Chapter Eighteen

"You need to tell your boyfriend he doesn't have to buy you flowers all the time," Lance spoke seeing his sister walk into the kitchen the next morning heading straight for the fridge. He waited but she never responded.

"Did you say something?" Rachel asked turning around, armed with a yogurt in one hand. She gasped seeing the beautiful arrangement of flowers sitting in the middle of the kitchen table. "Are those for me?"

"Well, Michael didn't send them to me," Lance teased.

"Well what kind of boyfriend is he?" She said ruefully after reading Lance's words on her phone. "He's gotta keep the romance alive...Actually you should. You gotta keep the young buck around."

"Don't think I'll have a problem with that. I don't think he's going anywhere anytime soon."

"Good," she nodded placing her yogurt on the table. She leaned forward smelling the flowers and their wonderful aroma. Straightening, she stared at her brother waiting until he felt her gaze and looked up. "I just wanted to say thank you for letting me stay here with you guys. I know I'm cramping your style..."

"My style?" Lance laughed. "Just what do you think we do here? Throw wild parties?"

She laughed softly shaking her head. "No. I know you don't do that. But I know having me here severely hinders your time and moments with Michael. I just don't want that to cause problems between you two."

"Rachel," his voice softened. "You will not cause problems. Michael wants you here just as much as I do. We really didn't have to change anything. It's not like we had sex on the kitchen table." He laughed at the look his sister gave the table in front of her.

"See. There are a few things I didn't need to know about you," Rachel said as she plucked the card from the flowers pointing it in Lance's direction. "I do not need to know which surfaces you and Michael got freaky on in this house. Ignorance is bliss. It's bad enough that I'm gonna think if you guys done it on the couch when I sit on it later."

"There is a bright side," Lance spoke, a gleam in his eyes. Rachel raised a questioning eyebrow. "We don't have to worry about keeping it quiet."

"Lance!" Rachel shrieked. She reached for her phone immediately turning the device off. She glared at her brother while he laughed and she could imagine the laughter as he leaned back in his chair. "You're a jerk!" Turning her attention away from her annoying brother she opened the flap on the envelope, pulling out the florist card. She froze and her lips parted as she stared at the handwriting, the words not even registering.

"Rachel?" Lance's laughter died immediately seeing his sister's face. He cursed softly seeing she hadn't turned her phone on. Getting up from his chair he went to her placing a hand on her shoulder. His frowned deepened when she jumped. He reached for her phone, turning it back on, bringing up the speak-to-text application. "What is it? I thought you'd be happy JC sent more flowers. He should just invest in a flower company with the way he..."

"They..." She felt the words stick in her throat and she coughed. "They aren't from JC." She looked down at the card.

'I'm not perfect and I know I've made a lot of mistake especially when it comes to you. Please don't throw away the good times we've had and the love we've shared. Give us another chance. I love you. Call me. -Ben'

"Well who are they from?" Lance questioned. He should have satisfied his curiosity and read the card but he had assumed they were from JC.

Rachel held the card toward her brother still in disbelief. She watched Lance's lips move and she looked down at her phone but not words appeared. She figured he was mouthing the words on the card.

"Is he serious?" Lance spoke, looking at Rachel. "You're not thinking about getting back together with him are you?"

After reading the final words on her phone, she met Lance's gaze, rolling her eyes. "I can't believe you'd think I'd get back together with him. I can forgive a lot of things he's done. But I can't forgive that he cheated on me... multiple times. Nor can I forgive the cruel words he said about you and Michael. Seriously Lance."

Lance smiled sheepishly as Michael walked into the kitchen. "Just checking. If you were thinking about it, I'd..."

"You'd what? Forbid it?" Rachel laughed. "That's cute. The last time someone forbade me to see someone; I snuck out my window to meet Mark Thompson."

"Which Dad grounded you for a week," Lance pointed out moving back to the table to finish his breakfast.

"Who is Mark Thompson?" Michael asked as he sat down at the kitchen table next to Lance with a bowl of cereal.

"According to the female population at Clinton High School, only the hottest boy ever," Lance moved his leg to the side, brushing against Michael's. His eyes met his boyfriend's and they shared a small smile. He felt Michael nudge his leg again before resting against him.

"He's not the hottest boy now," Rachel spoke seeing the looks passing between Michael and Lance. She plucked her yogurt from the table and turned her back on the two men going to grab a spoon from the drawer. The words she told Lance earlier were true. She wondered how the moment would have been different if she hadn't been there. If they would sat closer together... kissed. What else have they altered in their every day life for her? "Can I borrow one of your cars?"

"Where do you need to go?" Lance asked as he stood up, taking his dishes to the sink. "I have nothing going on today. I can drive you where you need to go."

It was slight, so slight Rachel was surprised she even caught it but she saw Michael's eyes dim. Seeing that cemented the idea she had in her mind. Shaking her head she looked at Lance. "I just want to get out and go for a drive. I don't know where I'm going or what I'm doing."

"That's fine," Lance said shrugging. "A road trip sounds fun."

"Lance," Rachel sighed exasperated. She finished the last of her yogurt, tossing the container in the trash and the spoon in the sink. "I want to be by myself." She walked toward Lance stopping in front of him. Her green eyes searched his and reached out, patting his cheek. "You have nothing to do today; good. Stay here and spend time with Michael and let me get out of your hair."

Lance stared at Rachel. The words she said about causing problems between them came back to mind. He sent her a crooked smile, nodding his head.

"Great!" Rachel sent him a wide smile, hugging him quickly. "Who's giving me their vehicle?" She asked looking back and forth between Lance and Michael. Her eyes narrowed when they exchanged looks.

"You can take mine," Michael stated dropping his bowl in the sink. "It doesn't get driven enough." He hated driving. Whenever they had to go somewhere, Lance always drove.

"Awesome," she pressed a kiss to his cheek and turned to leave the room. She felt a hand grip her upper arm and she turned around, meeting Lance's gaze with her own questioning look.

"The flowers?" Lance asked, pointing toward the arrangement still on the table. The card lay forgotten next to the vase. As he stared at the vase, he should have been tipped off the flowers weren't from JC. JC always opted for a creative vase, nothing simple or plain.

"Oh, uhm," she bit her lip as she looked at them. "Give them to Michael," she grinned before leaving the room.

"What did I miss?" Michael asked turning back to Lance. "What's the deal with the flowers and why did it seem like she was purposely throwing us together?"

"She's got it in her mind that by staying here is going to cause us problems."

"How does she figure that?"

"Three's a crowd I think."

"That's stupid." Michael rolled his eyes. "What's the deal with the flowers? Who are they from?"

"Asshole," Lance muttered, the smile falling off his face as his features tightened.

"No way; really?" Michael picked up the card, reading the words. "Is he for real? Does he really think she'll get back with him? What a douche."

"My thoughts exactly."

~*~

Rachel parked Michael's truck in JC's driveway later that morning. She had a special delivery to make. A smile formed on her lips as she stared at the award sitting on the passenger seat. Reaching for the small plastic bag, she pulled out the red ribbon she purchased at the store. It was a little unnerving going into the store. A ball cap tossed on the floor in the backseat provided some cover. The store wasn't crowded for a weekday, morning and for that she was thankful. She made her purchases with relative ease.

Unwinding the ribbon, she used the newly purchased scissors to snip the length. The red ribbon was wide enough to fit perfectly around the base of the gramophone that sat on the shiny black base. She tied the ribbon in a bow. The bow sat on the side where there was a plate engraved with her name, the category and year, and the song nomination. 'Blown Away' won two Grammys one for 'Best Country Solo Performance' and then for 'Best Country Song". The later category was awarded to the songwriters. Fingering the silky ribbon one final time, she turned away to open the door and let out a scream.

Matt's heart nearly exploded in his chest, hearing the scream. He was lucky being inside the truck somewhat muted the sound. He held his hands up in an innocent manner and sent her a small grin. He hadn't meant to scare her.

"Jesus Christ Matt!" Rachel exclaimed after she opened the door. "Are you trying to scare the crap out me!"

"I'm sorry! I was abo--" He was cut off when Rachel held up her finger. He watched as she leaned back in the truck and grabbed something from the center counsel.

"Sorry," Rachel sent him a smile and held up her phone. "You can talk away now. Your words will show up here."

"Sorry," Matt's smile was apologetic. "I didn't mean to be disrespectful. I just..." he shrugged. "Habit."

"I know. It's alright; really."

"Am I interrupting an afternoon rendezvous?" He wriggled his eyebrows, grinning when he saw a blush sweep across the blonde's face.

"No," she shook her head quickly. "He... he doesn't know I'm coming."

"Sometimes those are even better... those unplanned meetings."

"You are terrible." Rachel laughed slapping his shoulder. "But if you have something going on, I can come back later."

"Oh no, I'm just here to give him a daily dose of shit. He expects it." He smiled. "So," he wrapped an arm around Rachel's shoulders. "Shall we?"

It was hard not to smile with Matt. You couldn't help but smile when he smiled. "Let's go. Oh!" She turned back to Michael's truck. The Grammy Award, complete with the red ribbon, sat on the elbow rest. She picked it up and shut the door turning to face Matt. She laughed seeing his elbow thrust out. Threading her arm through his, she allowed him to lead the way.

"Congratulations, by the way," Matt said as they reached JC's front door. "Was well deserved."

"Thank you."

"Is there a particular reason you're presenting it to JC?"

Rachel shrugged, "He wanted it." She told him as if it made the perfect sense. And it did.

"Oh well... in that case," Matt said pushing open JC's door allowing Rachel to step through first. "It's okay. I never knock." Piano strands hit him immediately letting him know where JC was. He cringed hearing the wrong notes. "Sounds like he's playing the piano...poorly."

"Impossible. JC never plays the piano poorly." Rachel said matter-of-factly.

"Well he's doing a bang up job of it now. I don't think," Matt careened his head, falling silent as he listened to the melody JC was trying to play. "I don't think I've heard it before. Maybe he's working out something new."

Rachel bit back a sigh. She wished she could hear what JC was playing. How she wished she could hear music again. Forcing a smile, she looked at Matt. "How about we go interrupt since it doesn't sound good before I start having a pity party about not being able to hear; bad or not."

"Sorry," Matt grimaced. He motioned with his hand the direction Rachel should walk, and then fell in behind her letting her lead the way. "I do want to tell you how sorry I am and how happy I am that your accident wasn't anymore serious...well I know losing your hearing is serious but...well...," he felt himself blush as he tried to think of the right words he wanted to say.

Rachel stopped and turned around facing Matt. She smiled up at him, hoping to put him at ease. "Thank you," she told him honestly. She rose up on her tip toes and kissed his cheek.

Matt grinned as they walked down the stairs to the basement. JC was sitting at the piano dressed in his ever present black t-shirt and a pair of jeans. 'I really need to help him out on his appearance.' He thought. The music settled in; JC having figured out the melody. The tune he was playing was low and he cocked his head hearing JC start singing. It sounded familiar but he couldn't place it.

Rachel watched JC's fingers move around the piano keys. She tried to imagine the sound. Her eyes were glued to the keys and she placed the Grammy on the glass table in front of the couch that sat along the wall behind JC. She moved closer. There were a few combinations she thought looked familiar but she knew it could mean nothing. She moved from JC's fingers to his face and her breath caught seeing the passion and emotions. His lips mouthed formed words she couldn't hear. His eyes stared at his fingers as if he wasn't sure which keys to hit and when and she wanted to know what he was playing. It had to be something new; if it wasn't, JC wouldn't have had to look at the keys as he played. She looked down at her phone seeing the words moving across the screen. A gasp escaped seeing the familiar words.

JC's head snapped to his left as he quickly jumped from the piano bench. His eyes widened seeing Rachel and Matt standing behind him. He hadn't heard either one of them come in. "My God..." he said rubbing his chest, "You scared me."

"Worried about someone sneaking up behind you and offing you?" Matt grinned.

"No, but I am now," JC looked at Matt before his eyes flickered back to Rachel. She had yet to look at him, looking down at her phone instead. "Hey," he reached out, lightly touching her shoulder. "Are you okay?" He asked.

"You were singing my song," Rachel whispered, still looking down at her phone. There was only a couple lines left of the song on her phone because the words that had been spoken already pushed the song lyrics off the screen.

"Guilty." JC nodded. He continued to watch Rachel for any sign leading to what was wrong. He didn't set out to sing the song Rachel had sang yesterday. The music just entered his mind as he'd been trying to write the song he had started a few weeks ago at Rachel's hospital bedside. The song just wouldn't leave his mind so he sat at the piano trying to remember the melody.

"Why?" Rachel picked her head up, looking at him.

"It was in my head," JC shrugged. "I was trying to write and it wasn't working. Took me more time than I want to admit just to figure out the chorus."

"You wrote that?" Matt asked stepping up next to JC and Rachel. "What I just heard, that was great! Was that something new you were working on?"

Rachel turned her gaze from JC's blue eyes to Matt's dark greens ones after reading what he said on her phone. "No," she shook her head. "I wrote that awhile ago."

"And you didn't release it?" Matt asked incredulously. "Wait a minute..." he hummed the words in his head. "This was the song in the video Lance posted."

"Yes." Rachel said slowly looking at Matt waiting for him to say something about the video. She felt JC tense next to her and his fingers lightly touch her waist.

"I must have watched that video a dozen times," Matt broke out into a grin. "Rachel, you sounded amazing! If that wasn't released, it definitely should have been. Would have shot to number one."

A grin broke out on Rachel's face as she relaxed. She spared JC a glance seeing him smiling as well. "Thank you. It never made it to an album. I don't like it."

Matt's eyes widened. "You don't... are you crazy!"

"Matt," JC said his voice low in warning.

"I didn't mean it that way. I like it. I just don't think my voice does it justice. I think someone else should sing it," Rachel explained. "It would sound better with a man's voice paired with the low piano melody."

"Play it," Matt nearly begged. "I want to hear the whole thing."

Rachel looked at JC.

"I'd like to hear it again too," JC grinned. "But if you don't want to, you don't have to. If he continues to bother you, I'll kick him out."

"Hey man; what happened to 'bros before..' Matt trailed off. He looked at Rachel, his face flaming. "Not that I'm saying you're a hoe or anything...definitely not. I'm sure you're the furthest thing from on. A little help here?" He asked JC.

JC laughed. "You're doing pretty good on your own."

Rachel laughed, shaking her head. "No need to kick him out. I'll play for him because I like him." She moved toward the piano bench.

"Hear that," Matt grinned. "She likes me. And," he drew out. "She kissed me on the cheek upstairs."

Seeing the words on her phone, Rachel rolled her eyes. She turned around, a smile in place and moved back to JC. She could see the questions in his eyes. Palming his cheeks with both her hands, she kissed him softly on the lips, outing their relationship to Matt; if he didn't already know. "There," she said as JC's lids lifted, revealing his blue eyes, shining bright. She ran her thumbs down his cheeks before letting her hands fall away. "Now you don't feel left out." She winked before walking back to the piano, sitting down on the bench.

"You, my friend," Matt said, staring at JC. "Have been holding out."

JC grinned as he moved to the side of the piano. From this angle he could see Rachel's face.

She put her fingers on the keys and gave the men one last look. "Either one of you make a video of this; I'm breaking your fingers."

~*~

"Now," JC smiled at Rachel as Matt jogged up the stairs, seeing himself out.

"That was unexpected," Rachel moved to sit next to JC on the piano bench. After she had sang through the song for Matt, he told them how great the song would sound with JC singing. After a few minutes, they both had talked JC into singing the song. That had led to her scribbling down the lyrics for JC to read. She had sung along softly with him, helping him out. "That was fun."

"It was," JC agreed. He laid his hand over hers, smiling when she turned her hand over, threading their fingers together. "That is a beautiful song Rachel. You did an amazing job writing it."

"Thank you," Rachel leaned against him, laying her head on his shoulder. "I wish I could have heard you singing it. What I hear in my head is pretty damn good. I can only imagine what it really sounds like."

"Probably not as good as you think," JC said self consciously.

"Yeah right JC," Rachel picked her head up off his shoulder staring at him. "It probably sounds ten times better than I think it does. I may not be able to hear it now, but I know what you sound like and I know that you have one of the best voices in the industry."

JC blushed at her words. "You're too kind."

"One of these days I'll make you believe it." She leaned forward intending to kiss him when she remembered the reason for coming to JC's house in the first place. "Oh!" She pulled back and stood up. "I forgot..." she dropped his hand and moved around the bench toward the table where the forgotten Grammy Award sat. Picking it up, she turned back around.

"Hey," JC grinned seeing the award. He stood and walked toward her.

"I do believe this belongs to you now," she said as JC touched the ribbon.

"Should I give a speech?" He took the award from Rachel, his thumb brushed over the plate with Rachel's name. "I didn't think you'd actually give this to me."

"Well... you aren't getting the Moon Man back," she told him matter-of-factly.

"I never thought I'd win a Grammy."

"Which is complete crap. You guys should have won at least six," Rachel told him.

"Only six huh? Out of the eight nominations? So which real winners did you agree with?" He teased.

"Well, 'Smooth' was a fantastic collaboration. Not that I didn't like 'Music of My Heart' and I never liked 'Gone' so I wasn't too torn up when it didn't win." JC laughed. He sat the award back down on the table before drawing her into his arms. "But 'No Strings Attached' should have definitely won for Best Pop Album. I love that CD. I still..." she frowned and dropped her eyes to look at JC's shirt. "Well, I did still listen to it," she raised her eyes meeting JC's sympathetic ones. "It was in the CD player in my car before..."

JC leaned forward brushing his lips against hers, stopping her faltering words. He ran his tongue along her bottom lip. When her lips parted he entered her mouth where their tongues met and stroked; teasing each other. He tightened his arms around her, holding her closer to him. Burying a hand in her blonde hair, he held her head still while he tilted his head kissing her again at the different angle.

When the kiss ended, she laid her head down on his chest, pressing her hands against his back, feeling the hard muscles through his shirt. Her eyes drifted close and she was content to stay in JC's arms. "Ben sent me flowers this morning with a card wanting to get back together."

JC tensed at Rachel's words. He drew back far enough to look at Rachel's face, searching her eyes. "And..." he asked slowly.

Rachel's eyes flickered to her phone in one hand behind JC before meeting JC's gaze again. "Never ever going to happen. I like where I am right now." The smile JC sent her melted her heart. "I'm happy right here, with you." She lifted her chin slightly and JC read the movement correctly; kissing her again. "I don't know what game Ben is trying to play or what he's thinking but it's not going to work."

"What did you do with the flowers?" He had to admit, he felt a little jealously run through him at the though of another man sending his girl flowers.

"Told Lance to give them to Michael," she grinned. "He's got to keep the romance alive if he's gonna keep Michael around. Which is another reason I'm here."

"So it wasn't just to bring over the Grammy?" JC dropped his arms from around her and took her hand in his leading her to the couch. He sat down first, tugging Rachel down next to him. With an arm around her shoulders holding her to his side, he leaned back.

"Well that did give me a reason to come and see you," she crossed her legs, leaning against him.

"You don't need a reason to come and see me."

"I didn't know if you were busy or not."

"Never too busy for you," he said softly, kissing the top of her head.

"You said you were trying to write; what are you working on?"

"Oh! Well... " JC thought about what he wanted to say. The song he was working on was the song he had written for Rachel. He finally finished it, bearing any changes. Now all he had to do was write the music which wasn't going as well as he'd hoped.

"It's okay," she squeezed his hand. "You don't have to tell me."

"No, it's not that," he pushed himself up from the couch, moving back to the piano where the notebook with the lyrics lay. Picking it up, he handed it to Rachel; the notebook open to the correct page. He sat down next to her at an angle with their knees touching. "I wrote this song for you."

"For me?" Rachel stared at JC, holding the notebook in her hands. She was almost afraid to look down. "But..."

"I know." He was nervous. There was no other word to describe what JC was feeling. He was more nervous presenting his song for Rachel to read than he was presenting his work to some of the most well known producers in the industry. "But after you mentioned wanting me to write," he shrugged. "I just started writing and that's what I got. I was trying to work on the music."

"I don't know if I want to look," Rachel said with a half laugh.

"Afraid it will be terrible?" JC teased. He thought it turned out pretty good. It was his first foray into country music. The lyrics were good, if he could find the right melody to go with them.

"No," Rachel shook her head furiously. "Afraid I'll really like it and want to sing it."

"What's wrong with that? That's what it's meant for." A small smile played at his lips.

"I know but it's something new. I won't know the music, the cues..."

"Hey," he cupped her chin, meeting her eyes. "One step at a time. Don't worry about all that right now. Just read the words."

She sent him a small smile and looked down at the words on the notebook paper scrawled in JC's handwriting.

'What you got if you ain't got love.

The kind that you just wanna give away.

It's okay to open it, go ahead and let the light shine through.

I know it's hard on a rainy day.

You wanna shut the world out and just be left alone.

But don't run out on your faith.'

She frowned reading the words and moved back to the second to last line. 'You wanna shut the world out and just be left alone.' She looked at him. "Why does that sound familiar?" She asked tapping the line.

"Because you said it on 'The Today Show'."

"This is the song you were writing when you called me?" Rachel asked, watching JC nod. She looked back down at the notebook, picking up where she left off. The words wormed their way in and wrapped around her heart. She fell in love with the lyrics immediately. 'While you're sitting around thinking 'bout what you can't change and worrying about all the wrong things. Time's flying by, moving so fast. You better make it count 'cause you can't get it back.' "Oh JC..." she felt her eyes well with tears, "I love it. It's...It's..." she smiled shaking her head. "Do you have any of the music down?"

JC brushed away a tear that had been making its way down Rachel's cheek. "Just the chorus. I was trying to work on it before you showed up. But I couldn't get the other song out of my head."

"'Someone Like You'," Rachel spoke. "The name of the other song is 'Someone Like You'."

"In my opinion that song is too good not to share," JC threaded their fingers together. "You are sitting on a number one hit."

"JC," she sighed. "I told you I think the best person to sing that song is a guy. Which according to Matt, you're that guy." She looked at him slyly. "Do you have any of the music written for this?" She asked holding up the notebook.

JC nodded and moved to the piano where he pulled the music sheet off that had the little bit of what he had worked out. He passed the piece of paper to Rachel watching silently as she read the notes. His mind tried to think of possibilities on how he could get Rachel to sing the song without being able to hear the music.

Rachel slowly hummed the notes JC had written. She was lucky in the fact that she could read music and knew what octave and range to hit. Working through the notes a few times, she finally tried laying the words down; trying to get a few between the words and the music. The first time through was rocky, she knew; so she just repeated the chorus. A few times through it started to take a hold. She was able to hold a word here and there and raise and lower her voice. The song held so much promise and she wanted to sing it so bad. She wanted to hear it. With a smile on her face, she looked at JC. The smile slowly fell from her face when she saw the look on his. Sure he was smiling but she knew that smile. Had seen it plenty of times on other people she worked with when they were working out songs and melodies. It only had one meaning.

"Never mind," she said quickly, tossing both the notebook and music sheet down on the table. Her face heated as a blush swept across it. "I knew this was a mistake." She blew out a breath. "There is no way I can learn something new."

"Wait a minute," JC said quickly, reaching out to grip Rachel's hand. He could literally feel her closing off, withdrawing from him. "You can to learn something new."

Rachel laughed humorlessly. "Right JC. I saw your face. You thought I sounded like crap. So what was I? Too high, too low, completely tone deaf?" Her eyes narrowed when she saw the small smile play at his lips. It was fleeting as JC suppressed it. "You think this is funny?" She stood up from the couch moving away from him. "I can't do the one thing I love and you think it's funny?"

"What? No!" JC shook his head standing. "Rachel..." He reached out to touch her but the look she gave him stopped him.

"Go ahead and laugh JC," she glared at him. "I know that's what you want to do. Ben did it; why should you be any different."

JC stiffened. He could feel the anger start building. "I am nothing like Ben, don't you dare compare us."

She knew that and it wasn't fair to even insinuate JC was anything like her ex. It wasn't even close. "Just laugh. I know you want to."

"I told you before that I would never laugh at you and I meant it." He never saw this fight coming. It came from nowhere. "Please listen to me," he fought to keep his anger reigned in. The barb about being the same at Ben still stung.

"I'm just fooling myself..." she shook her head sadly.

"No damnit; no!" JC griped Rachel's shoulders giving her a slight shake. Her green eyes were dull when they met his. "I know how hard this..."

"You don't know anything!" Rachel yelled. "You don't know what I'm going through! You don't know what it feels like to have something you love ripped away from you. You can still hear music! You can sit down at the piano and actually hear what you're playing. You can play the notes and melodies that are going through your head. You can write them down, play them and be able to tell if it makes sense or if it sucks. You can get up on stage right now and sing. Do not even tell me how you understand what I'm going through, JC."

JC watched as Rachel turned away from him. He stared at her rigid back and pinched the bridge of his nose. He took a deep breath and blew it out, dispelling his anger. "You're right; I don't know what you're going through. I have absolutely no idea how it would feel not to be able to hear; hear music, hear singing, hear people talking or just sounds in general," he rubbed his hands over his face. "Ever since this happened I've tried to imagine what it would be like or how I would feel if my whole world became silenced. I can't. I can't even begin to know what you're going through. All I can do is try to understand and help in any way I can; give you what you need."

"I need my hearing back."

The earlier anger was gone from her tone and JC took the opportunity to go to her. He stood behind her, placing both his hands on her shoulders. "And I would give anything to make that happen," he said softly. From his stance, he could see his words popping up on her screen.

"I'm scared, JC."

Hearing her voice waiver twisted his heart. He spun her around and held her against his chest holding her tight as she cried. He rubbed his hands up and down her back in a comforting manner. What he said had been the truth. He would gladly give up anything he owned to make Rachel hear again. "I know," he whispered.

"What am I supposed to do now?"