“Casey.” JC placed his hand on her cheek and grimaced.

Her skin was on fire, waves of heat radiating from her skin. She was still sleeping, but if her expression was any indication, it was far from peacefully. She was shivering and her teeth were almost chattering.

He got out of bed and, upon finding and grabbing a sweatshirt, came and knelt on the floor in front of her side of the bed. "Case, put this on."

She stirred, eyes fluttering but not quite opening, and groaned.

"Come on; I'll help you." He pulled the blankets, which were up to her chin, back.

"C-c-cold." She trembled as he maneuvered her into the sweatshirt.

"I know, honey, you're burning up. How do you feel?"

She groaned again and he used his free hand to pull the covers back up. " Like shit."

"OK," he murmured, rubbing her arms through the blanket, hoping to help generate some warmth. "I’m gonna call Johnny.”

***

JC opened the door to allow Johnny, Dara, and Dr. Clifford Lofton into the room. Dr. Cliff, as he was generally called, was already familiar with the members of *NSYNC and whenever there was a health related issue while they were in or around Los Angeles, he was their go-to medical professional. He treated a lot of celebrities and in addition to being discreet, he made house--and hotel--calls.

JC shook his hand and they exchanged brief pleasantries while heading over to Casey's huddled mass on the bed.

“I could tell she wasn’t feeling great last night,” Dara said in a hushed voice.

Casey had woken up the previous morning feeling achy and exhausted, but with an evening show she had little choice but to power through. As Dara pointed out, it was also clear to JC that by the time she’d hit the stage she was only operating at about seventy percent, and as soon as her set was over she collapsed onto a soft surface backstage and stayed there until it was time to leave for the airport.

The Blockbuster Entertainment Awards were being held in L.A. at the Shrine Auditorium that evening, and they’d flown in immediately following the previous night’s show. Casey slept for the hour-long flight and, after a shower, had gone straight to sleep once they’d made it to their hotel.

“I’m going to make a few phone calls; I’ll be back in a few minutes.” With her phone in hand, Dara left the hotel room.

“How long has she had a fever?” Dr. Cliff emerged from the bathroom, drying his hands on a small white towel.

"Um, I don’t really know.” JC absently rubbed at the back of his neck. “But she feels like a furnace and it woke me up."

The doctor walked over her side of the bed and clicked on the bedside lamp. "Casey, I’m Dr. Cliff." He pulled the sheets and blankets back. “I’m going to take your temperature.”

She mumbled incoherently before trying to pull the bedding back up around her.

"Casey,” he repeated. “Can you sit up for me?”

With a deep sigh she opened her eyes, keeping them narrowed against the low light. "I feel like garbage," she muttered.

Dr. Cliff laughed. "Well that's why I'm here. I'm going to do my best to make you feel better." He pulled some pillows up behind her so that she could lean back against them. "Can you tell me exactly what feels bad?"

He pulled a thermometer strip from his black bag. As she talked, he pulled off the plastic covering the adhesive back and stuck the strip to her forehead . After pushing one of her sleeves back and placing with one finger on a pulse point, he consulted his watch.

"Everything," she croaked. "My head, my body. And it tastes weird when I swallow."

The salt and pepper haired doctor nodded and reached for the paper strip on her head. "Well, you've got a fever of a hundred and three point two. That's not dangerously high, but it's high enough. I know you're cold, but we need to get you out of that heavy shirt and into something lighter weight.”

She groaned and JC came closer. “Sorry; I helped her into it. She was shivering so… She has a tank top under it.”

“Despite the fact that you feel cold when you have a fever, it’s best not to do anything to raise your body temperature even more.” Dr. Cliff peeled the strip off of her forehead. “Help me get her out of this.”

JC stepped forward and together they pulled the sweatshirt off of her.  

Johnny approached JC and pulled out his cell phone. "I’m going to do some maneuvering so I can get you in a different room."

"I'm not leaving her alone," JC interrupted with a scowl. "She's sick."

The older man smiled slightly. "I wasn't planning on just leaving her to be sick by herself. But you also probably don't need to spend another night here. You don't need to get sick either."

"I'm not leaving," JC repeated defiantly, sitting at the foot of the bed. "And besides, if whatever she has is contagious, I already have it.”

“JC,” Johnny began.

Before he could finish, JC cut him off. “It’s bad enough that I have to leave her to go to the Awards tonight, Johnny. You can’t stop me from staying with her until it’s time for me to get ready to go.”

Johnny stared at him for a moment before shaking his head. “Suit yourself, JC. I’ll check in with you later.”

JC stared after his manager moodily as the older man left the room.

“I’m pretty sure it’s just a virus,” Dr. Cliff said. “The good news is, you’ll mostly likely feel better in a couple of days. The bad news is, aside from treating the symptoms, there’s not much else I can do. You need to stay hydrated and, even if you don’t have much of an appetite, you need to try to eat a little here and there.”

JC patted Casey’s legs gently. “We’ll make sure she’s taken care of.”

The Dr. smiled at JC before rooting around in his bag.  “I can give you a vitamin shot which will just help to boost your immune system even quicker. And demerol will take away the pain for at least a little while.”

Even in her not-fully-aware state, Casey caught the way JC’s eyes widened at the mention of a shot and she smiled. “You don’t have to stay for that, ‘C.”

He smiled sheepishly. “I’ll...go get ice or something. ”

“It’ll be quick,” Dr. Clif said, rummaging through his back again.

***

Dara returned to the room just as JC was leaving and she waited on the sofa until Dr. Cliff had finished with Casey’s shots.

“All right,” he said as he re-packed his bag. “I think we’re all done in here. Like I said before, you need to stay hydrated. And other than that, get lots of rest. I’m leaving some extra strength acetaminophen, which you can take every four to six hours for the pain. ”

“How long do you think she’ll be out of commission?” Dara asked. “She’s got a show on Friday night.”

The doctor shrugged a little. “There’s no way to tell for sure, but the more rest she gets between now and then, the more likely she’ll be OK to perform.” He switched his bag to his other hand and reached out to shake Casey’s. “Despite the circumstances, it was nice to meet you, Casey. If you need anything else before you leave L.A. be sure to let me know.”

“Thank you, Dr. Cliff.” She shook his hand and he left the hotel room.

***

JC depressed the button to dispense ice into the bucket. He was practically sulking and well aware of it.  He’d been looking forward to attending the Blockbuster Awards with Casey. The idea of asking her had come to him on a whim. The whole issue of navigating the gray area of a relationship that was official, but only behind closed doors, was a new one for him. It was also a new experience to be dating someone who was not only in the industry, but becoming as well-known as he was. After talking it over with their respective managers, they decided that she would be his unofficial plus one. Unofficial meaning they wouldn’t be walking the red carpet together, but she would be sitting with him--and the rest of *NSYNC--during the show.

With a frown on his face, he grabbed the filled bucket and made his way back down the hall.

***

“How are you feeling now?” Dara asked.

Casey shifted further down below the covers and closed her eyes. “Better, actually. Just really tired.” As if emphasizing her point, she yawned loudly.

“Well, I’ve already cancelled your press and appearances for the next couple of days, so you can sleep all you want.” Dara smiled down at her client.

“Mmm, that’ll be good,” Casey mumbled. Several seconds passed and her eyes opened suddenly. “Hey, you’re not coming back out on the road with us, are you?”

Dara snorted. “Nope, I told you L.A. was my last stop and I meant it. You should be excited.”

Casey smiled sheepishly. “I didn’t mean it like that. It’s not been bad having you out, actually.”

“I’ll take not bad over terrible,” the older woman laughed.

“Thanks, Dara,” Casey said seriously. “For everything.”

Dara stared back at her in pleased surprise, but before she could respond the hotel door opened. JC came in and, after setting down the filled ice bucket, walked back toward the bed.  

“Perfect timing,” Dara said. “I was just leaving. Casey, I’ll be around the hotel for a little bit longer but I have a meeting in a couple of hours. “I’ve spoken with Genevieve and she’ll be around to check in on you while everyone’s at the show tonight. I gave her a keycard so you don’t have to get up.”

“Thank you.” Casey’s eyes had closed again.

Dara patted JC’s shoulder as she walked out. “Take good care of her, JC.”

He smiled and sat down on the bed next to Casey. “You feeling any better?” He touched her cheek gingerly.

She opened her eyes and nodded slowly. “I know you don’t like needles, but whatever was in those two shots Dr. Cliff gave me was magical. I think I may love him.”

He laughed softly. “I’m glad. You should get some sleep, then.”

She squeezed his hand. “I’m sorry about tonight.”

“So am I,” he murmured. “Maybe I should just stay here with you.”

“Right, so Johnny can shit ten thousand bricks.” Casey scoffed.

“We’re not performing tonight, and no one will care if I’m there to present one award.”

“You’re delusional, ‘C. If all of *NSYNC isn’t exactly where they’re supposed to be, all together, you’re going to have a bunch of pissed off fans. And besides, aren’t you up for a couple of awards?”

“Four out of five is good enough. And I can’t help it if I suddenly got sick.”

She grinned. “But you didn’t.”

“But no one else knows that.” He coughed twice. “See? I think I’m coming down with something.”

She smiled again before closing her eyes. “You probably should listen to Johnny and let him put you in another room,” she whispered. “I’d hate to be the reason you got sick for real. Especially since we only have two more nights off.”

He leaned in and kissed her forehead. “Like I told him, if it’s contagious, I already got it. Aren’t you most contagious when you have a fever? Or right before? Because, if you’ll recall, the night before last we were--”

“I know what we were doing the night before last,” she giggled, interrupting him.

“I’m just saying,” he continued with a grin, “as close I’ve been to you, if I’m gonna get sick, it’s too late to stop it.”

“What time do you have to leave?”

He looked down at his watch. “I don’t know exactly, but I should probably jump in the shower now; we have a radio deal soon, and I think we’re doing some pre-show junket thing after that.”

“Hmm.” Casey yawned and closed her eyes again. “Go be a super famous popstar tonight. Have lots of fun, take lots of pictures, and tell me all about it later.”

He kissed her forehead again and sat back. “I’ll go, but I won’t have fun thinking about you being here.”

“Sure you will,” she mumbled.

He smiled and, seeing that she was already practically asleep, got up to take a shower.

***

JC let his head fall back against the elevator wall and closed his eyes.

“Tired, ‘C?” Dre asked. “It’s only eleven o’clock.”

Eyes still closed, JC smiled at his bodyguard. “It’s been a long day.”

It had been nonstop since they’d left the hotel earlier in the afternoon. Less than an hour after JC’s shower, *NSYNC was taken to the KIIS-FM studio. They joined the already in-progress broadcast to answer questions from callers on-air, as well as to help give away tickets and meet-and-greet passes for their upcoming Los Angeles concert date. After that they’d gone on to do several interviews with various media outlets. Due to its proximity to the theatre, and the fact that many of the entertainers that would be part of the show were staying there, all press was handled in the same hotel where *NSYNC was staying.

Following that, JC had managed a brief check-in on Casey before he had to get ready for the awards. Upon arrival to the auditorium, *NSYNC spent quite a bit of time posing for pictures on the red carpet and answering more questions shouted at them from the other side of the flashing cameras. At one point, he thought he’d seen AnaBeth Carvalho further down the winding carpet, but when he’d looked again, she was gone, and he’d attributed it to his imagination.

The elevator dinged, signaling their arrival on the proper floor and once the door opened they exited into the hallway.

“You good to get to your room without me?” Dre asked, smirking down at JC.

JC grinned. “Yeah, I think I can handle it from here.”

Thanks in part to the other celebrities staying at the hotel because of the awards show, they were on a floor that hotel security had cordoned off; there was almost zero chance he’d run into a fan--overzealous or otherwise--walking alone down the hallway. The two men went separate ways, JC to his room and, he assumed, Dre to his.

He was rounding the corner when he heard his name. He turned at the sound of the familiar voice. It must not have been his imagination at the theatre, because there she stood...in the flesh.

She was strikingly beautiful, as always. The chartreuse lace mini-dress fit her like a second skin. At least up to the point where it abruptly stopped several inches above the middle of a thigh impeccably toned and tightened by design of a personal trainer. Her royal blue stilettos were sky high, accentuating the slim muscles of her legs and calves. Her caramel locks were perfectly coiffed loose waves cascading around narrow shoulders and defined collarbone.

As he stood with his eyes on her, and something approaching anxiety in his stomach, she approached him swiftly, not ever misstepping in the impossibly high heels.

***

Casey sat up and flipped on the light. She lifted the top off the ice bucket to see that the ice was melted. She took a swig from the room temperature water bottle and though it somewhat slaked her thirst, what she wanted more than anything in that moment was a drink that was icy and cold.

She glanced at the clock. 11PM. JC had called once, earlier, saying that he was going to try to get back early. She didn’t know when the show ended, so she had no idea what early meant. Still, she figured, it couldn’t be much longer, and she briefly considered waiting for him to return and letting him take care of refilling the bucket. Then again, it could be.

With an audible groan she heaved herself into a standing position. The fever, she was sure, had mostly broken. That was good, and totally explained why she was so absolutely thirsty. It also explained why she was feeling weak and so absolutely wobbly on her feet. Still, going to refill the ice bucket was a better alternative to waiting JC out. Depending on who he started talking to, it could very well be hours before he returned.

She glanced at the phone, thinking of calling Genevieve  to get the ice for her; she’d checked on her off and on all evening, making sure she was at least drinking in between all of the sleeping. But being bedridden all day had left her feeling antsy, and she decided to stretch her legs a bit.

She grabbed a hoodie that was slung over the back of a chair, not caring that it was JC’s and several sizes too big for her. She tied a bandana over her unruly hair, slid her feet into a pair of flip flops, grabbed her keycard and, after emptying it, the ice bucket. With that, she opened the hotel room door and headed out and down the hall.

***

She stood in front of him smiling expectantly.

JC took a half step away from her. "AnaBeth, what are you doing here?" he asked not unkindly.

“I wanted to speak with you at the awards tonight, but…” One corner of a sensuous red lip curled upward and she shrugged. “I found out you were staying here. I wanted to see you.”

“Why?” He couldn’t keep the skepticism off of his face or out of his voice.

With no warning or ceremony she flung herself into his arms. Though the action caught him by surprise, JC held onto her which prevented her from toppling over.

"I miss you," she whispered huskily in his ear. Without another word, she brought her austerely manicured hands to his cheeks and pressed her lips to his.

***

She would recognize him anywhere, Casey thought, as she stood there dazedly. His hair, his stance. Everything about him was as familiar to her as, well, herself. As cliched as it was to admit it. She didn’t know when it happened, but it had.

She couldn't see the woman at first, but his arms were clearly around her. And as for her, her hands were quite familiarly on the back of his neck. And they were quite obliviously attached at the lips.

She wanted to say something but for the moment all she could do was stare. She felt something she couldn't quite identify. She supposed, in a hazy sort of way, that she should probably be furious. But in the moment, vague disgust was all she could muster up.

After a second that seemed more like several long hours, Casey cleared her throat loudly and JC very abruptly pulled away from the mystery woman. He spun around, simultaneously letting go of his hold on the woman and almost knocking her over, and faced Casey with an expression of equal parts guilt and shock.

"I take it you had fun tonight after all, huh," she said flatly. Her eyes flickered back to the woman who was now standing behind and slightly to one side of him, and she smiled. It all made sense.

"Casey. How come you’re out of bed?” He cringed inwardly at the stupidity of the question.

He approached her apprehensively, his face cycling through several shades of red. “This isn’t--” He stopped, swallowed hard. The predictable words momentarily stuck on his tongue. “It’s not what it looks like.”

"Hmm," Casey said mildly, looking beyond him to the beautiful woman who was blithely dabbing at her still-perfect lipstick. "Looks like you ran into your ex-girlfriend. So to speak."

Only then did she meet Casey's gaze. The expression she wore fell somewhere between self-satisfied and self-righteous. She nodded in Casey's direction.

"Casey Whitaker. I am AnaBeth Carvalho. But I presume you already knew that."

"You presume correctly," Casey replied sweetly after a pause. She looked down at the wrist of her sweatshirt, realizing that JC was pulling on it.

"Casey, listen--"

She pulled out of his grasp and thrust the ice bucket at him. "I'm tired. If you plan on coming back to the room tonight, bring ice and we can talk. Otherwise..." Her eyes flitted back to AnaBeth. She waved her hand vaguely. "I'll be in bed." With that, she turned and headed back down the hall.

"Casey, wait--" JC began to follow her, but stopped short and turned back. "AnaBeth,” he looked at her questioningly, “I don't know what that was all about, but I need to go talk to her.”

Before he could walk away she lay a hand on his arm. “Wait, por favor. I just…”

He took a deep breath and ran the hand not holding the ice bucket through his hair. Casey hadn’t seemed angry when she walked away, but he was anxious to explain things to her. And, he figured, the longer he stayed in the hallway, the more time she had to get mad. “You just what?” he asked somewhat impatiently.

“I wanted to see you,” she said quietly.

“You already said that.” He watched as she readjusted the short dress so that it covered more of her thighs. His eyes narrowed and his cheeks flushed again. “Why did you kiss me?”

“You are involved with her now? Casey Whitaker?"

“Yes,” he said shortly. “And you didn’t answer my question.”

She smiled wanly. “I made a mistake. Giving you an ultimatum, demanding you do something you weren’t ready to do.”  She trailed off and looked back up at him.  “She is beautiful, but young. Muito. That is not what you usually like.”

The note of derision in the way AnaBeth referred to Casey rankled him and he frowned. “What I like or don’t like is none of your business, Ana--”

“I have been thinking of you lately. Very much,” she interrupted. “When I saw you earlier this evening at the theatre, alone, I hoped…” Her gaze dropped and she looked embarrassed.

“You hoped. What?” He stared back at her incredulously. “Aren’t you engaged?”

For a moment she stared back at him abashed, which wasn’t an emotion he was used to seeing on her. She blinked quickly, pulled her dress down again, and the self-contained smile he was used to returned. She cleared her throat. “I was.”

When she said nothing else he raked his fingers through his hair. “What the hell, AnaBeth? You dumped me, remember? Almost a year ago. And in all that time I haven’t heard anything from you. Did you think I was waiting around for you?“

“Not waiting, no.” She sighed. “I simply hoped there was still a chance for us.” Her gaze dropped and she fiddled with the bottom of her dress. “As I said, breaking up with you was a mistake.”

JC snorted. “I have to go.” He turned to leave when AnaBeth spoke again.

“Are you serious about her? Casey?”

JC blinked slowly. Although that was also none of her business and he didn’t owe her a response, he considered the question thoroughly before answering. “Yes,” he said quietly. “I am.” As the words came from his mouth, he realized they were true. And it made him even more impatient to end the conversation with his ex-girlfriend.

“Hmm.” Her smile was small and sad. “And if you were not serious about her, would you have given me another chance?”

JC sighed again. “We had a good time, AnaBeth. I cared about you. But what you wanted--” He stopped and exhaled, softening toward her. “I wasn’t ever going to be the guy to put a ring on your finger and promise you forever. So you breaking up with me wasn’t a mistake, OK?”

She nodded slowly.

“I need to get back to Casey now. Take care of yourself, AnaBeth.” He glanced at her once more before turning and practically running down the hall to his room.

***

She was fucking gorgeous. Casey couldn’t even deny it. She was maybe a little too thin, and it was all but obvious that her slightly-too-big for her frame cleavage was surgically enhanced. But that was petty. And considering the nearly three years he had been with her, JC clearly didn’t care. So all that she was left with was the fact that AnaBeth Carvalho was fucking gorgeous.

Her perfect face held very little makeup, but her skin was flawless and the little bit she wore only accentuated what she was naturally blessed with.

Casey closed her eyes and sank deeper into the cushy bed. She wasn’t insecure about her looks, or anything as mundane as that. She knew she was cute. Small, upturned nose. Perfectly shaped full lips. Almond shaped eyes the color of cognac, beset by long eyelashes. DNA had gifted her with almost perfectly straight and even white teeth. It also gave her the dimple in her left cheek that punctuated every smile. Her body...well, she could always pick out flaws if she fixated on it for long enough. But hours of dance practice, and a personal trainer when she wasn’t on the road, kept her in the type of physical shape that she knew a lot of women would kill for.

But she was no AnaBeth Carvalho. Wasn’t even in the vicinity. And while she didn’t want it to trouble her, it did. Which wasn’t fair, because JC was no longer with AnaBeth Carvalho; he was with her. Of course, an acerbic voice in her head reminded her, that was because she had dumped him. And what would it mean, she wondered, if AnaBeth decided that she wanted him back?

The click of the door unlocking pulled Casey out of her thoughts and she sat up, pulling the comforter around her. She looked up as JC rushed into the room.

“Hi,” he said, sounding slightly out of breath.

“Hi,” she echoed quietly. “Did you get ice?”

He glanced down at the empty bucket in his hand as if seeing it for the first time. “No, sorry. I forgot.”

“Yeah, well you were otherwise occupied.” She shrugged.

“Casey,” he began moving closer to the bed, “it wasn’t what it looked like.”

“You said that already.”

“Baby...” JC set the ice bucket down before sitting heavily on the edge of the bed. “She showed up out of nowhere. And she kissed me out of nowhere. And that’s what you saw--her kissing me, OK?”

He stared at her plaintively, running his hands through his hair. “Say something, Casey. Please?”

She inhaled slowly, expression blank. “I really wish you’d remembered the ice.”

He rolled his eyes and groaned and she shrugged again. “What do you want me to say?”

“Something honest would be nice.” He continued to gaze at her seriously.

“I honestly wish you’d remembered the ice,” she muttered.

“Casey--”

“What?” She threw her hands up. “Why is she here? What did she want...aside from the obvious?”

He blew out a breath as he shrugged out of his distressed denim jacket. “She was at the show earlier and she found out I was staying here. She wanted to...talk or something, I guess.”

Casey snorted. “Heavy emphasis on the or something of course.”

JC balled up the jacket and tossed into an empty chair before pulling off his shoes. “We were talking and then she just…” He shook his head, face screwed up in confusion, and got onto the bed next to Casey. “She threw herself at me. Literally. One second she was standing in front of me and then she just--”

“Yeah, I saw what she did next,” Casey deadpanned.

“But I mean there was no warning or anything. I asked her why she was here and she said she wanted to see me and then she just like, threw herself at me and kissed me. You walked up right after. The whole thing was literally three seconds from start to finish.”

“And what about after I left? Was there more talking or more...something?” Casey glanced at him sideways before picking at the sleeve of her sweatshirt.

With a heavy sigh he turned toward her, sitting cross-legged. “There was only talking after you left, Case. And not all that much of it.”

She nodded, and although she felt his eyes on her she didn’t look up. “What’d you talk about?”

He was quiet for a moment, absently chewing a fingernail while looking uncomfortable. “Nothing important.” He looked up at her to see her looking back at him skeptically and he took hold of her hands.

“Liar,” she said quietly. “Did she decide she wants you back?”

He grunted a little bit and nodded. “Something like that, but it doesn’t matter ‘cause I don’t want her back.”

She pulled her hands out of his and crossed them over her chest. “Well if you do, don’t let me stop you.”

“Casey.” He made a face.

“I’m just saying, you were with her for a long time. And if you want to be with her again--”

“I don’t,” he said testily. “I didn’t want to kiss her, and I don’t want to be with her.”

“OK,” she said, the blank expression from earlier having returned.

“OK?” he repeated. “So you believe me? And that’s it?”

“I believe you. And that’s it. And can you please go get some ice now? I’m really thirsty.” She reclined against the pillows and closed her eyes.

Several seconds past with JC watching her intently. Finally he stood up and grabbed the bucket from it’s spot on the bedside table. “Sure. I’ll be right back.”