you," Britney said, smoothing her hands out over her belly.
"I'm surprised we haven't heard about this yet in the tabloids or something," Katie chuckled. "How far along are you?"
"I'm about six months."
"And you already have a daughter......Mackenzie?" Katie asked, a little unsure of her daughter's name.
"Yes, Mackenzie is almost two."
"How does she feel about becoming a big sister?"
Britney spread her hands out over her legs. "She's very excited. She's already got plans," she chuckled.
"Well, good luck to both you and Justin on that endeavor."
"Thanks."
"But let's talk about your movie...."
They continued with the interview and Britney felt the tension ease away, little by little.
"Britney, thank you for stopping by. Good luck with the film and on the new little one...." Katie said as she started to wrap it up.
"Thanks, Katie."
"And tell Justin congratulations from us...."
"I will," she nodded.
"And we'll be back after your local news," Katie said with a nod to the camera.
"And we're out," the director yelled.
Britney slouched a little and took another drink of water.
"Thank you," Britney said, holding her hand out to Katie.
"No, thank you and good luck with everything," she smiled back at her.
Britney nodded and stood up.
"Bathroom," she mumbled to herself and headed off towards the hallway.
As soon as she got into the green room, her cell phone started to ring. Fe picked it up and looked at the display.
"It's Justin," she said, holding the phone out to Britney.
"So, did I look like a nervous wreck?" she answered the phone with.
Fe started to gather their things.
"No, you looked wonderful. You were glowing," Justin chuckled.
"That's because of the lights," Britney teased.
"No, it was because you were talking about our baby. See, it wasn't so hard, was it?"
Britney sighed and crossed her arm over her belly.
"No, it wasn't hard. But that was just the first interview. It's going to get worse now."
"Where are you off to next?" he asked.
"I think we're going to do Regis and Kelly?" she asked Fe, more than tell Justin.
Fe looked up and nodded.
"Yeah," Britney said.
"Okay....you take care of yourself, okay? If you're hungry, tell Fe. If you're tired, tell Fe....."
"Justin, I'll be fine."
"Okay, okay. Call me when you get a chance in between interviews, okay?"
"I will."
"I love you."
"I love you too, baby. Give Mackenzie a big kiss for me. What is she doing right now?" Britney asked. She and Fe started walking down the hallway, behind her bodyguard.
"She's watching a video and singing along with it," he chuckled. "She's very good."
"Yes, she is," Britney laughed. "So she's feeling better?"
"For the most part. The fever is going down but I'm still making her rest."
"Good. Okay, bye."
"Bye."
They hung up and Britney got into the elevator.
~*~
"I want mommy," Mackenzie cried.
"Mommy isn't here, you're going to have to put up with me," Justin said, trying to calm the little girl down. "Come here and take more medicine."
She stood in the corner of the room and shook her head.
"No," she said, folding her arms across her chest.
"Yes," Justin said, patiently.
Mackenzie closed her mouth tightly to show Justin she wasn't going to budge.
"Okay," he shrugged as he stood up. He put the lid back on the medicine and walked over to her.
She backed up into the corner as much as she could.
"No," she screamed.
Suddenly she bounded around him and ran to the couch, crying the whole time.
Justin stood up, staring at the wall and ran his hand through his hair and sighed.
"Lord give me strength," he said, looking up.
Then the front door opened and Britney walked in. She looked dead on her feet.
"Mommmmyyyyy," Mackenzie cried as she ran over to Britney. She clung to her legs, which almost made Britney loose her balance. She braced a hand against the wall.
"Mackenzie, you almost pushed me over," Britney snapped. She looked up at Justin who was making his way over to them.
"Come on, that's it. We're going to bed," he said, grabbing a fighting Mackenzie by the waist. He carried her up to her room as she kicked and screamed the whole way.
Meanwhile, Britney walked over to the couch and collapsed. She put her feet up and rested her head against a pillow.
Once in Mackenzie's room, Justin put her in her crib and she threw herself down.
"Open your mouth," Justin ordered. He had a dropper of medicine ready to go.
She closed her mouth and shook her head.
"Mackenzie. I am not joking. You need to take this medicine."
She laid on her back as she still kicked and screamed. While her mouth was open and her eyes were closed, he put the dropper in her mouth and squeezed. She choked on the liquid just a little, so Justin picked her up and started to pat her back as he bounced her up and down. She tried to fight him but he was too strong for her and finally she stopped moving. He paced the floor back and forth and started to hum her favorite song as he pushed her head down on his shoulder.
Once in awhile a tiny whimper would emerge from her mouth but for the most part, it was working. The medicine and Justin's humming was lulling her to sleep.
"Daddy," she quietly mumbled as her lips still quivered.
"Shhhh, daddy loves you very much," he said as he rubbed her back.
When he was convinced she would fall asleep on her own, he kissed her temple and laid her in her bed and shut the door behind him.
He bounded down the steps and chuckled at how he looked at that moment with a little bit of medicine and some of her tears down the front of his shirt. When he got down to the family room, he found Britney laying on the couch, with one shoe off and the other foot draped over the back pillows of the couch.
"That was a long day," he said when he reached her.
She didn't move, she only moaned a yes.
"Brit, dammit, I told you to stop when you got too tired," he said angrily, with his hands on his hips.
She opened one eye to look at him. "I'm too tired to argue with you right now," she said softly.
He crouched down next to her and took one of her hands in his.
"So, what was that all about with Mackenzie?" she asked.
"She just got cranky, wanted you and didn't want to take her medicine."
"Did she finally?"
"Yeah, after I forced her into it."
Both of her eyes opened at that. She tried to move but her tired body wouldn't let her.
"Help me sit up, please," she said, holding her other hand out.
He stood up and pulled her so she was sitting up.
"Okay, sit down here so I can lean on you."
Justin did as she ordered and she leaned back so her back was against his side. He put his arm around her and held her hand again.
"She sounded really upset."
"She was, but she's fine now. So, how did the rest of the interviews go?"
"Long. Especially the magazine interview. The woman interviewing me was so nice and we got talking about our kids.....she's got an eighteen month old...."
"Was it off the record?" he asked, a little concerned.
"What? Oh, I don't know...." she barely shrugged.
"What kind of things did you share with her?" He moved his arm down around her body a little bit so his hand was resting on her stomach.
"We just swapped mommy stories, that's all."
"Hmm."
"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked.
"I don't know, Britney. You tell me? You're the one who had a nice conversation with her. I hate to remind you of this but no matter how friendly the interviewers are, they're still there to do a job."
"She wasn't like that," she said bitterly.
"Okay," he said.
"Fuck," she said, throwing her head back.
"What?" he asked, sitting up a little straighter.
"Now I'm trying to think about what we discussed. Surely she wouldn't write about any of it."
He relaxed a little when he realized her cursing wasn't about being in pain.
"Is that her name? Shirley?" he teased.
"Justin, you could support me on this and not stress me out more," she said in an irritated tone.She rubbed the side of her stomach.
"I'm sorry, you're right. But Brit, you're just too damned trusting sometimes."
"I'm sure it's going to be okay.....I couldn't have revealed too much," she said, trying to think.
"So, changing the subject, how did the radio interview go?"
"It went well. The DJ was okay."
Her mind was still on that interviewer from the magazine. It really bothered her that the woman could have used their bond as mother's to get some personal stuff from her.
"You hungry?" Justin asked.
Britney shook her head. "We ate while talking to the magazine lady."
"Well then, let me help you get up to bed," he said, trying to nudge her a little so he could stand up.
"Can't we just sit here awhile? I like it down here," she said, grabbing his hand again.
He leaned his head down and kissed the top of hers.
"Okay, but you need to rest the rest of the night," he said.
"Yes sir," she said, with her eyes drifting shut.