~~~~~*~~~~~

The next day Clare had a private word with Libby's medical team, and asked whether Libby might be allowed to make the short walk to the hospital gardens where she could get some fresh air. Now that Libby was feeling better and was no longer connected to any machine, she was finding being cooped up in the small hospital room incredibly claustrophobic, and she craved some outside stimulation.

It was clear to everyone that Libby's recovery was coming along in leaps and bounds. She'd had her tracheostomy tube and catheter removed, and since then she'd been taking several small trips a day around the ward to build up her strength.

After Clare's careful pleading of her case, Libby's chief consultant agreed that she could go outside providing that she was only gone an hour, and made the use of a wheelchair to travel there and back. Clare knew that Libby would hate the thought of being wheeled around like an invalid, but she would likely agree to it if it allowed her a short glimpse of freedom.

"Yeah, I'm not getting in that," Libby said as soon as Clare wheeled the chair into the room.

Clare rolled her eyes. "It's the only way they'll let you out of this room," she said firmly. And like Clare had expected, after a short argument, Libby complied and allow herself to be escorted outside into the bright Florida sun. As soon as they were out of the shadows of the building, Libby twisted her head around to face the sun and feel its warming rays on her pale skin.

"This feels amazing!" she squealed before letting out a satisfied sigh as Clare wheeled her over to a sunny spot by the grass. As soon as the brakes were applied, Libby attempted to stand, but her weak legs only allowed her to half walk, half fall onto the soft grass beneath her feet.

"Whoa!" she chuckled as she landed on the ground.

"Be careful!" Clare cried anxiously as she glanced up at the building. "You'll get me in trouble, Libs. You're supposed to be resting remember?"

"Yeah, because I can forget," Libby said sarcastically as she tucked her legs underneath herself. "It's not like I'm reminded every day by being stuck in a gross hospital."

"A gross hospital that saved your life," Clare reminded her.

"I know. I'm not ungrateful, honest. I'm just so sick of being stuck indoors and having everyone watching me like I'm a ticking bomb. I'm fine!"

"Is that them?" A familiar voice called from the path that led to the car lot, and both Libby and Clare's heads snapped around to see where the sound had come from. Clare smiled and waved briefly when she noticed Chris and Justin making their way towards them, although her smile froze slightly on her face when she spotted Justin's look of concern. Even from a distance, Clare could tell that he wasn't very happy to see Libby outside.

"Lib!" Chris called cheerfully as he began to jog towards them leaving Justin to make his way over in his own time. "I'm glad to see your sleeping beauty act is finally finished," he chuckled as he wrapped Libby up in a tight hug. "That was quite a scare you gave us. Seemed to go on forever."

"That's because I'm an awesome actress," Libby giggled, playing along. Libby knew that she could rely on Chris to keep things light, even if his eyes betrayed his real feelings. He seemed to understand that she didn't want to keep talking about how hard things had been for her, or how much she'd put them all through. His teasing banter was like a breath of fresh air after all the intense conversations she'd had over the past few days.

"Why is she out of bed?" Justin asked accusingly as he caught up to the group and stood over them with his hands folded across his chest. His brow furrowed as he awaited an answer.

Libby frowned and shielded her eyes from the sun with her hand so that she could peer up at him. "She? What am I, a dog?"

Justin met Libby's eyes and gave her a wry smile. "Why is Elizabeth out of bed? She's supposed to be resting," he repeated sarcastically, raising an eyebrow at Libby.

"I am resting. I'm resting outside."

Ignoring Justin's tantrum, Chris plopped onto the floor beside Libby and arranged himself until he was comfortable. He placed a casual arm around Libby's shoulder and gave her a brief, affectionate squeeze as he glanced up at Justin and gestured for him to take a seat. Justin hesitated for a moment, trying not to glare at his band mate, but eventually he obliged.

"I hope she used that wheelchair," Justin mumbled under his breath as he dropped down beside Chris and splayed his legs out in front of him. His words were just loud enough for Clare to hear, and she glared over at him ready to lay into him if he started. Justin met her eyes and smirked.

"Anyway..." Chris said quickly, trying to steer the question away from Libby and her wheelchair. "What were you guys talking about before we arrived?"

"Fresh air," Libby told him as she turned her head up to the sun once again and closed her eyes. "I'm so sick of being cooped up in that room while the sun shines out here. I can't tell you how amazing it feels to finally be outside!"

Clare let out a short laugh as she remembered her and Lynn's conversation when they'd sat in practically the same spot all those weeks ago. The memory was as fresh in her mind as though it had happened yesterday.

+ + +

Clare sat on the grass in the small memorial garden at the side of the hospital building with Lynn by her side. They were both holding polystyrene cups of steaming hot coffee from the hospital cafeteria, but neither of them had yet taken a sip. Clare let out a deep sigh and glanced up at the bright blue sky above her head.

"Why is it that such terrible things happen on such beautiful days?" she asked Lynn as she closed her eyes and let the sun's rays warm her face. It was a small degree of comfort to her and she immediately felt bad for allowing herself to enjoy it. After all, it seemed wrong to be soaking up the sunshine when Libby was trapped—literally—indoors. "You know, if Lib were awake right now she'd be complaining about being cooped up inside on a lovely day like this."

Lynn looked at Clare's strained face and offered her a sympathetic smile. "She loves to be outside," she agreed.

Clare glanced down at the grass by her legs as tears began to form in her eyes, and she pulled a few blades of grass free from the soil. Avoiding Lynn's eyes, she asked the question that she hadn't yet dare to utter aloud. "She's going to get through this, isn't she?"

+ + +

Clare looked over at Libby as grateful tears began to form in her eyes. She could remember how scared she'd been back then that Libby would never again be able to enjoy the outside as she had before.

Libby met Clare's eyes, and a fond smile crossed her face. She read from Clare's expression what she was thinking and Libby realised then and there that neither of them would ever again take their friendship for granted. It had been a terrible way of learning how much they cared about each other, but neither of them would forget the lesson. They were best friends, and they would be for life.

~~~~~*~~~~~

A couple of days passed, and finally Libby's medical team agreed that she was well enough to be discharged from the hospital; providing that she attend twice weekly outpatient sessions for the time being and get as much bed–rest as possible.

Clare had been unable to take the time off from work at such short notice, and so Justin had volunteered to be the one to collect Libby from the hospital and drive her home. The other members of *NSYNC had been a little anxious about him taking time out of their vocal training with the tour just around the corner, but he'd promised them all— including their vocal coach—that he would make up any time he missed. He'd assured everyone that he would put in extra practice to compensate for his absence.

Libby had expected the apartment to be empty when she arrived, but she hadn't anticipated Clare having spent the time before she'd left for work that morning filling the counter tops of the kitchen, and the coffee table in the living room, with the cards and flowers that Libby had received from her friends and family to welcome her home. The gesture had taken Libby completely by surprise, and she'd needed a few minutes to compose herself as she'd absorbed the overwhelming display of love that her friends and family had for her.

Fortunately, Justin had let Libby enter the apartment first and spent a few minutes lingering by his car so that she had time to catch her breath before he followed her inside, carrying her suitcase and the rucksack that he'd used to transport the small amount of possessions she'd accumulated at the hospital.

"It's so good to be home," Libby told him as she became aware of his presence behind her in the doorway and flashed him a smile. Justin dropped her bags by his feet and closed the door behind him before turning back around to face her.

"I bet it is," he told her with a smile. "I know how much you hate hospitals."

"It's the smell," Libby said as she wrinkled her nose up in revulsion at the memory.

"In which case you probably won't like me very much right now," Justin said as he glanced down at his hoodie and jeans, which had been the first set of clothes that he'd grabbed that morning in his rush to get to the hospital. They were the same clothes that he'd been wearing the day before when he'd visited her. Libby smiled to herself at the thought of a pair of grungy jeans and a hoodie somehow changing the way she felt about him.

"No chance," Libby grinned, and held out both her arms towards him. She playfully tilted her head to one side and asked, "don't I get a welcome home hug?"

Justin beamed at her before quickly crossing the distance between them and wrapping her up in his arms. He lifted her lightly up off of her feet and began to gently swing her around in a circle as she let out a mixture of a squeal and a giggle. Libby wrapped her arms tightly around his neck and squeezed her eyes shut at the sensation of the room spinning around her.

As Justin carefully set her back onto her feet, Libby tilted her head up and looked at him, a big grin plastered across her face as she found herself suddenly unable to contain her sheer happiness at finally being back home. And possibly being back in his arms again.

They grinned at each other for a moment before Justin said, "you're glad to be home then?" He was finding her unbridled delight completely captivating and charming. It had been a long time since he'd seen her in such high spirits, and the sight of her glowing face filled him with a rush of love.

"Definitely!"

"Would you like me to leave you alone then?" he asked before releasing her temporarily from his hold with the pretence of heading towards the front door.

"No!" Libby said a little too emphatically, and Justin turned back around to face her with a smug grin on his face. He chuckled under his breath and pulled her back into his arms where she placed her face against his chest to try to hide her embarrassment.

"Whoops...” she giggled, her voice muffled by his sweatshirt, "bit loud. That's embarrassing."

"Nah, go ahead," Justin chuckled as a big smile appeared on his face. He'd forgotten what it felt like to be this happy. "I know you love me," he said casually, although his heart was hammering away at a million miles an hour in his chest.

Libby sucked in a deep breath as she realised that the moment had finally arrived. There would never be a better time than the present.

She'd told herself over and over that she no longer wanted to live her life on the side–lines, watching everyone else get what they wanted while she remained too afraid to try. How long could she go on letting time pass her by without doing something about her feelings for Justin? Sooner or later someone else would come along, and then she'd lose him for good. Could she allow that to happen when she was pretty sure that she was already in love with him?

Libby had seen only a few of the consequences of what had transpired between Clare and JC, but she was determined not to let that happen to her. No matter how scary it was to finally reveal her feelings to Justin, nothing could be worse than possibly losing him in the long run because she was too afraid to try. This was her chance. He might have only been teasing her, but what better time could there be to finally tell him how she felt?

What day is it? / And in what month? / This clock never seemed so alive / I can't keep up / And I can't back down / I've been losing so much time...

"Justin," Libby whispered in a trembling voice.

"Yeah."

"Do you?"

"Do I what?" he asked, placing a hand under her chin and gently tilting her face up so that he could look her in the eye. Libby wanted to roll her eyes at his question, but she managed to resist, and instead she stared deeply into his blue eyes. She could get lost in those eyes.

"Do you know?"

"Know what?"

"Know that I love you?"

Cause it's you, and me / And all other people / With nothing to do / And nothing to lose / And it's you, and me / And all other people / And I don't know why / I can't keep my eyes off of you...

"Yeah, of course I do. We're friends, aren't we?"

"Well, I mean... that's not exactly... I don't know that I want to be friends anymore," she mumbled, biting down on her bottom lip anxiously as she tried to find the right words to express how she was feeling. Her eyes flicked between his, willing him to understand what she was terrified to say.

"Great," Justin replied sarcastically. He had a feeling he knew what she was trying to say, but he enjoyed teasing her too much to let her off the hook so easily. Secretly he was thrilled that she was finally hinting at the white elephant in the room that they'd both been skirting around for years.

"Come on, you know what I mean...” Libby mumbled, frowning slightly as her cheeks flushed scarlet. Was he really that oblivious?

"Do I?

"Eurgh! That's annoying. You're really not making this easy you know."

"Not making what easy?" he asked with an obvious twinkle in his eyes. Once again he reached forward, and this time he brushed a strand of hair out of her eyes. His hand lingered by her cheek just a little too long, and Libby felt the skin where he'd touch her tingle.

"You know what," she told him in a slightly irritated tone. Or at least you should do.

"Do I?"

"Eurgh! Stop saying 'do I?' all the time. I'm trying to open my heart up to you here and you just keep answering my question with a question."

"Jeez, sorry. Okay, why is it that you don't want to be friends?" he asked, grinning.

"That's a stupid question," Libby said with a roll of her eyes.

"Is it?" Justin chuckled. "It seems perfectly reasonable to me. You said you don't want to be friends with me anymore, and I think I should at least be allowed to ask why—"

"Now you're just being mean," Libby snapped, wishing that she hadn't opened her mouth. If he was just going to laugh at her then she'd just forget the whole thing. She wasn't going to play this game. "I only just woke up from a coma," she reminded him sternly, "and you're already being mean to me. What a jerk."

At the mention of her coma, the smile dropped instantly from Justin's face. He'd been enjoying playing with her but her words signalled the end of his good humour. Didn't she realise the effects that her accident had taken on him? Did she really think that he'd be able to laugh it off when he was still so raw inside?

"Ha! That wiped the smile off your face," Libby sniggered and flashed him a grin which Justin refused to return. You can't play with fire without getting burned, she thought smugly to herself. 

"Yeah, bringing that up will do that. You know I hate talking about it."

"Why?"

"Because it was one of the worst times in my life. Seeing you like that..." his voice broke and Justin cleared his throat to try to cover for it.

"Why?" Libby mimicked, but Justin was too lost in his dark thoughts to understand that she was teasing him.

"'Cause… I nearly lost you. I... I just can't..." He met her eyes and instantly noticed the amused grin on her face. His cheeks flushed with embarrassment at having fallen into her trap. "Alright, smart ass. I get it. Now you're answering my questions with a question."

"Annoying, isn't it?" Libby giggled.

"Very."

Libby squeezed her lips shut to hold in the giggle that threatened to escape. She grinned up at him, but Justin stubbornly held his chin up and avoided eye contact. He was still hurt about her mention of the accident, and Libby felt a little sorry for using her trauma to get a rise out of him, but she had found it funny how quickly he'd changed his tune.

All of the things / That I want to say / Just aren't coming out right / I'm tripping on words / You get my head spinning / And I don't know where to go from here...

"Are you grumpy now?" she asked after a few minutes of silence which she could only assume meant that he was sulking. He hadn't removed his arms from around her, so she figured that he couldn't really be that upset.

"A little."

"Why?" Libby asked before letting out a playful giggle as Justin rolled his eyes. She sounded just like a parrot; repeating the same word over and over.

"God, you're annoying," he chuckled, and his face cracked into a wry smile as he met her eyes.

"But you love me?" Libby asked, her voice light and playful but her words tinged with hope. This was it. This was the moment. If he refused to answer the question now then there was still time to brush it off as a joke. But if he didn't...

"Yes, all right? I love you."

Libby inhaled deeply, but forced herself to keep her voice light, even as her eyes bore into his for the answer she so desperately needed to hear. "Like a friend?"

"No," Justin groaned in mock frustration. It wasn't the way that he'd anticipated revealing his feelings to her, but things had gone too far. He couldn't believe the way she'd wheeled the truth out of him, but he figured that he might as well go with it.

Libby pretended to be offended and pouted. "Jeez, you don't have to say it like that," she said, glancing up at him through her lashes. Justin's eyes immediately fixed on her mouth, and for a moment the atmosphere crackled around them.

Libby slipped her arms around his waist and leaned against his chest as Justin's heart began to hammer away. She smiled up into his face, and when she spoke her voice was soft. "Do you really love me?" she asked again, her face inches from his. All Justin could focus on was green eyes and pouty lips.

"I dunno. Do you love me?" he asked eventually, lifting his arm to brush the back of his hand down the side of her cheek. Once again his hand lingered by her cheek, and he twirled a strand of her soft hair between his fingers. Libby sucked a breath into the back of her throat, only realising in that moment that she'd been holding her breath.

"Yes," she said honestly, and the lack of hesitation in her voice surprised even her.

"Like a friend'?" Justin asked, doing a deliberately bad impression of her earlier question. He raised a teasing eyebrow but pressed her body closer to his with a hand on the small of her back.

"No," Libby said through a slightly hysterical giggle.

"Like, maybe something else?" Justin asked quietly, and Libby felt a smile tug at her lips as she noticed him lean his face closer to hers. He hadn't lifted his eyes from her mouth for several seconds, and the very fact sent her heart–beat into overdrive.

"Yes, I think so."

Justin smiled and closed the gap between them, pressing his lips softly against hers. As Libby felt his arms tighten around her body, she slipped her arms out from around his waist and placed them around his neck. At once Justin squeezed her to him even tighter.

"Good," he whispered as he pulled away momentarily before crushing his lips back onto hers, sending Libby's legs to jelly and her heart to the moon.

~~~~~*~~~~~