JC had only slightly calmed down by the time he had gotten out of the shower.  He knew he had been wrong to take it out on Laura, but maybe if he played his cards right she would offer to rub his aching shoulders. 

Opening the door, he started, “Look, I didn’t mean to-“  He stopped when he realized the room was empty.  She probably stepped out to get a drink or a snack.  He made himself comfortable on the bed, flipping through the channels while he waited on her to come back.  Several minutes passed and she hadn’t returned.  He found something on TV and was so engrossed that the next time he checked the clock almost 2 hours had passed since he had emerged from the bathroom.

His anger had cooled by now and was being replaced by concern.  Maybe she had decided to sleep on the bus.  He tried calling her, but found she had left her phone on the dresser across the room.  Decisively he stepped into his shoes planning to see if she was on the bus.  He would rather sleep in their cramped bed there with her than up here by himself. 

Taking the stairs rather than running the risk of meeting fans in the lobby, he descended quickly.  He kept his head down as he walked through the deserted parking lot to reach his bus.  Using his key, he unlocked it, calling out her name as he entered. 

“Laura, I’m sorry, can you please just-“  She wasn’t on the bus either.  He checked their bedroom, bathroom, nothing. 

Where was she?

Heading back to the hotel, he decided to check with his security to find out if they knew where she had been.  No one had.  Waking up Tony, he was now in a panic, thinking a crazed fan had his wife. 

“I was so mad at her earlier, she volunteered me to fix dinner for everyone, did you know that?  Of course you knew that, you were the one she was talking to.” JC was pacing back and forth, as security checked each staff room looking for her. 

Tony had a puzzled look on his face, “What are you talking about man?”

“She was on the phone with you earlier; I overheard her talking to you about Thanksgiving and me becoming her ‘willing slave’.”

“Oh, that.  No way, you are mad at her about that?”  He laughed while JC’s face turned stony.  “If you’d have eavesdropped on the rest of the conversation, you would have realized that the next words out of her mouth were that she would give you credit for coming up with the idea and helping, but she didn’t expect you to do a thing.  It was supposed to be a surprise to you, a home cooked meal on your day off.  JC man, you are an idiot.  If I had a wife like that, I would treat her like a precious jewel.”

Groaning, he realized he should have known better.  “I’m so stupid.  If I hadn’t been in such a bad mood to start with, I never would have flown off the handle like that.”  He stopped to consider what Laura had said earlier.  “Do you think I’m turning into a diva?”

“Am I going to lose my job?”  Tony joked with a smirk.  JC just sent a look his way.  “Alright honestly, today, yes!  What was going on with you today?  But no usually, you are one of the normal ones and I give credit to Laura for keeping you grounded.  Don’t lose her.”

The sun was beginning to rise and still no sign of Laura when a member of the security team, knocked on the doorjamb.  “JC, we found her.”  JC jumped up and followed him down the hall.  “She was in the conference room, with music playing, which is why she never heard us calling.  We saw her just run out of there and into the bathroom across the hall.  We think she’s sick.”

JC shoved open the door to the women’s restroom and followed the sound of retching.  She was struggling to hold her hair back from her face.  JC rubbed her back as she continued to be sick.  Getting up he moistened some paper towels before once again kneeling behind her. 

She wiped her mouth with a piece of toilet paper while JC ran the cool cloth over her forehead.  Getting up she flushed the toilet and staggered to a sink, where she ran warm water to splash against her face and rinse her mouth.  JC supported her as he looked on in concern. 

She took a deep wavering breath as she took in her bloodshot eyes and pale face in the mirror. 

“Come on, let’s get you to bed.”  He placed a gentle guiding hand at her back and pulled open the restroom door.  She started to head back into the conference room, but was stopped. 

“I need my stuff from in there.”  She said in a weak voice. 

“Tony will get it for you,” JC looked at Tony and got a confirming nod. 

He led her down the hall to their room, pulling back the covers, and tucking them around her tightly.  Tony came in and quietly set her items on the dresser before closing the door behind him. 

“Why did you leave if you were sick?”

“I wasn’t sick; it just hit me all of a sudden.  I figured you needed a chance to calm down, before one of us said something we would regret.”

“I didn’t mean to take my bad mood out on you and Tony set the record straight about Thanksgiving.”

“JC when have I ever volunteered you for something without checking first?”

“Never.”

“Exactly, so why would this be any different?”

“I know and now that I’ve calmed down from our fight and thinking you had been kidnapped,” Laura rose a brow at that.  “I realize I was totally irrational.  I’m sorry.”

She coughed for a moment and took a drink of water before reclining again. 

Suddenly they spoke over one another.

“Do you really think I’m a diva?”

“You thought I had been kidnapped?”

They shared a laugh before they both explained.

***

After a few hours of sleep, Laura awoke refreshed and ready to head out and do some grocery shopping.  Tony had arranged for her to have use of a nearby kitchen where she could prepare three turkeys and all the fixings that went along with it.  Today she planned to get all the supplies and make pies and rolls so she didn’t have to worry about that tomorrow on Thanksgiving. 

As she finished getting ready, JC grumbled about why she was up so early. 

“I’m going to get groceries.”

He sat up and rubbed the sleep from his eyes.  “I don’t think so, you were just sick.  You shouldn’t be running around like that.  Get someone else to get them.” 

“No, I’m picky about what I want; I’ll be back in a few hours.”

“Wait and I’ll go with you.”

“No, you’re exhausted and you need all the sleep you can get on your days off.”

He fixed a stern look on her.  “Either I go with you or you don’t go at all.”  She could tell he was serious so with a roll of her eyes, she said “Fine, but hurry up, I have a bunch of pies to make this afternoon.”

In the grocery store a short while later, JC saw that she was starting to feel a little queasy and tried to use that to help her.  “Look, just get the premade pie crusts and rolls.  I’ll help make the pies; no one will be able to tell the difference.”

He knew she was still feeling sick when she agreed so fast.  His gaze narrowed on her pale face, normally she would have argued about making homemade crusts and if she had been feeling herself would have gotten the ingredients no matter what JC said. 

He rushed them through the rest of the list and headed out to get the car while Laura picked up one final item she didn’t want him to see yet.  She had a feeling about what was causing this queasiness, but wanted to confirm it before she told anyone her suspicions. 

She tucked the item into her purse after the clerk had rung it up, and just in time.  JC came striding back in to help carry the groceries to the car. 

With the two of them working together, it didn’t take long to get 14 pies made.  The rolls were ready and after getting the turkeys in the oven the next morning, the rest of the meal would be a breeze. 

The next morning dawned with Laura again getting sick, but this time JC didn’t stir from his deep slumber.  Climbing back into bed again, she thought about the item in her purse but decided to wait until the next morning when they weren’t rushing around preparing a big meal for everyone.  On Friday, JC didn’t have to be at the venue until sound check at three.  So if the answer was what she thought it was going to be, they could celebrate all morning, just the two of them. 

Not many minutes later, the alarm went off and JC stirred under the covers.  She started to get out of bed, but was pulled back in giggling. 

“JC, I have to get the turkeys in the oven.  Let me go.” 

“Nobody wants turkey on Thanksgiving, we’ll drive through and get fast food for everyone to eat, stay in bed.”

He reluctantly released her and stretched before lazily sitting up.

“Do you feel better this morning?”

“Yeah, I do and even better its Thanksgiving.”  She hurried into the bathroom to avoid any more questions.