Chapter Ten

"Good morning," Carrie smiled seeing the group walking down the hall. "How is the Bass family this morning?" She asked as they stopped at the nurses' station on their way to Rachel's room. "Sorry to lump you in that category Michael."

"It's alright," Michael said with a smile. "I don't mind." He met Lance's eye and winked.

"I'm going real good," Diane answered; her own smile on her face. "Much better than yesterday at this time."

"We were actually able to sleep last night," James told Carrie.

"Well you guys were the only ones," Carrie told them, meeting four sets of confused eyes. "If he wasn't helping Rachel so much, I'd give his picture to security."

"What's going on?" Lance asked, narrowing his eyes. "Ben didn't come back did he?"

"Oh no," Carrie laughed. "JC was." She saw them all exchange glances. "With the nice shiner he was sporting, Anna couldn't turn him away. Think she felt sorry for him. I finally kicked him out when I got here at six-thirty this morning."

"JC...JC was here all night?"

"Oh yeah; Anna said he showed up around one with more gorgeous flowers. Anna wouldn't let him in to see her until he allowed her to make sure nothing was broken to go along with the shiner. She said they weren't creating problems and had forgotten he was even in her room."

Lance groaned at the look on his mother's face. This news definitely cemented her idea of getting JC and Rachel together. "So she was up all night? Is she awake now?"

"She wasn't up all night. When I kicked JC out, she was fast asleep. He was sitting in the chair next to her typing on his phone. Content to just sit there in the dark. It was sweet actually." Carrie smiled. "But she's awake now. Ate breakfast already and we were actually able to get her in the tub room. She's feeling like a million bucks after getting her hair washed."

"Oh good," Diane said happy to hear that her daughter was in such a good mood. It was refreshing to hear after the past couple days.

"She's in such a good mood today," Carrie said smiling. Her eyes sparkled; she wished she could follow the family into the room to see their reactions when Rachel greeted them. "I'll let you go; I know you're anxious to see her. The doctor was already around this morning. Her prognosis is good; he was talking about letting her go home soon."

Armed with the news the Bass family turned away from the nurses' station after bidding Carrie good bye. They walked down the hallway until they came to Rachel's room, halfway from the nurse's station and the end of the wing. "I can't believe JC was here all night."

"Mom," Lance groaned. "Please refrain from asking questions about him."

"No promises Lance," Diane said as she pushed on Rachel's door. She was greeted with Rachel sitting up in bed for once. The television on the wall was actually turned on; the captions appearing at the bottom were a blatant reminder of Rachel's accident. The blonde hair that adorned Rachel's head was shinny and soft, freshly cleaned from the shower. The gown was gone; in its place was a simple grey t-shirt and red sweat pants Diane had packed herself.

"Mom! Dad!" Rachel grinned as she watched jaws drop in shock and tears well in eyes. She held her arms out. Her mother was the quickest to take up her offering. She hugged her mother tight, grimacing a little as Diane hugged a little too tight. Her right side was tender. Even though the chest tube was no longer there; the area now needed time to heal and recover. Feeling her mother's shaking shoulders caused tears to pool in Rachel's eyes. "I love you," she whispered to her mother.

Diane sobbed and hugged her daughter tighter hearing the whisper. She wanted so much to return the sentiment. Pulling away from Rachel she held up her hand, tucking the middle and ring fingers down. She smiled through her tears. Wiping her tears as she stood up allowing her husband to take her place she looked at her son. "I will never ever be able to repay that man for what he did."

Lance didn't need to ask what man his mother was speaking about. Whatever happened during JC's visit last night had gotten his sister to speak again. He would have liked a heads up from Carrie, but he assumed this was just as good. The look on his parents' face when Rachel spoke was priceless. "I would probably give JC anything he asked for right now."

"Anything?" Michael questioned. He tried to quietly clear his throat. He hadn't been expecting Rachel to talk. He wasn't afraid to admit he choked up.

"Oh yeah," Lance nodded turning his head to look at him. "Seeing the look on my parents' face... JC's liable to become a saint."

"St. JC, Patron Saint of the Bass's," Michael proclaimed.

Lance snorted he was gonna say something when Rachel nailed him with a look. "I think I'm in trouble..." he murmured to Michael. He grinned widely at his sister.

"You're in trouble," Rachel looked at Lance. "You seem to have skipped over a few parts yesterday in your story telling."

"Call the Catholic Church," Lance told Michael. "JC's Sainthood has been cancelled."

"Thought you'd do anything for him?" Michael teased.

"That was until he got me in trouble," Lance moved to the side of the bed taking the dry erase board. 'Aw come on now Rachel; it was nothing. Ben showed up and tried to create something.'

"Tried?" Rachel questioned. "He punched JC!"

'Don't worry, Sis. JC will be handsome again in a week.' He grinned at Rachel, letting her know he was teasing.

"Why didn't you tell me what happened?" Rachel asked him. She looked down at her brother's right hand seeing the knuckles slightly puffy and red. "Does it hurt?"

Lance shook his head as Michael stole the board from his hand.

'He whined like a little baby last night and still whining this morning.'

Rachel giggled reading the words. "Don't you dare do that again."

'What? Punch your ex or keep it from you?'

"Both."

'Just don't date another loser like Ben and I won't be tempted...'

"Don't think you have to worry about boyfriends for a long time," Rachel told them. She tried to keep her face expressionless. Judging from the looks on Lance and Michael's faces she failed. "I mean how am I supposed to hear, 'Woman get in the kitchen and make me a sandwich'?"

Lance laughed like Rachel had meant. 'Unless you date JC, then you won't have to worry. He doesn't look like he eats.' He grinned when he saw Rachel blush bright red even through the black and blue hues.

"Lance," Michael chuckled.

"JC's just being nice; it's JC." Rachel shrugged her gaze drifting off toward the new arrangement of flowers, looking brighter in the daylight. It was too soon to be wondering about old feelings and new feelings.

'Those are expensive flowers Sis; maybe he's expecting you to put out.'

"Not if he doesn't buy me dinner first..."

"Changing the subject here," Diane said as she moved the other dry erase board in Rachel's line of sight. 'You're talking now. What happened? What did JC do?'

Rachel shrugged. "Nothing really. He was here last night. I woke up; saw him and his name slipped out. I didn't mean to; I was just caught off guard that he was here. Then he wrote out 'please' and gave that sad, pleading face of his that no one can deny." She saw Lance laugh; knowing he knew what she was talking about. It was still strange to see someone laugh but not hear the sound that goes with it.

'Well why did you stop talking in the first place?' Lance wrote. 'Was it because of Ben.'

"Yeah," Rachel looked down at her lap. She worried her hands together; looking up when her mother placed her hands over hers. "He came in after the accident. I was in pain. I couldn't hear; I was freaking out and scared. I couldn't remember the accident. I asked him what happened. And he laughed..."

Lance clenched his hands into fists when he heard his sister's voice waver with tears. He wanted to break Ben's nose again.

"He laughed at me. Of course I couldn't hear it," she looked up catching Lance's gaze. "But I could see it. I could see him laughing. It was this big production, holding his belly, leaning over. I guess I sound weird..."

'No!' Lance quickly wrote so Rachel could see. 'You sound like you normally sound.'

"That's what JC said. I think you both are liars."

'Sweetie, you sound exactly like you always do," Diane wrote. 'You speak a little softer and sometimes you speak slower but you sound the same as you did Monday when we talked on the phone.'

'We would never laugh at you. EVER!' Lance wrote. 'Forget about that jerk. He's not worth your time anymore.'

"Yeah," she smiled at her brother. "You ready to be roomies? I'll try not to cramp your style."

'After the amount of clothes we carried in last night. It's definitely cramped.'

"Oh, I'll go through them when I get home. I don't need it all."

'I started unpacking some of your clothes last night, so you don't have to worry about it,' Diane jumped into the conversation.

"Oh Mom, you didn't have to do that," Rachel looked at her mother. "Would have given me something to do."

"Don't worry about that," Carrie said as she opened the door. She leaned back holding it open. "I have plenty for you to do." She leaned forward reaching for the cart parked outside Rachel's door. "Thank you," she told Michael when he held the door for her.

"What is that?" Diane asked when Carrie pushed a cart in the room. The cart had one bin sitting on the top shelf, and two on the bottom.

"Fan mail." Carrie reached in holding up envelopes, showing Rachel. She pointed to the cart circling her finger in the air around it then pointed to Rachel.

Rachel's eyes widened. "For me?"

Carrie accepted the dry erase board from Michael. 'Yes! All for you Ms. Bass. The mail room as been stock piling it for two days now. They couldn't take it anymore. There's letters and packages... you are one popular lady!'

"Oh my word," Diane gasped moving to get a look at all the envelopes in the bin. The bottom two bins held packages, but the top bin was filled with envelopes, big and small. Most of the envelopes were white, but there were some blue and green, red and pink. She couldn't fathom a guess at the number.

"Holy shit," Lance exclaimed looking at the cart.

"Holy crap," Rachel said. If these were sent to the hospital, she could just imagine what had been sent to her fan club.

'Now you'll have something to do,' Carrie wrote with a smile.

"No kidding..." her voice trailed off. She still couldn't believe all this mail came to her in the short amount of time she'd been at the hospital.

Lance snapped a picture of the cart with his phone, making sure to get all the bins. 'This was just delivered to my sister. WOW! Her fans are amazing!' He posted the photo to Twitter.

"My God, I can't believe this..." Rachel shook her head in disbelief.

'Looks like you're gonna be busy for awhile,' Lance said.

"Wanna help me open some?" Rachel asked looking at the four people surrounding her. "Least the packages."

"Awesome," Michael grinned and grabbed one of the bins containing packages, sitting it on the bed.

"Just put the contents back in the box it came from," Rachel said as she accepted a small square box from Michael.

'Any particular reason?'

"I might want to write a thank you note," Rachel said. "What?" She said when they looked at her. "I've got plenty of time on my hands..."

'Alright but the first pair of underwear I come across...'

"That comes in your fan mail, not mine," Rachel giggled as they all started opening their boxes.

~*~

"I'm beginning to get the feeling that I'm not good company," Matt said after he took a swallow of beer seeing JC yawn again.

"Sorry," JC stood. If he sat down any longer, he was liable to fall asleep sitting. "Didn't get a lot of sleep last night, then had a busy day."

"How many of those days did you pull during NSYNC?" Matt followed JC into the kitchen.

"Helluva lot easier to do when you're in your twenties," JC laughed. "My twenties were a long time ago."

"You know what you need?" Matt stated. "You need a girlfriend. A twenty-something year old who will make you feel young again. Keep you up later than..." he paused to look at his watch. "Seven. Lame, JC."

"Thanks Man," JC said. "And a twenty-something year old girlfriend is the last thing I need."

"Would you settle for a thirty something year old girlfriend?" Matt wiggled his eyebrows. "I hear she's single...oh, wait; what was that?"

"What was what?" JC asked a small grin on his lips. He turned toward the fridge, pulling out a bottle of water. He hoped that would wake him up.

"That!" The hand holding Matt's beer rose up, the fingers pointing to JC before he took a swallow. "That smile on your face. You, my friend, have been holding out."

"I have not."

"Right," Matt stated. He grabbed another beer from the fridge, leaving his empty bottle sitting on the counter before following JC back into the living room. "That's why Ben's spouting to anyone who will listen how you and Lance conspired to break up his relationship with Rachel."

JC laughed. "That's funny," he took a long drink, the cold liquid refreshing. "Rachel figured out he was an asshole and dumped him. I don't know about Lance but I didn't have anything to do with it."

Matt made a noncommittal sound. "So Ben's story about how you started romancing her has no merit huh? Damn..."

JC coughed. "Romancing her? What are you talking about?"

"Oh yeah; Ben's concocted a nice tail about how you swooped in while Rachel was vulnerable. You filled her head with lies about him. He was worried about her getting better; the last thing on his mind was flowers and Teddy Bears."

"And you believe that?"

"Not for a second. Ben doesn't fit the profile of an innocent, unsuspecting boyfriend. I am embarrassed for you though." He pointed toward JC's face. "I would have thought you could have taken him."

"I can take the slimy bastard," JC's voice hardened.

"My favorite part in the whole story is how Lance broke his nose," Matt's grin was wide.

"Bastard," JC muttered taking another drink of his water remember the anger he felt yesterday listening to Ben talk about Rachel in the manner he did.

"Lance?" Matt asked surprised.

"He beat me to it," JC explained what happened in the basement. "He was gonna get it, was just a matter of which one of us was gonna do it. Lance was just quicker."

"So now that the undeserving boyfriend is out of the picture are you gonna move in and get the girl? I think there's a song in there somewhere."

JC rolled his eyes. "What is the big infatuation with me and Rachel having a relationship?"

"We know a good thing when we see it," Matt shrugged. "We're gonna put up a Twitter page and a Facebook page devoted to you and Rachel."

"You're kidding right?" JC asked incredulously.

"Maybe." Matt grinned. "Maybe not. Who else wants you together?"

"Rachel's nurse during the day, Carrie, Megan, Diane..."

"Whoa," Matt whistled. "Mama Bass. You're doomed, C. You might as well give up and give in."

"You have no idea what you're talking about."

"Oh really?" Matt smirked. "Where were you last night?"

"Good bye Matthew," JC stood up.

"Oh come on," Matt laughed moving after JC as he disappeared. He followed JC downstairs to the basement that was considered JC's domain. Recording equipment was set up; a piano, portable keyboard. Anything JC needed for his music was in the basement. He took a seat on the couch and watched as JC sat at the piano. Seconds later a melody filled the room. "What's that for? Sounds almost too slow for Girl Radical." He asked when the music drifted away.

"Because it is too slow for them," JC said looking at the spattering of lyrics in front of him from where he'd worked out the words that came to his head last night watching Rachel sleep. He snorted softly shaking his head. "Did you know that before the car accident Rachel texted me wanting to discuss something with me? I didn't find out until I went to visit her the next day; she wanted me to write with her for her next album. Maybe even sing."

"Another person that recognizes you for your true talent," Matt said. He always tried to get JC to sing, considered it almost a waste of talent that JC didn't sing. He'd been able to get JC to sing with him on a few of his own tour stops and stick around for a solo song. "You and her singing together..." he mused, nodding. "That'd sound pretty awesome C. Singing any genre really. As for writing; you've never tried country. Never tapped into that side. I bet you have a plethora of boot scootin' boogie tunes in your head."

"It doesn't matter anymore. This accident changes everything." JC turned on the piano bench looking at JC.

"True," Matt nodded. "I bet she can probably still sing." He met JC's eyes. "You don't just forget how to sing because you can't hear. She'll have to learn differently sure, and take cues from someone. Her band will have to relearn some things. But I bet she can do it." He stared at his friend. "You think so too." He watched JC. "That song you were just playing is for her isn't it?"

JC chuckled flatly. "Yeah. Wrote some of it this morning sitting with her while she slept. Don't," he told Matt when he saw him open his mouth to comment. "The last she needs is me buying her flowers and writing her songs."

"Because women hate that," Matt rolled his eyes. "So why are you doing it?'

JC shrugged. "Can't seem to stop." He turned back to face the piano placing his hands on the keys.

"You're wrong JC," Matt said standing as JC started to play. "You're exactly what she needs." As he walked up the stairs JC's voice drifted after him

'Sometimes that mountain you've been climbing is just a grain of sand

What you've been searching for forever is in your hands

When you figure out love is all that matters after all

It sure makes everything else seem so small'