Katrina smiled, taking a seat on the edge of the bed next to JC's almost lifeless body. She looked at him silently. His brown hair dishevelled and scattered across his forehead like that of a five year old kid during nap time. She watched as bare chest rose slowly and then deflated as he breathed. His lips were looked almost glued together in a slight frown and Katrina couldn't help but cringe a little when she noticed the bruise was still visible at the side of his mouth.

"Jace," she called out to him, shaking his shoulder. His skin was still warm. "Jace, wake up."

JC grunted, not opening his eyes and Katrina sighed.

She held up the cup of coffee that was in her hand and it hovered over his nose. "Wake up."

A few moments went by before she saw JC inhale deeply and he finally opened his eyes. She pulled back the cup and he stared up at her, his eyelids heavy.

"Morning," she greeted him, taking a sip of the hot beverage.

"Mornin'," JC murmured, rubbing his eyes.

"You okay?" Katrina asked, noticing he looked a little unsettled.

JC nodded, turning on his side so the front of his body faced her. He closed his eyes. "What time is it?"

"A little after nine."

"That's not too early."

"I wanted to be awake before the kids got up."

He opened his eyes. "Kids?" JC asked, confused, and then he remembered. "Oh, your niece and nephew. Right."

"How's the mouth feeling?" Katrina asked, holding his chin in one place so she could get a better look at the side of his face. The prickle from the overnight scruff that had grown grazed against the palm of her hand. "The swelling went down a bit."

"It feels like a throbbing, now," JC told her. "Does it look bad?"

"Just a little black and blue. It's bad, but not as bad as it was last night."

JC smiled, closing his eyes for a moment and then reopening them to look at her. "Last night wasn't bad at all."

"It was good."

JC raised his eyebrows. "Just good?"

"It was one of our better nights," Katrina admitted with a smile. "Considering I was half asleep and you were half miserable when you came over last night, it was a pretty good."

"Yea," JC nodded. "It took me away from reality for a couple hours."

"Glad I could help you out."

"Did you take a shower or are you still naked under there?"

Katrina looked down at the light pink bathrobe she wore that was tied around her waist. "I just put my underwear and bra back on. I've only been up for a little while."

"Do I have to get up too?"

"If you do, I'll make you an omelette."

"I'd prefer you come back into bed with me and let me have a different kind of breakfast."

"One, I haven't showered, so no. Two, I wanted to get breakfast ready before Cody and Cindy get up."

"Fine, I'll get up. Where are my clothes?"

"Right over there," she said, pointing to a corner of the room. "And there, and there, and I believe that's your shirt on top of my dresser."

JC chuckled, realizing that the floor was covered with articles of clothing that belonged to both of them, with the exception of his shirt and her shorts that were flung onto different items in the room.

"Wild."

"Put your jeans and t shirt back on before you come outside. I don't want Cindy to wake up and see some strange man walking around in boxers the first morning she wakes up here."

"Alright, alright. Go make something. I'll meet you in the kitchen in a while."

"How long's a while?"

"Can't you gimme five more minutes to sleep in peace? I'm not ready to start the day yet. You know my situation."

"Oh please," Katrina snorted, getting up. "The same situation you have every couple months? Either way, you got some last night, and today, you're probably going to get back together with the person who made you come over here in the first place. You're fine. So get up, and let's start the day."

"You're mean," JC grumbled.

----

"Is the ice making it feel any better?" Katrina asked, turning around from the stove to look at him. JC sat wretchedly at her kitchen table, a fork in one hand and an ice pack that was held up to the side of his mouth in the other.

"Not much better," he replied. "The ice is cold and the omelette is hot and only half of my face is numb. This ain't the way to start off your first breakfast of the week."

"I told you not to buy her shoes," Katrina chuckled, turning around to tend to the eggs she had on the frying pan. "It'll go down, don't worry. It's not like your vocal chords are damaged."

"Whatever," JC mumbled, stuffing a slice of tomato in his mouth.

Katrina was about to offer him another round of breakfast before she heard a door open. Taking a step to the left so that she could look down the small corridor, she smiled when she saw her nephew emerge from the room, holding Cindy's hand.

"Good morning you two," Katrina smiled as they entered the kitchen area. "Did you sleep well?"

"I did," Cody announced happily, his blue baseball pajamas wrinkled. The small girl with the bouncy brown hair and yellow pajamas, similar to her brother's, looked up at Katrina and frowned.

"What's wrong, Cin? Was the room too cold? Were the pillows too high?"

"She missed mom and dad," Cody explained.

"Aw," Katrina smiled, taking a second to squat in front of the stove so that she faced her niece. "We can give mommy and daddy a call a little later when their plane lands later today. Are you okay otherwise?"

Cindy giggled when her aunt tickled her stomach through the cotton fabric and nodded. "Ya."

"She wanted to go sleep with you last night," Cody went on. "But we heard noises."

Katrina saw JC's head shoot up from the corner of her eye but she ignored his stare. "What kind of noises?" she asked after clearing her throat.

Cody shrugged. "I don't know. It kind of sounded like someone was in pain or something. It was a little weird."

"Were you in pain, Aunt Kat?" Cindy asked, and all three faces looked at JC when a half laugh - half cough sounded.

Katrina glared at him, and JC looked at them, embarrassed.

"Sorry," he apologized, before turning back to his plate with a smile.

"Who's that?" Cindy whispered.

"He's a close friend of mine," Katrina said, standing up straight and turning off the stove. She looked at JC and nodded toward him. "He's harmless, guys, don't worry."

"Hi," JC spoke up, sharing a friendly wave. "I'm JC."

"Go take a seat at the table," Katrina instructed. "I'll get you both some juice in a minute."

Cody dashed over to the table and practically hopped up on the chair just opposite to where JC sat. His sister followed a little slower, taking her time to climb up onto the seat. Both kids simply stared at JC for a moment.

"Hi," JC repeated with a smile. "How are you guys?"

"Good," Cody nodded. His sister simply stared. "Did you sleep over too?" he asked.

"Um," JC rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "Yea. Yea, I did."

"How come?"

He had barely opened his mouth to start his sentence before Katrina set two glasses of orange juice on the table and cut him off.

"I asked JC to come over last night," she lied. "Because I had a stomach ache and JC said he'd help take care of me, so he stayed over."

"Are you a doctor?" Cindy asked, and JC shook his head.

"More like a musician."

Cody's face lit up. "You like music?"

"Cody loves music, just so you know," Katrina said, taking a seat at the table to join in on the conversation. "Science too."

"Do you play any instruments?" JC asked.

The child nodded, suddenly ignoring the plate of food in front of him. "The piano. I like the drums too. Do you play?"

"Piano, yea. I'm not too good at the drums though."

"What'd you do?"

"I like to sing," JC responded.

"Do you know a lot about music?"

Both JC and Katrina had to hide a smile. "I know a thing or two."

"You want to hear something cool, Cody?" Katrina asked.

"What?"

"Do you know who Michael Jackson is?"

"Yea. Dad plays him all the time at home."

"JC got to sing and perform with Michael Jackson. He knew Michael Jackson personally."

Cody beamed, and JC chuckled at the sudden look of fascination in the boy's eyes.

"Really?"

JC nodded. "Yea. But that was a long time ago."

"You're famous, then.  Like, a celebrity?"

"Not really," JC shook his head. "I just play music, dude. No ifs ands or buts about it. I just know a lot of people."

Cody nodded, picking up the fork in his plate and he began to take apart his omelette. "You're cool," he said to JC.

JC turned his attention to the quiet, green eyed youngster across from him. "What about you, honey? Do you like music too?"

The girl smiled shyly, but she shook her head. "Cody likes music."

"What'd you like?"

"Animals. And stories. And poems. And dress up."

"Like your aunt, huh? Besides the dress up part."

"Yea."

"How old are you guys?"JC asked.

"Seven," Cody replied. "Cindy's four."

"Is JC your boyfriend, Aunt Kat?" Cindy asked.

"No, JC's not my boyfriend," Katrina shook her head. "He's just a friend."

Cody nodded and looked at JC. "I like him."

----

Katrina jumped slightly, frowning a bit when she saw JC lying on her bed, texting on his phone.

"I thought you left after I went to give Cindy a shower," she told him.

JC looked up at her, tossing the phone away and crossing his arms behind his head. "How'd you expect me to get home? Walk?"

"You walked over here last night."

"My house is over a mile away. And would you believe that Chelsea isn't taking my calls?"

"Did you try apologizing over a voicemail?"

JC nodded. "I just want her to pick up the damn phone already. I mean, how long could she possibly give me the silent treatment?"

"You know us girls. We could keep that game up for a long time."

"Did you want me to leave for a reason or can I hang around?"

Katrina shrugged. "I figured you had stuff to do today."

"Not really," JC told her. "No girl, no plans. The most I'll probably get done is some song writing."

"Do you want me to drop you off to the studio today then?"

"Nah. I need to get home first and get out of these clothes and freshen up."

"You want me to give you a ride home, don't you?"

"Please?"

"Okay," Katrina sighed. "But you're gonna have to wait for a little while. I still need to take a shower and then I need to get some of the kids' stuff organized for today."

"Where're you taking them?"

"I was thinking of the Aquarium of the Pacific and then The Grove for lunch."

"Can I come with you?"

Katrina raised her eyebrows in surprise and took seat next to JC on the bed. "Why?"

"I ain't got nothing to do. I may as well offer to help you out with two little kids for the day."

"You don't have to do that. And you just said that you wanted to go to the studio today."

"So is that a ‘No, JC, you can't come' or a ‘No, JC, I don't want you to come'?"

"What're you doing tonight?"

JC shrugged. "I'm probably gonna call up the guys and go to the club or a get a few drinks or something."

"Then do you really wanna come to the Aquarium with us today?" Katrina asked uncertainly. "I'm just really looking for kid friendly places to take them so if we're there, I don't want to be a part of some scheme you're probably gonna pull to pick up new girls."

"C'mon, I wouldn't do that with a bunch of kids around. I don't date girls with kids anyways so my options are limited."

 "I don't necessarily have an issue if you come with us. As long as Cody and Cindy don't mind having you around, that is. I mean, they just met you. I don't want it to be uncomfortable for them."

"So ask them," JC told her, sitting up and cross legged. "They're right there." He nodded toward the door to Katrina's bedroom where both kids had just walked in- Cody with his Gameboy in his hands while his sister held Pixel in her small hands affectionately to her chest. Both children wore new, clean clothes and their hair was partially wet from their morning showers.

Katrina turned her head to look at them and smiled. "Hey, you two. What're you doing?"

"We're waiting on you, Aunt Kat," Cody informed her with a smile, hopping up onto the foot of the bed. Cindy walked over to her aunt and Katrina lifted her onto her lap.

"What about you, hm?" Katrina asked, kissing the back of the girl's head. "What're you and Pix doing?"

"Kitty was hungry so I fed her. She's okay now."

JC smiled. "You look nice, sweetie. KittyKat seems to like you a lot."

Cindy blushed, smiling shyly at JC. "Thanks."

"What're you guys doing today?" JC asked, giving Katrina a look that said, ‘Let them answer.'

Cody turned off the Gameboy and turned his body around to look at JC. "We're going to the Aquarium today. Right, Aunt Kat?"

"Mhm."

"Cindy wants to see the penguins but I want to see the snakes," Cody continued to inform JC, who simply sat there and nodded.

"Snakes are mean, Cody," Cindy tod her brother as she continued to stroke the kitten in her hand. "Mommy says they have poison."

"Well, dad says not all of them do."

"Well, not all of the snakes there are poisonous, Cin,"JC said. "Some of them might even be more scared of you than you are of them. And Cody, the turtles and some of the frogs at the Aquarium are pretty neat too."

 Cody grinned. "I like frogs too."

"Basically, all the animals that Cindy are afraid of, Cody likes," Katrina chuckled.

"I got a younger sister too, man," JC told him. "Just look out for her when she gets scared."

Cody nodded. "I do. Hey, you wanna come with us to the Aquarium today, JC? You and I can look at all the reptiles and amphibians and Aunt Kat and Cindy can look at the birds and stuff."

JC smiled at Katrina, who rolled her eyes.

"Yea," she said. "JC's coming with us. You okay with that, Cin?"

"Mhm," the girl nodded. "He can protect us from the snakes."

Katrina laughed. "JC can barely protect himself from a high heeled shoe. And don't you see how skinny he is?"

JC raised his eyebrows. "That's not what you said last night when I-"

"So I'm just gonna take a shower and we'll get going, okay?" Katrina said loudly, cutting him off. She lifted Cindy off her lap. "You two can go watch TV or eat an ice pop in the meantime."

"Cool," Cody nodded, hopping off the bed and leaving the room. Cindy ran behind him.

Katrina glared at JC who had a relaxed and knowing grin on his face.

"You're the devil, aren't you?"

"You wanna smack talk? I'll smack talk you right back. Or I can just smack you the way you like it and do us both a favour."

"Cody's seven, not stupid," Katrina hissed. "No sex talk unless you're saying it vaguely and to me."

"No more insults and you'll have nothing to worry about."

"And I'm the mean one," Katrina murmured to herself.

-----

"How long are you gonna take?" she asked, closing JC's front door behind her. The two kids beside her silently gaped, looking around the mansion in awe.

"I'll shower in a little while," JC replied, leading them into the living room. "I got something I wanna show Cody first."

Cody snapped back to attention when he heard JC say his name. "Sorry, what?"

JC chuckled. "I said I got something to show you. C'mere."

Cody followed JC further in the living room and JC grinned when he saw the boy's eyes light up. A sleek, all black grand piano sat peacefully near the almost floor to ceiling glass windows. The light pouring through lit up the room, specks sparkling in Cody's excited orbs.

"She's awesome, ain't she?" JC asked.

Cody nodded enthusiastically, stepping closer to the instrument but not touching. "It's awesome. I always see kinds like these in the movies but I never knew anyone who owned one."

"Well, now you do."

"Do you play on it?"

JC nodded. "Yea, usually when I'm chillin' by myself here I like to sit down and just come up with songs on it. You wanna play?"

"Can I?" Cody grinned.

"Uh, JC," Katrina spoke up. She was now holding Cindy on her hip with one arm. "Are you sure you want to let him play on that?"

JC shrugged. "He'll be careful. You can't exactly break this thing, as you should rightfully know. Once h doesn't bang on the keys like a monkey, he'll be fine."

"I'll be careful," Cody promised.

JC gestured for him to take a seat on the wide, leather, cushioned black stool. "Play something for me. You do music at school right? Play a piece you learnt."

"I only know short pieces. They're only a minute long."

"That's cool. Play."

Cody took a few moments to absorb the sight of the instrument in front of him before he let his fingers say what JC wanted to hear. It was only a minute and a half later when the music stopped playing and Cody looked up at JC.

"That's about it."

JC nodded, smiling down at the child and giving him a pat on the back. "You're a talented little dud, man. I couldn't even play a piano till I was like, ten or twelve. For you to be seven years old and playing like that, that takes skill. I enjoyed it, so keep at the music thing if you love it that much. With a few more years of practice, your fingers are gonna be flying over those keys like it's nothing."

"Thanks, JC," Cody smiled. "I know some other songs too."

"Pool," Cindy said loudly, wiggling her way down Katrina's body and practically squabbling over to peer out at the crystal blue body of water through the glass. "Aunt Kat, a pool."

"It's pretty, huh? But we can't swim in the pool today."

"The three year old pouted. "How come?"

"Yea, how come, Kat?"JC asked, walking over to where Cindy stood. "Why can't we swim in the pool today?"

Katrina put her hands on her hips. "JC, you never use that pool."

"Because I never have anyone to swim with."

"I'll swim too if JC and Cindy are," Cody agreed, and Katrina looked at the three of them, exasperated.

"I thought we were going to the Aquarium today, remember? We gotta get going."

"But I wanna play some more songs for JC," the seven year old said, before his sister joined in.

"And I wanna swim in the pool."

Katrina shook her head. "We can't invade JC's house like that, guys."

"They're not invading," JC shook his head. "I don't have plans till nine o'clock tonight. We can chill here for the day if the kids want to."

"What about the Aquarium?" Katrina groaned.

"We can go to the Aquarium tomorrow," Cody suggested. "I like it here."

Katrina frowned, letting a sigh slip out. "Jace..."

"I don't mind, really," JC told her. "Seriously, the four of us can have more fun here than at some Aquarium. We got a pool, video games, lotsa ice cream and microwaveable food, TVs, everything."

"The kids have clothes in the car but I don't."

"So, if you wanna take a dip, I'll just lend you a shirt or something. C'mon."

"Can we, Aunt Kat? Pleaasseee?" Cindy pleaded.

JC chuckled. "How can you say no to that?"

-----

7:30PM

"Why is it always so effin' cold in your house when we get out of the pool?" Katrina hissed in a whisper.

The day, in the least, had been interesting. And it became the kind of interesting Katrina had ended up thoroughly enjoying. She hadn't expected neither Cody nor Cindy to even meet JC that week, far less end up spending the day at his house. JC didn't seem to mind the company either because he was the one in the pool with them for the first two hours straight while Katrina focused to making a lunch that consisted of home baked fries and burgers.

JC and Cody had spent some time with the piano for the next hour and a half while Katrina watched some TV with her niece before the rest of the evening was spent back in the pool.

Both kids had dozed off by the time the sun had started to go down and they fell asleep, the both of them on one large pool side chair.

"Do you want me to turn off the A/C in this room then?" JC offered, reaching for the air conditioning control on the dresser of the guest room they had rested Cody and Cindy in.

"Yea, let them defrost a bit in their sleep."

JC nodded, turning off the unit and turning toward Katrina who was making sure her niece and nephew were at least looking comfortable on the bed.

"Are you hungry?" JC asked. "We haven't eaten since lunch."

Katrina nodded. "Swimming works up an appetite."

"C'mon," JC led her out of the room and closed the door quietly behind them. Making their way downstairs, they entered the kitchen.

"I'm tired," Katrina whined, lazily pulling open the door to JC's fridge. "All I see is a bowl of Trail Mix in here. You wanna share it?"

"There're a couple chocolate bars in the drawer," JC said. "Take those out too."

Katrina placed the snacks on the island and started picking and choosing what she wanted and didn't want from the bowl of Trail Mix whereas JC immediately started un-wrapping the sugar.

"Today was fun," JC said, biting into the chocolate.

Katrina nodded, popping a mini pretzel into her mouth. "Yea, the kids liked it. Thanks for giving up your house today."

JC shrugged. "Don't sweat it."

"So after I leave, I'm guessing you're gonna get ready to go out and come back here drunk and ready to screw some new girl you're gonna meet tonight?"

"If Chelsea doesn't call me back before a hot chick with a nice ass agrees to come home with me tonight, that's the plan."

"She still hasn't called you back yet?"

"Nope."

"Looks like you fucked this one up."

JC shrugged. "She still has two hours."

"And if she doesn't call in two hours, and you see a new girl, you're gonna bring her back here and have sex with her?"

"Yes."

Katrina took a couple of dried raisins and an almond and threw them at JC.

JC frowned, picking up one of the raisins that had landed back in the island and popping it into his mouth. "Bitch."

"Ass."

"Clever, SmartieKat."

Katrina shrugged. "You fuck whatever girl you can get your hands on, and she fucks whatever guy she can expose her boobs to. Jace, doesn't that relationship make you sick?"

"No," JC told her with a slight glare. "I love her, and sometimes we like to have fun with other people. At the end of the day, we have our understanding. And her clothes aren't even that provocative."

"Her clothes are as conservative as All Day Long I Dream about Sex is kid friendly."

"Why am I arguing with the sexually deprived?"

"I am not sexually deprived. Not after last night, anyways."

"Well, I'm glad you know who you were with last night."

"You and I are different. You and Chelsea are... beyond different."

JC walked over to where she stood behind the island and Katrina hadn't even finished swallowed the dried cranberry she was chewing before JC had walked so closely to her that she was pushed up against the marble.

"What?" Katrina asked.

"Alright, let's say, worst case scenario-"

"Here we go..."

"Hey, listen. Worst case scenario, you leave, my girl doesn't call, and I end up not going out tonight."

"What's the problem?"

"I end up heartbroken and I don't get laid."

"And I'm sexually deprived?"

JC crashed his lips down on hers, the chocolate he was eating before long ago swallowed and the handful of Trail Mix in her hand dropped onto the tiled floor.

JC bit down on her bottom lip for a moment before he pulled away long enough to peel off the wet t shirt he had lent her to swim in off of her body.

 "Worst case scenario," Katrina began. "Cody or Cindy walking down here and seeing us doing it on the kitchen counters."

"We'd hear the door open if they wake up."

Katrina pulled his body against her own, bringing his head down so that she could lick at that spot that drove him crazy.

"Fuck, Kat," JC groaned. "Wha- I don't even have to beg you this time?"

"No shit Sherlock," Katrina replied, lifting off his white t shirt. "If you're gonna keep complaining about your worst case scenario, I'm just gonna give you what you want and get something outta it myself."

"You're doing this out of pity?"

"Yes."

JC nodded. "I can live with that."

Katrina couldn't help but chuckle when she saw the bliss in JC's eyes when he looked down at her chest. He wrapped his arms around her, occupying his lips with her own while he tried to unhook her bra.

A few moments of fumbling went by before JC pulled away from the kiss, breathing hard. "Fuck," he muttered against her lips. "Do you have a damn lock on this bra or something bec-"

"You mean the same way you have a lock on your house but obviously forget I have the key to it?"

JC jumped back, and looked over to the arched entrance. A fierce scowl from the brunette with the Louboutin heels made his jaw fall open. "Shit."

"You know," the woman continued, her obvious extensions tightly held in a high ponytail. "We both knew how long this bullshit has been going on, but did you forget the number one rule of cheating, JC?"

"You haven't taken my calls all damn day!"

"I was calling you five minutes ago but I guess you couldn't hear your phone because you were too busy going to have sex with another girl in your kitchen."

"Chels, baby, she-"

"Don't bother with the explanation. I'm sure you're just gonna repeat one of the excuses you've repeatedly already told me."

JC raised his eyebrows. "And you think I don't know where all those hickeys on your breasts came from? Well, remember sweet heart, you're the one who wouldn't take my calls, you're the one who's calling the kettle black, and you're the one who knows all my excuses because you've told them to me yourself when you try to cover up your own lying!"

"And so far you're the only one who had the indecency to actually get caught!"

"Chels, I-"

"Fuck off, JC," she glared at him, before menacingly turning on her heel and click-clacking her way quickly out of the room.

"Wait, Chelsea!" JC began to call after her before he realized Katrina was still standing there. "Kat, I-"

"I'm sorry too, don't worry."

JC nodded before practically sprinting out of the kitchen. "Chels, babe, wait up!"