On the third and final day of recording, Justin decided to take matters into his own hands. Right before they were about to leave Justin invited Laura out to dinner with him and JC that evening. She reluctantly agreed before hopping into a limo and disappearing down the highway.

Reporters were somehow tipped off that JC and Laura were in the studio with Michael Stewart and had been camped outside all day waiting for an interview.

Rumors had been flying around about the two of them ever since JC jumped Rick at the night club. There were tons of bogus stories about them in the tabloids. There were even reports that Rick and JC were having a affair and that Rachel found out and sent Laura in to seduce Rick away from him. JC was used to the frenzy of lies, but Laura was not accustomed to having her personal business put out in the street and all over newspapers...Even if most of it was false.

JC was mysteriously quiet during dinner. Justin and Laura were deep in conversation while JC sat back an watched them.

"Are you saying I look fat?" she asked as she punched Justin in the arm.

"Hell nah. I was saying that the outfit you have on makes you look like you actually have skin on these bones." Justin joked as he lightly pinched her arm.

"Well at the rate I am puking up everything I eat or drink, I'm sure I will be back to my old self in no time." Laura smiled.

"Did you see a doctor about it yet?"

"Yeah." she said as she looked towards JC. He was not looking towards them, but was intently listening to every word as he tried to make it seem like he was very interested in the dessert cart that had just been wheeled by. Before taking a sip of her water, Laura muttered, "...It's been taken care of."

Justin rushed through the dessert and apologized to the both of them stating that he promised a few friends he would see them before he left town. He told JC and Laura to enjoy the rest of their dessert and said he would make sure to see her before they left town. Without Justin there, Laura and JC felt very uncomfortable being alone with one another again.

After 5 minutes of silence, she decided to break the ice once and for all. "So how have you been?"

"Pretty good. Yourself?"

"I'm okay...How's the baby?"

JC smiled as he thought of Nikolas. "He's really good. He's starting to talk more. He and Buddy are inseparable."

Laura sat and played with her napkin as she nodded her head, "That's good. How's Rachel?"

"She's been pretty busy with filming a few shows. But other than that, things seem to be back to normal."

Laura looked away towards a couple at a nearby table. She didn't want to look at JC. She knew that if she did, he would see right through her act. JC sat up and took a small bite of his cake before asking, "So where are you living these days?"

"Why does it matter now?" she snapped at him.  She hadn't meant to but he had a way of pulling at her true emotions.

"I was just curious. You just left out of the blue...Without a trace."

"You didn't get my letter?"

JC looked down and started fiddling with the butter knife. "Yeah I got it...I just wouldn't have expected you to leave like you did."

"I didn't want to move...I loved that house. But the way things were, I just couldn't see an alternative. The apartment I have now is nothing compared to that house." 

"Apartment?"

"Yeah. It's just temporary until I decide on a house."

"Are you..."

"Am I what?" she asked.

JC looked down at his cake and softly asked, "Are you happy?"

Laura looked up towards the ceiling and shook her head, "Hmmm...Am I happy?" She wiped a single tear away from the corner of her eye before looking directly at him. "You were happiness to me. I experienced so many things with you that just the simple thought of you brought me joy..Bliss...heaven...And any other word you can think of...So you ask me if I am happy?" Laura leaned forward so that he could hear her clearly. "No, JC. I'm not happy."  She paused and asked the waiter for another glass of water before looking back over at him. "Are you happy?"

"Almost…Day by day." he lied.

"When are the two of you getting married?"

"I still haven't given her a ring yet. We have been taking our time. I'm finding out a great deal of things that I didn't know before though."

"Oh yeah? That's good."

"Yeah, she's opened my eyes to a lot of things about both you and her." he said.

"About me?"

"Yeah. Certain plans you helped her come up with. Things of that nature."

Laura could hear the sarcasm in his voice and couldn't help but laugh to herself. "Yeah, one can never be too careful around me."

"I don't want to fight tonight. I haven't seen you in a long time. I don't want it to turn out to be this way."

"Trust me...I won't let it get to that point." She motioned for the waiter to bring the check. "So how are the guys?"

"Joey is busy playing daddy to his baby. Lance is busy studying for the space thing. And Chris has been taking it easy lately. He had hurt his back a while ago and now he isn't as active as he used to be. Playing a little golf here and there. What about you?"

"Busy working on this album with Christina. Then there are about 4 other projects that I just got...One of them is for a soundtrack to a movie that is coming out soon. Hmm...Let's see...Ducking and dodging reporters left and right. I'm surprised they haven't found out where I live yet. And lastly, I'm house hunting almost everyday when I'm not puking up a lung."

JC laughed lightly. The waiter came back around and placed the check down on the table. "It's all been taken care of. Mr. Timberlake had me bill it to his room before he left. He asked that I give the receipt to you Mr. Chasez." JC looked up at him and said thank you. The waiter nodded and left.

"I'll have to thank him later for that." Laura said as she took her napkin from her lap and placed it on the table. "Are you leaving?" JC asked disappointedly.

"Yeah. You can stay and eat the rest of your cake. I'm not feeling very well and I have a long ride back to my hotel." Laura was feeling a bit dizzy and the smells of the food around her were making her queasy.

"Come on. You can come upstairs for a little while till you feel better." he said as he stood up to leave.

"No. I don't think so."

He placed his napkin down on the plate and said, "Well then just for a minute. I have something of yours that I need to give back to you."

"What is it?"

"One of your photo albums. It's the smaller one with the picture of your grandmother on the front?"

Laura was hesitant to follow him up to his room. They were both quiet the entire trip up the elevator. When they reached his room, Laura stayed close to the door. JC was looking through his messages when he noticed her nervously looking around. "I'm not going to bite." he smiled.

Laura smiled back and walked over and sat down at the desk. They both talked briefly as JC dug into his bag to find her photo album. Judging by their laughter, the two of them seemed to be having a good time. JC finally retrieved her book and walked over to where she was sitting and handed it to her. Laura's eyes lit up as she leafed through the book. "I thought I had lost this. I had no idea where I'd left it."

As she reached the back of the book she came across a picture of her and JC. They were both sitting on the couch facing one another with their mouths wide open in laughter. They were starring at one another and seemed incredibly happy in that moment. The next picture was from the same day, but this time JC had Laura's head locked underneath his arm and Joey and Lance leaning over to save her, while Chris took advantage of the moment to tickle her. Laura couldn't remember when they took those pictures. "It was when the guys came over to watch the football game...After we came back from Vegas." He muttered.

"Oh" she paused remembering back. "Do you want any of these?"

"They're yours. I'm sure I have the doubles somewhere." he said as he went and sat down on the edge of the bed across from her.

Laura could feel her stomach doing somersaults. She placed the book down on the table and rushed to the bathroom. JC ran in after her and found her leaning over the toilet. He grabbed her hair and held it up behind her head. Laura flushed the toilet and knelt down beside it. JC took a damp rag and placed it over the back of her neck before sitting next to her on the floor. "I'm sorry." she apologized.

"Sorry for what? You're sick. There's nothing to be sorry about." JC's cell phone began to ring. He pulled it out of his pocket and checked the caller ID before finally answering. "Hello...Hey...How's the baby?"

Laura quietly got up and walked over to the sink to wash out her mouth. A hand soon reached past her. She looked in the mirror and saw JC standing behind her. He reached into the cabinet and grabbed a brand new toothbrush and handed it to her. She mouthed a thank you before watching him leave the bathroom and closing the door. As she was brushing her teeth she could hear JC's voice getting louder and louder. She walked over and leaned towards the door to hear him more clearly. "...All I'm saying is that I am not you. Don't accuse me of some shit that only you would do. There was no date. We had dinner with Justin. So calm down!"

Laura went back over and finished cleaning herself up before she opened to door. JC was standing by the window starring out into the city. "Everything okay?" she asked.

JC spun around and looked towards her. "Yeah. Everything's cool. She is just a bit nervous because we are working together again. She'll get over it."

Laura smiled as she walked over to the desk and grabbed her photo album. "Well I better get going." she said as she headed for the door.

Laura struggled with the lock and couldn't seem to get the door open. JC walked up close behind her and took a deep breath in of her shampoo. Laura could feel him close to her and could smell the light scent of his cologne and closed her eyes and breathed in the air around her. She could feel his warm breath on her ear and knew his head was next to hers. "Let me get that." he said.

Laura was still struggling with the lock when JC placed his hand over hers and turned the latch all the way to the right. A jolt of electricity passed through both their bodies when their hands touched. JC hadn't touched her in so long that he had almost forgotten how soft her skin was. He had almost forgotten how incredible she smelled. The door was unlocked but neither of them was making a move to open it. JC slowly slid his hand up her arm. Laura quickly backed away. JC was startled by her sudden movement. "Something wrong?"

"Nothing. I just really need to get going." she said nervously.

Laura turned the knob and opened the door. They both stood in the doorway not knowing what to say to one another. "So I guess I will see you around then?" he asked as he went to give her a hug.

Laura backed away and put out her hand. "Yeah. Cya round." she mumbled.

JC looked down at her hand. "I can't even give you a hug good-bye?"

"As much as I want to be in your arms right now...I can't."

"It's just a hug."

"To you maybe." Laura looked away from him down the hall. Tears started to fall down her face as she sobbed, "I just can't stand here and pretend that you choosing her over me doesn't matter. I can't act like I am not hurting. I can't put on a show and say that things are great now that you are not in my life anymore...I know damn well that half the reason I am going through what I'm going through right now is because of you...Things you'll never know."

JC was confused. "What are you going through?"

Laura wanted to tell him everything that had happened since she left town, but decided it was best if she didn't. "I had a nice evening considering the fact that I 'm sick. I don't want to ruin it. Let's just leave on good terms." she said as she outstretched her hand to his.

JC reluctantly started to shake her hand. Laura patted the side of JC's arm and told him she would see him soon. He watched her as she walked towards the elevator. Something was bothering him. He didn't know what, but he ran down the hallway after Laura who was about to step into the empty elevator. "Laura!" he called after her.

He stood in front of her trying to catch his breath as he placed his hand on the doors to keep them from closing. "Is there something that you need to tell me...Something I should know?"

Laura starred into JC's eyes debating whether or not she should tell him. She thought of Rachel and the baby and what JC had said at dinner and looked up at him. The doors started to close when she said, "No...There's nothing you need to know about anymore."

He starred at his reflection on the elevator doors and said to himself, "But there is indeed something."