He left.

He had work to do.

He left.

The guys needed him.

He left.

It's his job.

He left.

He left.

She ignored all else. It was only those two words that kept replaying in her mind like an annoying song set on repeat. She didn't want to think about it, she didn't want to hear it, but it was stuck in her head all morning.

Liz lay on her back, the only position her doctor allowed her to be in for more than an hour, but her head was turned completely to the side to look out the window in her hospital room. The thirty degree weather and sun shining through the blinds only mocked and contrasted her sullen mood.

The cloth that was wrapped around her head was now removed and replaced with a large bandage that was stuck close to her left temple, right above her left eye. Besides for a few bruises on the outside, the tests had shown that there was no permanent damage to her brain. She had gotten on her feet with the help of her doctor earlier that morning for the first time in an attempt to take a shower but right after that, she just chose to stay on the bed and ‘rest'.

"You wanna open it?" Emma asked gently, slowly going to sit next to Liz's feet on the hospital bed.

Liz didn't respond. She simply continued to stare at the window.

"Honey," Karen started, nearing the bed. "It might get you to start talking a little bit. If you open it then maybe we can get him on the phone and you two can- "

"I don't wanna talk to him," Liz said, her voice raspy yet soft. She didn't once make the effort to even bother to make eye contact.

Emma and Karen exchanged helpless looks but they were interrupted when they heard a knock on the door and Roy walked in, holding a bouquet of tulips.

"She awake?" he mouthed, closing the door behind him gently.

Karen nodded and Roy walked around to stand at the foot of the bed, close to where Emma sat.

"Lizzie, Josh messaged me saying he wanted to get these for you," Roy held up the flowers and Liz only glanced at them before looking back at the window. "He hopes you're feeling a little better."

"He sent you flowers," Emma said with a small smile.

Liz turned her head slowly but maintained her stolid expression. "Tell him I said thanks. And tell him no, I'm not feeling any better. But if he asks any of you again, tell him not to worry about me because I'm doing fine as I'm sure he is."

"You're not doing fine sweetheart," Karen told her gently, resting her hand over Liz's. "We know you're hurting right now, physically and emotionally."

Roy nodded. "Josh misses you, you know that. He's just trying to do what he thought you wanted."

"He thought I wanted to wake up in the middle of the night and not see him? That's what he thought I wanted?"

"His emotions are conflicted, Liz," Emma assured her. "He thought this would have been easier if he wasn't around here. He thought you wanted him to leave. And, he has a job. You know he can't make any excuses when it comes to his job at this time. Not when he's on tour."

"I don't want to talk about this," Liz murmured, closing her eyes. "I just can't right now." She opened her eyes briefly once more. "But thank you for the flowers, Roy. Thank you both for staying."

"You know we're here for you as long as you need us to be," Roy told her, resting the flowers next to the table by her bed. "The doctor said he's coming back to check on you in an hour and a half or so."

"I just want to sleep," Liz murmured. "Everywhere is starting to hurt again."

"If the pain gets unbearable, just hit the call button at the side of the bed and the nurses said they'll give you some more medication, okay?"

Liz responded with a soft exhale and she relaxed her closed eyelids. Roy and Karen gave Emma a nod and quietly left the room.

Emma took out the folded piece of paper out of her purse that rested on her lap and rested a hand on top of Liz's leg.

"You're not fooling me. You know that right?"

"I'm not trying to fool anyone," Liz mumbled.

"I know you already opened and read this."

"You can read it if you want. There's nothing much in there."

Emma frowned. "He loves you, you know."

Liz opened her eyes. "Yea, when he feels like showing it."

 "He's having trouble coping with this Lizzie. He doesn't know how to act around you or what to say to you or what to do for you that'll make you feel better."

"He shouldn't have left me here like this," Liz snapped. "Did he think leaving would do anything better for me?"

"Maybe he's only-"

"Do not defend him Emma."

"I'm just trying to help you see things from his perspective."

"I don't care to see things from his perspective!" Liz cried out. "Poor Josh, he's on tour! Poor Josh, he's famous and can't get away from work! Poor Josh he has so much to deal with! Poor Josh, his wife is in the hospital and just lost their baby! Poor Josh nothing! I don't care about any of that from his perspective right now. Does that make me selfish? In my position, I don't think so!"

"I don't think so either, Lizzie," Emma told her gently. "And it's not fair you both have to go through this when you're apart. I understand it's hard for you guys."

"He didn't even tell my goodbye this time." Liz's lower lip quivered and Emma leaned in to give her a hug. "He could have at least waited for me to wake up again. Did he really think that I could get through this without him?"

"~*~*~*~*~*~*

7 weeks later

One month and almost three weeks.

Was it normal for a husband and wife to willingly not hear each other's voice for that long? Probably not... But that was the case since even before Liz was released from the hospital almost two weeks after the accident.

The head bandages were off by now, most of the bruises and cuts were gone though they had left some scarring and her arm was still in a cast to ensure that the bones were mending properly. Her balance wasn't much of a major issue. She was still stumbling a bit and got tired after spending too much time doing an activity but the gym she had started just a week ago was taking care of that.

Roy and Karen had left the day before Liz was released because of work and Tyler couldn't stay at home alone for much longer. Emma was on her own with Liz and unfortunately, besides for a few conversations and joking around, Liz still wasn't her normal self and Emma wasn't sure how to get through and revive the friend she knew from before.

-According to Liz, only one person could do that.

"What time do you and Chris get in?" Emma sighed, trying to keep her voice down in the office. She had *NSYNC loving employees - who had all met the guys at this point - but she just wanted to concentrate at this point without any fangirl interruptions.

"Around seven tonight," JC told her.

"You need me to pick you up or anything or is that covered?"

"It's covered. The car that they're sending will take us to wherever Johnny had our cars parked and I'll pick her up at your house."

"What about Chris?"

"Chris is going to see his mom and it's his nephew's birthday tomorrow so he didn't want to miss that."

"So it's only the two of you guys?"

"Until we leave again on Thursday, yes."

"So you're only home for two days?"

"Aren't you used to that kind of arrangement by now?"

"Yea, but..." Emma's voice trailed off. "I don't know Jace. Emotionally, I don't know how well Lizzie's doing to keep up with that. No one has been able to get through to her and while I know that she does miss you, she's not doing well coping with everything that happened. She hasn't even called you once while you've been away so I don't know how coming back, seeing her and then leaving again is going to benefit anybody."

"It will benefit the both of us when we get to talk. I haven't spoken to her in over a month, can you believe that? Every time I call, she doesn't pick up. Whenever I call you, I hear her in the background when she asks you to take a message. If anybody can snap her out of whatever daze she's still in, I can. I just got to be face to face with her."

"It's just..."

"What?" JC asked.

"It's just... I'm worried about her. And you too."

~*~*~

"Don't you want to come downst-" Emma stopped herself midsentence. "Where are you going?"

Liz turned around. She was dressed in a pair of black track pants that looked like the ones JC wore at concert rehearsals and matched it with a white tank top. Her hair was slicked back in a pony tail and she wasn't wearing the sling for her arm- just the cast.

"I was going to ask you to take me to the gym tonight."

"But you go to the gym on Fridays."

Liz shrugged, picking up the grey duffel bag at her feet with her free arm. "I decided to boost it up to twice a week. You won't let me go back to work so I gotta find some way to burn off the weight I gain by just staying home all day."

"Not tonight, okay? You know I'd take you but not tonight."

Liz frowned. "Why not tonight? Do you have plans?"

"I don't have plans but you may have plans."

"How would I have plans?"

"Well," Emma started off, pulling out her phone from her pocket and handing it to Liz. "Read the most recent message."

Liz took the phone, glanced at the screen and sighed. "If Josh is texting you, it doesn't really concern me. I don't need to read any of it."

"It's your husband."

Liz shook her head, shoving the phone back into Emma's hands and walking past her, the duffel bag now on her left shoulder.

"Liz," Emma sighed, following her down the stairs. "I know you haven't talked to him in a while but c'mon..."

"I don't want to talk to him," Liz murmured. "I'm sorry but I just don't."

"Don't be ridiculous. You've avoided all means of communication that he's tried and even a month and a half later, you still won't let up?"

"I'm just going with how I feel right now, okay?" Liz told her, stepping off the last stair and walking towards the door to leave. "I'll talk to him eventually. When the time is right, when I'm up for it and when I can actually say his name without feeling angry somehow, I'll talk to him."

"How about you just forget about going to the gym for a minute and just read the message, please?"

Liz reached for the door handle. "Can we just go now, please? I don't want to have to- Woah!"

JC caught her by her left arm just in time before she tripped over the doormat on her way out the door.

"Hey, slow down," JC chuckled, still holding onto her arm. He let go when Liz regained her balance and looked up at him. "You okay?"

She looked at him, slightly stunned, but she swallowed and nodded slowly. "Yea, yea, I'm good."

"You sure?" JC asked cautiously, and Liz realized that his hair was slightly longer from when she last saw him.

The street was dark and the black SUV that JC had obviously parked in the driveway was almost blending in with the night. Black sunglasses hung from around the neck-cut of his t shirt and Liz assumed that it was only there so that he could put it on if someone were to come close to recognizing him.

"I-I..." She turned around to look at Emma who was standing behind her. "This is why you didn't want me to go the gym? You knew he was coming?"

Emma shrugged. "He called me earlier and I tried telling you just now."

JC nodded. "Yea, I texted you saying I was at the door. You moved the plant pots."

"The key is under the mat now," Emma informed him, stepping back into the house. "It's too cold out here. Come in."

JC stuffed his car keys in the pocket of his leather jacket and gave Liz a smile before gently nudging her back into the house.

"I... I didn't know you were coming back tonight," Liz murmured after JC closed the door and embraced her in a tight hug.

"That's the only thing you have to say to him after all this time?" Emma chuckled lightly.

"I missed you," JC whispered into her ear, lifting her a couple feet off the ground.

"I..." She started squirming in his arms. "Josh, my arm."

JC immediately put her down, momentarily forgetting the injury. "Oh, shit, sorry."

"It's okay," Liz said softly. She managed a small smile as JC looked down at her, concerned. "I... I missed you, too," she admitted.

"I was hoping you did," JC smiled. He held her chin between his thumb and index finger and pressed his lips to hers, finding pleasure in the fact that she held onto his arm as he deepened the kiss. She only kept her grip so tight when she was trying not to get too lost in the embrace.

"It feels good to finally hear your voice too," JC breathed heavily, pulling away.

"I've been busy," Liz lied, wiping the side of her mouth with her pinky finger. "How are you?"

"I'm good. Tour's going great. Missed you out there but I'm having fun, you know. You?"

"Oh yea, I'm... I'm great. I'm doing good."

JC nodded before walking over to Emma and squeezing her tightly in a friendly embrace. "Thank you," he said quietly.

"For what?" she asked.

JC glanced at Liz who was just turning around and then looked back at Emma. "For helping me out with this, while I was gone. For being patient."

 "So are you guys leaving now or are you sticking around to waste time?" She gave him a smile that said, ‘Don't worry about it.'

"Leaving?" Liz asked, confused.

"Since I'm home for a while, I thought the obvious choice would have been for us to go back to our house together and give Em a break," JC told her.

"It's the obvious choice but no one asked me about it. How long's ‘a while'?"

JC sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "Until Thursday morning."

"Two days," Liz perceived, folding her arms. "I see."

"I thought we could spend some time together before then. We haven't exactly been in contact for a while."

"That wasn't my fault."

"I didn't say that it was Lizzie," JC told her gently. "I'll bring you back over here Thursday morning before I leave. It's just that, while I'm here, don't you want to go back to our own home for a while?"

"I didn't pack anything to go over there tonight. I didn't know you were coming."

"Just grab your toothbrush and deodorant," Emma told her. "Ninety percent of your clothes are over there, anyways. You don't have to pack anything."

"What about gym?" Liz asked.

Emma frowned. "Lizzie, don't you want to-"

"I'll take you," JC spoke up. He walked over to Liz and put his hand on the small of her back. "I didn't even know you started the gym but if you want to go, I can make a couple calls and we can go together tonight."

"That's too much drama for me. Too many people might recognize you and then we won't get to work out in peace. I can't handle all that tonight."

"I'll wear a hat and sunglasses."

"In a gym? At night?"

"I'm willing."

 "How about you take tonight off and just go home and... Do whatever it is you guys do when you're home alone," Emma suggested, trying to hint to Liz. "I'm sure JC wants to spend some alone time with you. I mean, he flies home after all this time and comes over here to pick you up- I don't think he necessarily wants to go to a gym now."

"No, no, it's okay," JC shook his head. "I'll take you, babe. I'll get some dinner while you're there so we can eat when you're back."

"Aren't you tired?" Emma asked.

"Nah," JC lied. He forced a grin and Emma knew he was faking. "I'm cool, don't worry about it. If Lizzie had stuff she wanted to do tonight, I don't mind taking her."

"He doesn't mind, Em." Liz picked up the duffel bag and looked at JC before leaving and going outside. "I'll be in the car then."

"I'll be there in a sec, baby," JC called after her.

Emma looked at him apologetically. "She's just a little off right now. Seeing you after everything... It's just a little emotional for her, mentally, I guess. Now that you're actually with her, maybe she can get some feelings out and the two of you can spend some time together tonight."

"Don't worry about it," JC waved his hand. "I'm okay."

~*~*~*

2 hours later- 9:30PM

JC popped up on the couch, startled at the sound of the front door closing loudly. He immediately reached for the remote and muted the episode of FRIENDS he was watching.

He waited a few seconds before Liz came into the room.

"Hey," she said, poking her head into the living room.

JC smiled uncertainly, getting up. "How'd you get home? I thought you were going to call me when you were done at the gym."

"A friend offered to give me a lift so I took it. Didn't think it was nice for me to interrupt you in case you were sleeping or something either."

"I wasn't sleeping," JC said, turning off the television and walking closer to her. "I've been watching TV all night waiting for you to call so I can pick you up but... you're already home."

"Sorry then."

"It's fine," JC said, kissing her forehead. "I'm glad we're home now. The two of us. Finally, you know?"

"I haven't been here since the accident," Liz murmured, looking around. "I stayed with Emma the whole time after I left the hospital."

"Are you hungry?" JC asked, taking her left hand and leading her into the kitchen. "Did you get a good work out in?"

"A little," she nodded. "And yea, I did. I'll probably be a little sore in the morning though. My body's still getting used to it."

"I got some food from that Chinese restaurant you like. It was the only food establishment that was open at this hour of the night without a lot of people inside. I took some over for Em, too. "

JC walked over to the marble counter where he had placed a newly bought bottle of red wine and reached up to open the cabinet above. He pulled out two wine glasses and turned around to look at Liz.

"Pour you a drink?" he suggested.

"No thanks," she shook her head. "I stopped drinking, remember?"

"But that was only because alcohol can affect the development of a fetus. Right now, you're..." He hesitated to say the next couple words. "... Not pregnant."

"I stopped drinking all together."

"Why?"

"I just did, okay? Pour yourself a drink if you want. I'm going upstairs to take a shower."

"I'll come up and help you."

"Help me?"

"With your arm," JC said, putting down the glasses. He let her lead the way up the stairs slowly. "You tired?" he asked.

Liz nodded, sighing. JC was practically on her heels as she continued up the staircase. "Yes."

Liz almost made JC fall forward when she stopped abruptly when an open door caught her eye.

"What's wrong?"

Liz frowned, changing direction.

"Hold on." She walked over to the right and widened the slightly open door.

Liz stepped in, flicking on the light switch on the wall. The room was still white and more or less empty- There was an average sized, cream colored couch that seated one in the far corner of the room near the window and the painting canvas JC has set up just weeks before still stood in the middle. Besides the haphazard, long strokes of baby-blue, sunset yellow, lime green, soft lavender and another color that was a mix of a pink and orange, if you looked around the room, it was like looking outside the window of a plane when flying through a cloud.

JC followed her into the room as she looked around silently, standing in front of the canvas- JC's drawings were still on them.

JC walked up behind her, putting his hands on her shoulders. He let a few silent moments pass by before speaking up. "Maybe it's not healthy for you to be in here, babe," he suggested gently. "Come on. Let's get out of here and close the door, huh?"

"In a minute," Liz told him, shrugging his hands off of her.

"Baby..."

Liz looked at the drawings on the canvas and placed a hand over her lower stomach. "It still hurts," she whispered. "I blocked it out for so long and then coming back here..." her voice trailed off. "It hurts so bad."

"The bruises?" JC asked, idiotically.

"Not the bruises, Josh," Liz shook her head, obviously frustrated. "I could care less about the bruises. I'm talking about losing the baby. It still hurts me. It hurts coming into this room tonight and looking at all these plans we had and then realizing that that's just what they were: plans. They can't be a reality anymore."

"Oh."

Liz shook her head, laughing lightly at herself. "And that's all you can say. ‘Oh.' I almost forgot that this whole situation didn't affect you."

"Hey, wait a minute, that's not true," JC told her. "All this affected me just as much as it affected you."

"Because you were the one in the accident, right? You were the one with the head injuries and broken arm. You were the one that went through multiple physicals and had to take various medications for the past few weeks, right? And you're the one who actually had that baby growing inside of you, right?"

JC sighed. "I don't want to fight, Lizzie."

"Josh, you didn't feel him move inside of you! You didn't stay up half the night wondering what they would look like or what their personalities would be like." She turned back to the canvas board. "I'm never gonna know what color we would have painted this room or what kind of wallpaper we would settle on and I'm never going to know if we were having a boy or maybe a girl! Do you know how many nights I spent lying awake just upset at the fact that one day I'm going to have to come into this room again and know that the crib in this sketch is never gonna hold our baby? Josh, do you know how much it broke my heart when I had to go back to the hospital for my checkups and saw young girls nine months pregnant coming in and out of the hospital with their parents or boyfriends and I can't help but wonder why me, a married woman with a stable life, had to be the one to lose my baby? Do you know how much that hurt me?"

JC shook his head. "I didn't know you thought about all that. But then again, how would I? You never took any of my calls while I was away."

"Fine, turn the tables on me," Liz muttered, storming past him but JC stopped her. "I knew telling you all that was a bad idea."

"No, Lizzie, wait," JC said, standing in front of the door way. "Baby, I love it when you open up to me like that. I love it when you let me in and tell me how you're really feeling. I do. You just haven't done that in a while."

"I don't want to open up to you if you're only going to blame me for us not talking."

"Then who am I supposed to blame? Because I tried every week calling, texting, and you never got back to me. What am I supposed to do with how you're feeling? How am I supposed to make it better if you've been feeling like this for so long but you're only now letting me know, huh? What'd you want me to do?"

"Just forget I said anything to you." She moved past him, speed walking out their door and to their bedroom.

"Liz, would you stop pushing me away?!" JC yelled, hearing their door slam in. "Just talk to me!"

"I don't want to talk anymore! I already talked to you!"

"Open the door!" JC demanded, knocking hard against the wood. "You're forgetting that this is our house! You can't lock me out of our room, Liz! If you keep this door closed, then you're just adding to what you're doing to yourself! You're keeping me out of this room the same way you're keeping me away from understanding what's happening with us!"

"There's nothing to understand!" Liz shouted from the inside.

"If there's nothing to understand then stop yelling and open the fucking door!"

Liz jerked open the door, her eyes blazing into JC's. "Now you want to understand? NOW you want to understand how I'm feeling?!"

"What'd you mean now I wanna fucking understand how you're feeling?! You're the one that doesn't wanna talk!"

"You're the one that left for work the same fucking night that I miscarried our baby and almost died in a car accident! So I'm sorry if I just wanted some distance from you for a while!"

JC's mouth fell open as he glared at her, the both of them infuriated and it showed on their faces.

"That's what all this is about? That's what all this yelling and screaming and refusing to talk is all about?! Because I left that night after you told me to fucking go?!" JC shook his head in frustration. "God dammit Liz, get over it!"

By the immediate look of anguish that made her face fall, JC knew that he had hit a nerve that he shouldn't have even gotten near to.

Before he could even register what exactly he had said, a swift breeze flew by and the door slammed in his face.

"Fuck," JC gritted out, pounding once on the door.

He reached for the doorknob and entered the room, his heart racing because the anger he was holding back was pulsing through his body, eager to be released in the not-so-calm way as JC was now attempting to do.

"What are you doing?"

Liz didn't bother to match his gaze nor did she bother to match his calmed tone of voice.

JC watched as she practically buzzed around the room with her one strong arm, pulling out random pieces of clothing from her side of the walk-in closet and dumping them into an unzipped bag on the bed.

"Liz!" JC snapped.

"What?"

What the hell are you doing?"

"I'm getting over it!" she spat, zipping the bag.

"Packing a bag and leaving the house in the middle of the night isn't gonna help you get over shit!"

"Because you should know that firsthand, right?"

"Yea, I should! And look where it fucking got me! Now unpack that bag and let's talk this over!"

"Don't talk to me like I'm a fucking child! You can't tell me what to do!"

"I just want us to talk about this."

"We have absolutely nothing to talk about because everything that I'm feeling, I've already said! Even if we did continue talking, it's not like you would understand anyways."

"Tell me how I wouldn't understand, Liz," JC challenged, folding his arms across his chest. "Tell me what you're feeling that I haven't been feeling either or that I haven't felt before or that I wouldn't understand."

Liz looked up at him. "You've never lost anyone."

"What?"

Liz shot JC a look and practically speed walked out of the room.

She pushed open the door to what was intended to be the nursery and stood in front of the painting canvas. She turned around just in time to see JC behind her.

"This right here," she pointed to the sketch of the crib JC had made. "Do you know that two days and five months from tomorrow, a baby would have probably been in here?"

"But that's not the case, is it?"

"You've never lost anyone Josh," Liz shook her head. "Don't you get it? You still have everyone that has ever meant something to you! You have your mom and your dad and your family and the guys and your fans and me and... Everything. You have everything you could ever want. Me? It's a completely different story and you know that. You didn't feel that baby move inside of you, Josh. You didn't have that connection that I had. And when I crashed, it just brought back all those emotions of... When I lost everything."

"You didn't lose me, Liz," JC told her. The anger that had accumulated in him was now quickly deteriorating. "I just wish you'd understand that for once!"

"I didn't feel like it was that way when I woke up and you weren't there," Liz said softly.

"Honey," JC stepped forward to pull her in to him but she backed away.

"No," she mumbled. "Don't."

"Liz, let me hold you," JC insisted. "Touch you, at least."

"I don't want you to touch me," she sniffled. "I don't want you to hold me either."

JC shook his head. "I know you probably don't want me to, but you need me to whether you want to admit it or not."

Liz let him embrace her carefully, mindful not to hurt her arm, and rested his head against his chest. It was the first time she had felt complete and protected in a long, long time.

"I know I told you to leave but... I-I-I-I didn't mean it."

"I didn't know that."

"You're right. It wasn't your fault. It was mine."

JC kissed the top of her head. "It was ours, in a way."

"I want to make all this go away Josh," she wept into his chest as JC held her close to him. "I want it to stop hurting so badly all the time."

She looked up at him and JC cupped her face in his hands, gently brushing his lips against hers and then using his own hands to wipe her tears.

"There's nothing in this world I hate more than arguing with you and seeing you cry Lizzie," he told her. "I hate it when we argue, especially when we're just shouting at each other. And I hate it even more when I see you in so much pain in a situation that I have absolutely no control over and can't do anything about. And you're right, I've never lost anyone that I've truly cared for. But I don't want the first person I lose to be the one person I care for more than anyone else in this world."

"I just hate it when current situations bring back up old feelings and then everything gets complicated and then it makes the pain a hundred times worse, you know? I didn't mean to shut you out, it's just... I don't know how to deal with all or any of this."

"I think we should get out of this room, okay? And head back to ours?"

Liz looked around and nodded, letting JC gently pull her away.

"Listen," he started, pulling her into their room and closing the door. "When you feel like this, I need you to be honest with me and tell me. And pick up your phone when I call every once in a while too. Shoot me a text or send me an e mail. We can't do this every single time this marriage hits a speed bump. If we keep fighting like we did every time I come home after a problem, I don't know how this is gonna work. We need to talk but I'm not a mind reader. I can't know how you're feeling when I'm hundreds of miles away."

"I know," Liz murmured, leaning her forehead against his. "I know."

JC sat down on the edge of the bed and pulled her to stand between his legs. He held her from behind the thighs and looked up at her.

"Come ‘ere babe," he told her quietly, pulling her closer to him. "I missed us being like this." He ran his hands up and down her legs- from behind the knees to over the globes of her butt through her track pants. "Don't you wanna get these clothes off?"

"I already sweated in them so I guess."

JC smiled, pulling the loose pants straight down her legs and held her hand as she stepped out of them, kicking them away.

"Top too?" JC asked, hopeful.

"I'm dirty, Josh. All grimy and shit."

"Doesn't matter to me. I wanna see how you've been doing since the crash. Physically, you know..."

"You sure?"

"Yes." JC carefully lifting up the tank top and taking a moment to get her arm through without bending it. "There we go," he said, lifting the top off her head and dropping it to the floor to join the pants.

JC held her from behind the legs and let his eyes travel up and down her entire body, briefly running his hands over light scars and bruises that were apparent.

"This one looks like it hurt," he murmured, letting his finger follow the outline of a diagonal, thin but long scar that cut from above her navel and moved down to her side- almost like someone had extended the scar of an appendectomy.

"Yea, piece of glass from the wind shield kind of sliced there," she told him. "I need like, some scar removal cream to get rid of all these but I haven't had time to go to the mall or anything. They bother me whenever I see myself naked."

"Don't even worry about them," JC told her. "We can get you cream or whatever but you're still attractive to me- even when you're grimy and smell like sweat and have tears staining your face. I still think you look great."

"I've been trying to lose weight and get back in shape," Liz admitted sheepishly. "Sort of for the same reason I cut off alcohol completely. I'm trying to be good to my body."

"You were good to your body before, you know."

"Not as good as I should have been if I had to go through a miscarriage."

 "Lizzie, that wasn't your fault."

"Alcohol inhibits fertility. That's why I stopped drinking. I cut back on caffeine too."

"Seriously?"

"Mhm."

"So then how else am I supposed to get you all tipsy so we can have wild, drunken sex when I'm home?"

"We haven't done that in months," Liz giggled. "I don't know how wild I can even be with a broken arm Josh."

"I can make you go all wild, can't I?" JC raised his eyebrows. He let his arms travel up behind her back and began planting light kisses over the surface of her exposed skin, pausing or a moment to swirl his tongue around her navel.

"Y-You want to?" Liz asked, her eyes fluttering closed as JC moved teasingly from her navel to her bikini line and then back up.

"I always want to," JC murmured. "But I'm a little scared for your body, considering the damage it's already been through."

"If we're not going to do anything, then don't tease," Liz whined.

"I missed the taste of you."

"I taste like salt."

"Get up here," JC growled, pulling her down on him so she was straddled on his lap.

She yelped a little at the forceful pull and when her right arm hit JC's shoulder.

"Fuck," she hissed. "Josh, my arm."

"Sorry mama," JC apologized, kissing her neck.

"Jace," Liz sighed. "Can we?"

"I wanna take your clothes off and caress every inch of your body. I want to feel you clutch at my back when I move between your legs. I wanna hear you sigh in my ear as we set our perfect rhythm. I wanna hear you scream my name when I make you come. I wanna feel your hands in my hair when I kiss away the sweat from your neck. I wanna look into your eyes and see you smile as we both come down from our high." He cupped the side of her face with one arm while the other was behind her back. "I wanna make you feel good, baby. I wanna take away every heartache you're going through right now and replace it with pure bliss, even if it's only for a few seconds."

"I... I'm sorry for being such a bi-"

"No apologizing now," JC whispered into her ear.

 "I missed you, you know. In more ways than one."

"I know what you mean," JC smiled. He took his hands off her hips and lifted off his sweater, throwing it off the bed.

Liz used her arm to pull her hair loose from the ponytail it was previously in, letting the brown strands fall freely past her shoulders, framing her face.

JC unhooked her bra, smirking as he pulled it off her body.

"Still find this attractive?" she asked, looking down at her exposed breasts.

JC licked his lips."Hell yea."

*~

20 minutes later

"Oh my God," Liz whimpered, burying her face in the crevice of JC's neck as he took control. She began to feel her third orgasm of the night start to build up in the pit of her stomach. "Uhh, just like that. Yea!"

JC silently begged his body not to let go before she did and he was using the last ounces of strength he had left to strain toward that final perfect moment.

He had started off slowly, sliding her up and down on his thick shaft so that she could savor the feel of his velvety hot skin rubbing against her wet walls. She had tried to take lead at first but lost control when JC had started moving faster.

He gripped her hips, slamming her down on him- hard. The only sound in the room was that of their panting and their skin slapping against each other as their bodies connected for each bone crushing thrust.

Liz tightened her legs from around JC's back and realized she couldn't unlock them even if JC had asked her to- not without a release.

She used her left arm to grip his shoulders and JC's thrusting increased to a frantic pace.

"Josh," Liz gasped, squeezing her eyes shut. "You're... You're gonna make me come."

"Liz," JC groaned, feeling her body tighten around him, ready to clamp down. "Hey, look at me."

Liz forced her eyes open, looking down at JC's face as she continued to ride him. His fingers were digging into her thighs, her hips, her breasts.

She knew he was just as close as she was.

"Baby, please," Liz pleaded. She crashed her lips down onto his and JC stared into her eyes, darkened by lust. Darkened by the pleasure her body was enduring, never mind that her insides were already sore.

JC moved one hand up to grip the side of her neck as he pressed her lips down on his and the other squeezed her breast, his thumb toying with her nipple.

The kiss was almost like a medium that Liz used to stifle her screams as JC continued to hit that spot that every girl had that made them crazy, but was one that only few guys could find.

"Yea mama, right there," JC panted, watching as he kept disappearing inside of her. "Fuck Liz, yes!"

"Ah, ah, ah, AH, AH, AH!" she pressed her forehead to his as her release started to unveil. "Yes, Jace, Jace, Jace, I'm gonna... I'm gonna... Ugh, God, yes, yes, ah fuck me Josh!"

She let out scream after scream as JC finally slammed her down on his body, gritting out swear words and shooting his load right against that warm spot.

Liz collapsed against him, her head falling against his shoulder and she felt JC start to soften inside of her.

He leaned into her own embrace as she tried to come down from her high.

"Yea baby," JC planted soft kisses along her collarbone, nipping at the skin when he came to her neck. "Felt good, didn't it?"

"Y-Yes. Yes yes yes yes yes."

JC chuckled, lifting his head. "Look at me, please."

Liz pulled back a little so that they were face to face, her legs still wrapped around him and she was still straddling him.

JC used one hand to wrap around her back and used the other arm to cup her cheek. She still looked gorgeous to him. Perspiration formed at the hairline, face a little drained but presented the look of a fully satisfied woman and she was still gasping for breath to regulate her breathing.

"You're so damn beautiful when I make you come babe," JC told her.

She smiled, wrapping one arm tightly around his neck and kissing him, sliding their tongues against the other, relishing the taste of each other. "That's because you're the one making me come all the time."

"Very true."

"Make up sex is fucking amazing," Liz breathed, closing her eyes momentarily.

"When are you getting the cast off?"

"A few more weeks. Three at least."

"Then about in three weeks or maybe four, I'm going to fly you out to whichever city I'm in and we are going to have wild crazy sex and I can be in positions where I don't have to worry about crushing your arm."

Liz giggled. "Fine with me."

JC leaned against the headboard and rested his head back. Liz was about to lift off of him but his pout protested and she stayed.  

"I made you come... Three times tonight," JC mumbled.

"Correct me if I'm wrong but you came every single time too."

JC chuckled lightly. "Yea, I did. We did."

There was a couple minutes of silence before Liz broke it.

"Hey, Josh?"

"Mm?"

"I love you a lot. You know that, right?"

"I think you proved that you did really well tonight so yea, I know."

"You love me too?"

"More than anything," he promised.

"Good. Then don't be mad at me."

"For what?"