Karen and Lisa were finally alone in JC’s room. They had persuaded everyone else to go home for the night, stating they would call if there was any change. Roy had gone with Heather to JC’s house to sleep. One of the nurses had a brought in a cot for one of the women to sleep on, but the other would have to make do in the chair.
The women spent much of the night talking, Karen had always been fond of Lisa, they knew they wouldn’t get much sleep anyway. They even included JC in the conversation, not expecting but hoping and praying for a response, but none came.
MTV had picked up the story and was running with any tidbit of information that they could come across. The news that they were running made Lisa sick. For many years, they hadn’t paid attention to the talented man that was lying in the hospital bed, now they appeared to be best friends and very concerned.
“You love him, don’t you?” Karen asked into the silence of the night from where she was laying on the cot.
Surprised, Lisa tried to come up with an appropriate response. “I – I love all the guys.” She wasn’t sure how she felt anymore and was even more confused now that she didn’t know what was going to happen.
“I see,” Karen responded.
Searching for a quick change of subject, Lisa asked, “Do you suppose anyone else is sleeping tonight?”
Karen recognized the tactic for what it was and allowed the change in subject. She didn’t want to stress Lisa out any more than necessary, there would be time enough to talk about her feelings when JC was well.
The first crucial twenty four hours passed with no change. Lisa had Kelly send some clothes and her laptop with Joey when he came so she could shower and have clean clothes and begin to answer some of the questions about his health from his fans. She wasn’t going to leave JC’s side.
As the days passed, his bruises and cuts began to heal and the swelling had gone done in his brain, but he still continued to remain unconscious. People had to get back to work and their lives. Even Roy and Karen needed to go back to Chicago, Karen was distraught at the thought of leaving her son in the hospital.
Roy had said his goodbyes to JC and told Karen he would be waiting in the lobby, he couldn’t stand to see his son in pain.
“Maybe I shouldn’t go,” Karen clutched at JC’s fingers as she stood at the side of his bed.
“Karen, I know it’s hard to leave him, but your foster kids at home need you as well. JC understands, I know he does. I will be right here with him. I’m not going to leave him here by himself.”
“Oh Lisa, you shouldn’t have to put your life on hold, I’ll just tell Roy that I changed my mind and am staying.”
Lisa stopped Karen from exiting with a hand on her arm. “Karen, I will be here. I have to be here. I need to be here for him. I’ll call every hour if you want me to with updates. It’s okay to go home.”
Karen searched her eyes for a moment, sensing that this was something that Lisa needed to do.
“Okay,” she breathed out. Leaning back over the bed, she pressed a kiss to JC’s cheek. “Josh, I love you, but I’m going back to Chicago. If you need me for anything, just let Lisa know and I will be on the next flight out. I’ll be back out in a week or so, you’d better be awake by then. Lisa will take good care of you.” She looked over his body one final time and brushed a hand through his hair. With a final hug for Lisa, she hurried out of the room before she broke down in tears.
***
The nurse finished her evening routine, pulling off her gloves and throwing them away before wheeling her cart down the hall to the next patient. It had been another week of no response from JC. People were in and out during the day, but for the most part it was just JC and Lisa alone in the evenings. The only time she ever left the room was to grab something to eat from the cafeteria or to stretch her legs with a walk around the halls. She didn’t feel she could go outside with all the media still camped out waiting to harass anyone they thought could give them information about JC’s condition.
“Well Jace, it’s just you and me again, are you getting sick of me yet?” She paced over to the window for a moment, stretching. “Well, do you want to hear the news? I’ll read the paper to you then we’ll pick up where we left off in that other book, how does that sound?”
Lisa had gotten in the habit of reading the news and a book to JC every day. When they were alone, she held entire one-sided conversations with him. Sharing the news of the day and what was going on with the people who cared about him was becoming second nature.
She yawned her way through a couple of chapters before telling JC she was tired and was going to bed. She went through her nightly routine, taking a quick shower and brushing her teeth, before shutting the hallway door and crawling under the covers on the cot next to JC’s bed.
She pulled the covers up to her chin as she settled on her back, listening to the now soothing sounds of JC’s monitors. The breathing machine had been removed since he was now breathing on his own, but the doctor was still monitoring his every heartbeat.
Lisa was almost asleep when she thought she heard the sheets on the hospital bed rustling. Turning just her head, she convinced herself that she had been dreaming, but turned on her side to face JC and try to fall asleep.
Her eyes were open as she looked at his silhouette in the dim light. She thought she saw his face twitch, but dismissed it even as she sat up and softly called out, “Jace?”
Nothing.
Deciding she had been in the hospital too long, she lay back down again. Then in the next moment, leapt out of the cot, getting tangled in the sheets on her way over to JC. His hand had moved, she was sure of it now.
She placed her hand in his, “Jace, can you squeeze my hand?” She waited several agonizing moments, before a slight pressure was felt on her hand.
Beginning to cry, her gaze flew from his hand to his face. His eyelids were just beginning to open and his gorgeous blue eyes looked up at her in recognition.
“Oh my gosh, JC, you’re awake.” She pressed the call button on the bed. “We’ve been praying and praying for this.”
The nurse came through the door, not expecting anything out of the ordinary until Lisa practically yelled at her. “He’s awake!!”
Rushing now, the nurse moved to the bed and checked his pupils before putting her hand in his. “Sir, can you squeeze my hand?” He must have obeyed, for the nurse gave them a huge smile, before heading back to the door. “Let me just page the doctor, I’ll be right back.”
Lisa couldn’t even speak, she was so happy to have those blue eyes looking at her. It seemed like mere moments had passed when the nurse walked back in with the doctor. The doctor gave a brief examination before asking Lisa to leave so a more in depth one could be performed. “If you could just wait across the hall for a moment…I believe you have a couple of phone calls to make?” Dr. Bailey smiled, neither one of them missing the significance of this moment.
Lisa smacked her lips against JC’s forehead. “I’ll be right back, Jace, I just have to let everyone know the good news.”
The first call she placed was to Karen and Roy, knowing they would be ecstatic. She would be waking them up, but knew they had been praying for this phone call.
“Lisa, what’s happened, is he…?” Karen answered, fear in her voice.
“He’s awake, Karen, he’s awake!” There was silence from the other end of the phone. “He just woke up, they are in with him now examining him, but he’s awake and he squeezed my hand.”
“Roy, he’s awake, our baby is awake, Lisa we will be heading to the airport in 10 minutes, I don’t care if we have to get a private plane, we are on our way. Thank you!!” And Karen hung up the phone.
The other phone calls were just as joyful, but Lisa convinced them to wait until morning to rush the hospital, knowing JC wouldn’t be up to many visitors just yet. But after she finished the calls and was pacing outside JC’s door waiting to be let back in, familiar footsteps headed her way. Turning, she saw Justin, Joey, Chris, and Lance almost running toward her.
Laughing, she didn’t even try and ask them why they were there when she had asked them to wait. She had known they wouldn’t. They spent a long time engulfed in a group hug before the door cracked open to allow them back in.
“Just a few minutes everyone, my patient needs his rest,” Dr. Bailey was still smiling as the men walked single file into the room to surround the bed.
Lisa couldn’t stop either the smile or the happy tears – JC was awake, that was all that mattered at this moment.
