Thought I'd been in love before but in my heart, I wanted more

Seems like all I really was doing was waiting for you...*

It was right after Liz had added the nineteenth stick on the whiteboard for her countdown that she got the phone call.

"Hello?" She bit her lower lip nervously. She... okay ... THEY have been expecting and anticipating his call from day one and now that he's calling ... shit ... how come JC wasn't home to take this phone call.

"So when were you intending to tell me, sis?"

Liz cringed as her mind tried to remember the excuse they have been trying to formulate and memorize for quite some time now. "Well, we were trying to figure out the right time."

"And when would be the right time? Would that be after JADED post a picture of my sister and my best friend getting their mack on  in a restaurant?"  He snarled in sarcasm.

"Wait. What are you talking about? There's a pic of us in Jaded?"

"Yes," Joe replied.

Liz sighed, running to JC's office to flick her laptop open and immediately click onto the website.  She couldn't stop herself from smiling when she finally saw the pictures after a few scrolls down. They were in a booth in the back of the cafe, it was after a quiet walk the night before, and they were canoodling, yes, she used the word canoodling, because that's exactly what they were doing over coffee and chai. And someone got the money shot when JC leaned in for a quick kiss, blushing like teenagers afterwards, enjoying the freshness of their relationship and still amused and amaze of what they have.

She sighed and blushed at the memory but frowned when she realized something, no, they still haven't called her his ho. Today it was - ‘Is She The One?'

Wow. I'm the one? Wow. Who would have thunk?

"Liz? Hello? Liz?"

Her brother's voice brought her back from her sappy cloud nine.

"What the hell is going on Liz?" Joey asked when all he heard were shuffles and sigh.

"Hey,  yeah sorry, I had to check it out for myself.  So yeah, that's twenty."

"Twenty what?"

"Oh, I've been counting how many times I get a mention on Jaded and this is the twentieth time," she explained.

"You're counting your what? Honey, you're weird." Her brother accused.

She rolled her eyes even if he can't see her. "Oh please, not you too. Stop it. If I'm weird then you're weird. We share the same DNA big brother."

"Yeah whatever," he scoffed. "So, explain to me again why I'm the last to know, especially if JADED knows it twenty times over me?"

"Well, geesh, Joe, did you want for JC to call for a press con?"

"Don't," he warned. "Don't cop out with an attitude with this, Liz. A phone call from either of you would have been nice."

"We'll we figured the parentals would have told you. They stayed here when they took the rest of my stuff here."

"Well they didn't. They probably thought I knew already since the guy you're shacking up with is hello! My best friend."

"Sorry it's just that ..."

"Is he being a fucking wuss about it?"

"Hey, you knew from the get go that I was staying with him when I moved here."

"For a bit ... for a while ... while you were looking for a place ... it's cool. You're  staying at our friend's house, my best friend's house so yeah ... I wasn't worried  ... I knew you were safe  .. that is until you two decided to hook up."

"Shouldn't it be more of a relief for you, just like for mom and dad, that  I ... that it's JC? Someone we've known since forever?"

"No because since I've known him since forever, I know him and his crap and how his mind works. So no! Not with you."

"But it's okay if it's with a different girl?"

"Yes."

"It's not like I could help who I fall in love with Joe."

"I'm flying in."

"What?"

"Tomorrow. My plane lands at eight in the evening. Tell him to pick me up at the airport. I want him there."

"Joe, come on."

"What? You think I won't let him off without giving him the talk? Best friend or not ... and especially because he is my best friend, he IS getting the talk."

She just sighed.

"You don't even know half the battle I'm going through here Liz. I mean the mental picture of my best friend doing my ..."

"Don't say it Joe. It sounds bad when you say it that way."

"Well, it's bad any other way from where I stand. So cut me some slack here. Go tell your lover boy about tomorrow, I have to go now."

"I love you, Joe."

"Yeah, well, I love you too but that doesn't mean I won't kill him if I have to."

"Joe!"

"Bye, Elizabeth!"

Liz' forehead formed creases as she frowned at her phone. Although she knew that it wouldn't be as ugly as a blood bath as her brother hinted, she still felt nervous and scared of whatever  her brother have planned for JC.

Shit.

May the force be with him.

"Get out of the car," Joey instructed as soon as they were at JC's driveway, looking over his shoulder to Liz who was sitting in the back seat. It was the first time he said anything since his arrival.

JC has been fretting from the time she had given her the good news about Joey's visit so they could talk so he figured she's go with him to the airport to pick up her brother for moral support and to make sure Joey doesn't kill him the moment he lands.

"What? Why?" She demanded.

"Out of the car, Liz!"

"Joey..."

"It's okay, hun," JC interrupted, catching her eyes via the rear view mirror.

"Are you sure?"

JC nodded. "Might as well get this over with," he sighed.

"Joe, I swear..."

"What are you fighting this fight for him?"

"No, she's not!" JC quickly corrected. "Liz, it's cool, come on. I'll be alright," he nodded.

Liz sighed in resignation. "Fine," she rolled her eyes and in a huff got out of the car, banging the door close. "Don't let him get to you," she said, walking over to JC by the driver side and leaning in the window, bending down so she can give him a quick kiss at first but then the naughty in her decided to give her brother a show so she made the kiss linger and purposely moaned loud enough for her brother to hear just to piss him off.

"Oh fucking A! Stop it or the blood shed will commence now!"

Liz gave a satisfied laughed as JC eyes widened, mouthing, "What the hell were you thinking?"

She playfully shoved JC back into the driver's seat so she can have a better view of her brother.  "You better bring him back, Joe," she pointed an angry finger at her brother. "In one piece. Do you hear me? ONE PIECE!"

They went to a bar, JC figured if he was going to talk to Joey, it would be in a public place, where there will be witnesses, a lot of witnesses, just in case.

Joey ordered them a shot of Jack, neat, and when it arrived, he took one of the glasses and pushed it back and forth between his hands, letting it slide on the wooden surface of the bar. "Okay, now you can talk."

JC took his glass, and in one swig, drank himself some liquid courage.

"Joe..."

"Do you love her?"

Here we go ...

"Remember when we were in Europe and for a while there we were all obsessed with Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman?" Joey didn't really answer, so he just continued. "Remember how we told ourselves how cool it would be to be like Edward Lewis because he gets all the chicks and damn, that Lotus Esprit and of course, Vivian. He got Vivian in the end.  She may be a ho but she's got heart. And of course she was hot and dude! She's Julia Roberts."

Joey was still quite, still sliding his glass from one hand to the other.

JC sighed, biting his lower lips, he was more nervous now about explaining to his best friend how he felt than anything else.

"Joe, as much as I'm so glad and don't miss you calling me sappy and girly anymore, because you've called me that so many times that I lost count already, but dude, when I'm with your sister, when I am with Elizabeth, I become Edward Lewis ... I am Edward Lewis and I found my Vivian."

"Are you telling me that my little sister's a ho?" Of all the things he had to say when he finally decided to speak. Typical.

"Hey," he raised both his hands up as if surrendering. "I am not the one doing a countdown as to how long it would take a stupid gossip site to call her a ho. Maybe in her messed up perverted head, she want so be one, I don't know." He had to laugh though, love writhing in his heart.

"Ain't she special?" Joey scoffed.

"She is," JC agreed not even realizing he was sighing, "Weird and odd and crazy and funny and fierce and smart and snarky and all things beautiful and ... hot."

"Well shit," Joey finally decided to take a sip of his drink.

"Ohhh... fuck, sorry." JC's ears turned red when he realized what he just said.

"Dude," Joey began, shaking his head as if it would help erase the thought his best friend just planted there. "If you value our friendship and your life, please, please, never ever tell me that my sister is..." he stopped himself by finishing his whiskey. "Hit me again," he nodded at the bartender.

"I'm sorry," JC apologized again. "I know this may seem weird for you, Joe..."

"Weird? Dude, man, weird does NOT even begin to explain where I am at right now."

"I love her, man."

"Are you sure?"

"Is the pope catholic?" JC quipped then sighed as he watched Joey finishes his second drink in one quick swig. "Look, I know and understand your apprehensions, she is after all your sister."

"I just ... man, and you know I wouldn't really meddle, but you are right she is my sister and I don't want her, even though we did agree that she's looking forward to it, ending up being called one of your hos on Jaded or any other magazines or gossip sites because you know damn well she doesn't deserve it."

"I know. I know. And trust me, Joe, she's not going to be part of the grocery list of my weekly ho specials. This is it for me."

"It better be and it was more of a every other woman every other day grocery list, bro. It was scary."

JC sighed again. "I know. Stupid. But .. I don't know I ... can I blame it on midlife crisis?"

"Dude you're not even midlife yet. If you acted that way during our hay days I would understand, I mean hey, I was there too ... girls throwing themselves at us ... man! Those were the days!" Joey smiled at that memory.

"Those were good times, huh?" JC nodded, going down memory lane as well.

"Good times." He agreed.

They were quiet for a while and before Joey, spoke again. "Tell me again that this is it this time, Jace. With Liz. Promise me that you are sure because this is different now, she is my family and hell, she's yours too. "

"I know that's why this time I know this is it. I am very sure." He answered earnestly.

"Yeah? Because I can remember sometime four years ago when you told me you were definitely sure too."

"Because I was but she wasn't. I ... man, I thought it would be different since I wasn't I the limelight so it wouldn't be about being a celebrity. But as our song goes ... I was too blind to see that it was still all about that. No matter how guarded I was, how hard I tried to filter out who wants you for you and not for anything else," he sighed. "I guess I wasn't that big of a star anymore..."

"Jace, stop." Joey interrupted, knowing how unfair it was and insulting it was for his friend, his brother to go through. "She wasn't worth it, okay?"

JC just nodded then took one gulp to finish his drink then pushed it toward the bar tender for a refill. "It's all good, man. It's so long ago. I made a mistake, I believed in fairy tales, I believed in the stupid love songs I wrote and sang about. How stupid was I huh?"

Joey nodded. "You know Liz called that right?"

JC rolled his eyes as he smiled. "How could I forget when she was bitching about Melissa from day one?"

"More like wanting to off her."

Both men laughed, clicking their glasses for a toast before taking a drink.

"Why did you think I didn't tell her all the details? I knew he would have committed murder if she found out what went down between Mel and I." He smiled. "Do you think she already knew back then  .. you know?" JC asked moments later, signaling the bartender for another shot.

Joey shrugged picking up his glass to swirl the amber liquid in it.  "I dunno."  But actually, he did. He knew it was there ... saw it as early as right after he introduced them to each other and became more obvious and evident through the years.  Joey knew that even if he somehow hoped it won't happen, he knew that eventually it was going to happen.

But in the same token, although he will never admit it for now, he was kinda relieved that it was JC because he was a good man and he knew he will treat his sister right, but like he decided, he won't admit to that just yet. He was going to make him sweat a bit because the boy has no idea what hell hole he has put him in right now. Because just that thought of his best friend and his sister together just gives him the freaking heebeegeebeezz!

"Did you?"

"No." He shook his head. "I mean, there was an innate need to protect her, care for her, love? Yes, but not like this...not like now ..." his voice trailed as a smile won over. "Because if I did, I wouldn't waited this long." He was quiet for a moment then continued.  "Do you know how it was for me, Joe? How despite the fame I felt like my life's puzzle wasn't complete? Then I met Mel..."  his voice trailed once more, not wanting to rehash that part of his life. "For a second ... for two years I thought my puzzle was complete but then it turned out that the pieces from her where does not even fit my puzzle, does not even belong to my puzzle. That broke me man, burned me good. And then I see you completing your puzzle with Kel and J with Jes, Chris with Amy, and man, even Lance,  I was like shit ... what the hell is wrong with me? I was jealous, man. So I guess that explains what your sister calls my grocery list of hos. I just kept going through all of them ... all of the puzzle pieces hoping to find the piece that would fit. And then out of nowhere, your sister decided to move here and need a place to stay for a while and somehow ended up at my place because she didn't want to stay at her brother's and intrude his almost one year wedded bliss."

Joey had to smile as he remembered the long drawn out argument they had about it. She was adamant, relentless, and her tenacity was amazing that he didn't even know how he lost.

"I wasn't even thinking of puzzle pieces you know, just trying to help out one of my best friends, but suddenly they were just there, I dunno, probably fell out of her suitcase while she was unpacking. And man, without even doing anything, they just sorta fell into place and fit. She had the fucking puzzle pieces I was looking for all this time. And her pieces fit mine perfectly."

"You know what kid? I was beginning to warm up on the idea of you and my little sister and then you start dropping words about how her piece fits into yours .. damn it Z! Didn't I warn you earlier? I swear if you give me that unwanted visual again tonight, you will lose a very important appendage on your body! Let me see if there are any more pieces that would fit anywhere!" Joey shook his head, giving himself a mental shake and then drinking his Jack.

"Sorry," JC laughed.

"I swear you're doing it on purpose," Joey shook his head.

"No, I'm not," JC swore. "I'm just trying to explain to you what's going on and trying to make you see how this is it for me, Joe. I mean if I only knew she had the pieces ... I mean .. I'm sorry ... shit!" He had to laugh again when Joey flipped him the finger. "What I meant was ... if I only knew he was the one then I wouldn't have waited this long to figure it out because, she has always been there."

"Maybe, both of you needed to run the course first," Joey said, finishing his drink. "Maybe you two needed to let it all out first. Maybe you guys needed to wait, live and learn so when you finally get together ..."

"You're probably right. It wouldn't be like this if we pushed it when we weren't ready yet. I mean after that debacle ..."

"Debacle," Joey interrupted with a smirk. "That's a good word for you, Z."

JC chuckled, relief that Joey didn't seem deadly anymore. "Why, thank you. Five bucks word, you think? Though I must admit that it's your sister's word."

"Ahhh... then you only get two-fifty, man." Joey laughed.

JC laughed too but was soon quiet, shaking his head to fight of the nervousness he felt again. "So ... uhm... are we cool?"

Joey nodded. "I don't have any choice." He said coldly. "But fine, I will have to say this, I really didn't want to because I wanted you to sweat a little but," he paused to sigh in surrender. He love them both - his sister, his best friend and he was, in spite of all the unwanted visuals, happy for them. "I am glad it was you. If there was anyone I trust with my sister, it's you, man."

"Thanks," relief finally washes over him. It was important for him that Joey gave them his blessing because he was his best friend.

"But..."

"Shit."

"You better believe it, kid, there is a but. If you hurt my sister I swear to god ..."

"Joe, in a perfect world, I won't even dare hurt her, but it's not ... so we will go through some hard days but, I promise you that I will try everything not to hurt her on purpose, is that okay?"

"Fair enough." Joey nodded. "But I'm still putting it out there that if you do hurt her, I will beat you senseless, boy."

"Just beat me up? Not offing me? How generous of you!" He dared to jest.

"I am leaving the killing to Liz," Joey said a-matter-of-factly and laughed at his threat. "You know she will."

JC nodded but smiled. Yes. He knows she will.

She found him sitting on the edge of his king sized bed, the bed they now share, unbuttoning his shirt until his white Hanes undershirt became visible. "Hey," she smiled.

"Hey," he looked up at her and smiled too.

"Where's my brother?" She asked with a raised brow.

"I dropped him over his at Lance, he's staying there while he's in town. He said something about until I was sure I had thick walls, he wouldn't spend the night here."

Liz laughed, getting exactly what her brother meant. "Man, you and my brother just have freaking dirty minds!"

JC held up his hand as if in surrender. "Hey, that's your brother's mind not mine." He laughed as he extending his arm to her as an invitation.

"So how was it?" She asked as he sat her on his lap. She eyed his face for battle scars but was relief to find none.

"It was okay. I believe Joey just made a drama over it to make us sweat a bit but it's all good." He assured him as he snaked his arms around her tiny waist and gave her a gentle kiss behind her ears, his favorite spot.

Her eyes automatically closed as she sighed. It was her favorite spot too. "Thanks for doing it for humoring him."

JC shrugged. "It had to happen anyways. Remember how I also talked to him about Cass, so it's fine. I let him give me the usual ‘I'll beat the crap out of you if you ever hurt my sister' bullshit routine and in return I pretended to be scared and promised him that I will try not to hurt you because you're kinda it. That you're my missing piece of my puzzle. My Vivian."

"Oh, lord!" She interrupted at the mention of Pretty Woman, rolling her eyes. "I forgot that you and my brother share that same obsession. Damn! You two are sappy! Seriously!"

"Shut it, you like sap!" He laughed this time his eyes disappearing as he chuckled.

"I do but let me tell you that as soon as you go overboard, I'm gonna have smack you around a bit, okay?"

"Fair enough. Besides, you can do anything you want with me honey because like I told your brother, you are the one," he gazed as her tenderly, smiling with his eyes, showing off the happy lines she loved.

She had to laugh as she remembered the blurb under their canoodling picture in Jaded.

"Why are you laughing? I just told you that you're THE one for me and you laugh!" He complained almost in whining.

Her heart was doing cartwheels in her chest as she continued to laugh and it took sheer power from stopping herself from doing it herself. "Stop whining!" She said, wrapping her arm around his neck. "It's just that .. did Joe tell you about our picture on Jaded today?" JC nodded and she continued. "The caption was - Is she the one."

This time a stupid grin graced his face. "Hah! I guess they can be right once in a while."

"So I'm the one huh?"

"Only one."

She smiled not knowing what to do with this man in her arms because he just melted her puny, sappy heart. "Should we call Jaded and confirm that?" She teased.

She recognized the spark that she saw in his eyes as soon as his lips formed a naughty, sexy grin. "I actually have something else in mind to confirm that," he said as he nuzzled into her neck.

She sucked in air as she bit her lower lip, enjoying the sensation his lips was giving her and when she could no longer contain herself, she gently held his head with both her hand, lifting it so she can meet her gaze. "I love you, Josh.

"I love you, Liz." his voice was lost as their lips touch for a kiss and the confirmation commenced.