Hushed voices pulled JC to the edge of consciousness. Hushed arguing voices. But he wasn't scared. In fact, it was oddly comforting because it was so normal and it was something he was afraid he'd never hear again.

He opened his eyes and slowly pushed himself into a sitting position, yawning. The movement immediately made the voices stop and the guys turned their eyes on him. Blinking away the sleep, he was able to see them looking at him with barely veiled concerned.

"How you doing?" Joey asked.

"Okay," JC said, his voice rough with sleep. He glanced out the window and saw that the sun wasn't really any brighter than when he'd fallen asleep. "What time is it?"

Lance glanced down at his watch. "A little after six."

"I'm gonna heat you up some pizza," Justin said, rising from the end of the couch.

"But I'm not hungry," JC protested.

Justin stopped just long enough to give him a look and say, "Well, you should be."

Justin disappeared into the kitchen and JC leaned back against the cushions with a sigh. He caught the amused look on Chris's face. "What?" he asked.

"It's annoying, isn't it?" JC continued to look at Chris with a blank expression, still too tired to even comprehend what he was hinting at. "The mother hen routine."

JC rolled his eyes even as he fought to keep a small smile off his lips. That was a crack at him and his protective nature that caused him to hover whenever one of them was hurt or sick. It wasn't too often it was turned back on him, so they were probably enjoying him getting a taste of his own medicine for once.

Justin was back at his side a moment later, holding out a plate of pizza and a bottle of water out to JC. Reluctantly, JC took them, setting the plate on his lap and staring down at the three pieces of pizza Justin had give him. He doubt he could eat that much, but he knew he had to eat at least half. Justin would probably give him hell otherwise.

Joey lamented about the drink Justin had given him. "Water? With pizza?" He glanced at Justin. "You couldn't have given him a beer or something?"

"He's still dehydrated. Beer and soda would just make it worse," Justin defended.

"He's sitting right here you know," JC said, without any attitude as he took a bite of the pizza. He couldn't bring himself to be annoyed when he thought he'd never see them again. "So you want to tell me what you were arguing about?"

"How did you hear us? We were being quiet," Joey said.

JC spoke around another mouthful of pizza. "That's almost worse than if you just make noise."

"We'll remember that next time you complain about the TV keeping you awake," Chris said.

"When do I ever complain about that?"

"Yeah, Narcolepsy Boy falls asleep wherever he is," Joey joked.

They all laughed, but JC wasn't going to let the good humor distract him from getting an answer. No matter how much he enjoyed joking around with them and hanging out.

"You still didn't answer my question. What were you talking about?" JC repeated his earlier question, opening the bottle of water to gulp a couple large swallows.

They glanced at each other before Lance spoke up. "We were trying to figure out what we were going to tell Johnny."

"Has he called?" JC asked.

"No, but he probably will," Lance said. JC was surprised to hear Johnny hadn't reached out to them considering it'd been nearly twelve hours since they'd gotten back.

"And when he does, we can't exactly tell him that you were kidnapped by some psycho voodoo chick," Justin said.

"What else are you supposed to tell him?"

Justin looked at JC incredulously. "You're kidding, right?"

"No," JC shook his head. "This is Johnny we're talking about. He's not going to accept some story. He'll want the truth."

"But won't the truth sound like a whacked out story?" Joey asked.

"I still have trouble believing it, and we experienced it," Chris said.

Justin leaned back against the side of the couch, crossing his arms. "Johnny's going to think we're absolutely crazy."

"Yeah, but I don't know if we have a choice," Lance said. "JC's right. Johnny knows when we're lying."

"You think he's really going to believe that JC was kidnapped? We didn't act like he was. The police weren't involved and we didn't call anyone," Justin said.

"The police weren't involved because they didn't believe we were serious," Joey pointed out.

"I know that," Justin snapped. "I'm telling you what Johnny's reaction is going to be when we try to explain that JC had been kidnapped."

JC forced himself to start on his second piece of pizza, listening as the guys went back and forth. He understood now why things had gotten heated earlier because they all had valid points. But they were getting nowhere and going in circles.

"I can tell him if you want," JC offered. He didn't really want to talk about it, but he knew there was a better chance of Johnny believing them if JC told him what'd happened.

The frustration Justin displayed just seconds ago melted away as he gave JC a sympathetic look. "No, we're not going to make you do that. You've been through enough."

"Besides, we have other stuff to talk to him about too," Lance said.

JC put the plate with the last piece of pizza and remaining crust on the table, completely stuffed. He frowned at them. "What stuff?"

"Where do we start?" Chris said. "A lot happened in a couple days."

JC's forehead wrinkled in confusion, and the four of them gave him a quick overview of some of the things that'd happened. There was a bit of hesitation like they didn't really want him to know. But they seemed to realize they couldn't leave him out of the loop, especially when they revealed that they'd been followed by paparazzi that'd snapped pictures of them around town. The thing that surprised JC the most was hearing that Justin had jumped one of the reporters.

"It was his fault for being so sneaky, creeping about behind me and Joey," Justin defended.

JC looked over at the others, and Joey put a hand up as he whispered loudly, "He was a little on edge."

The "we all were" was unspoken, and JC knew then just how hard it'd been for them. He could only imagine how he would've reacted if he'd been in their position, and he was all the more grateful they hadn't given up on finding him.

"I'm sorry," JC said quietly.

There were four identical bewildered looks. "For what?" Lance asked.

"You guys wouldn't have to worry about all this if you hadn't needed to save me."

"Hey," Chris started, scooting forward so he was on the edge of the armchair he was sitting on. "None of this is your fault. Everything that happened is because of Marlene."

"And don't worry about the paparazzi. I don't think it'll really be that bad," Lance said.

JC glanced at each of them. "What are you going to say though? They'll still expect a response to the things they saw."

"Well, we can say Chris was sick," Lance started.

"Which is true," Joey said. "And I really don't think that guy Justin jumped will be a problem."

Justin let out a short laugh - the first one JC had heard from him in a while. "Yeah because you threatened to have him arrested for stalking."

"Took care of the problem, didn't it?"

"Yeah, well, we'll see what Johnny says," Lance said.

"So we're telling him the truth?" Justin asked, still looking a bit apprehensive about it.

Chris nodded. "We have to. Besides, I don't think it'll be that hard for him to believe. We didn't exactly look our best when we stepped off that plane, so I'm sure he knows it was something big."

JC could hear Justin respond, but it didn't really register as he felt his eyes grow heavy and fatigue set in again. Even though he'd just woken up a half hour ago and had slept at least ten hours, he was still making up for all the energy he'd lost the last few days. He fell asleep feeling even better knowing that things were only going to get better from here.

**********

The next time JC woke up, the house was silent. He slowly sat up, wincing as he pulled on some muscles that'd stiffened as he slept. As he stretched, he glanced around the room. It was empty, except for Justin who was sprawled out on the loveseat, his long legs hanging over the edge. The quiet snores told JC he was still asleep, and he was glad for it. He wasn't the only one that'd needed sleep.

JC got to his feet, careful not to make too much noise and wake Justin. Normally, he wouldn't be too worried about it because Justin was a fairly heavy sleeper, but he had a feeling Justin hadn't let himself fall into a deep sleep so he could be awake if JC needed him. But thankfully, he seemed to be out of it because he didn't even move and JC left him as he made his way to his bedroom upstairs.

As he moved about the house, he found the silence oddly comforting. It should've made him uncomfortable because he'd basically suffered through long periods of silence in Marlene's house, but this silence was different. Knowing the guys were there and they were all safe made it better.

He reached the top of his landing and made a right to go down the hall instead of turning into his bedroom, wanting to check on the guys. Because he had no doubt they were all still there, knowing none of them were ready to leave him alone. After all, they'd only been back about twenty-four hours.

JC peeked into three of the guestrooms, seeing the rest of his friends sleeping soundly. Not that he was surprised considering the early hour. He was only awake because he'd basically slept ever since they'd arrived, and he already felt much better. But what would top it off was a shower.

With that thought in mind, JC headed for his bedroom. He just stepped through the doorway and stopped, startled at the sight of his bags and guitar. It unsettled him because all of that had been left behind at Marlene's. So how had it gotten there?

"We think it was Marie Laveau's last favor to us."

JC jumped, his heart racing as he turned towards the open door. He felt immediate relief when he saw Justin and reached out to slap him. "What are you doing sneaking up on me like that? I thought you were sleeping."

Justin shrugged one shoulder, smiling a bit. "Well, now I'm not."

JC nodded, his eyes going back to the corner of the room where his stuff was sitting. He glanced back at Justin and said, "Marie Laveau?"

"You saw her. She came to our rescue."

Yes, that was true. JC had a vague memory of that, but he couldn't really recall what she looked like or what was said. He'd been too busy freaking out at the guys' impending death.

Justin seemed to realize this because he added, "She was a powerful oracle and grants favors to people who ask her for help."

"And you went to her?" JC asked, a little disbelieving. It was hard to imagine because Justin didn't believe in ghosts and magic. Or at least, he didn't used to.

"We didn't exactly have many options," Justin said. "We were in over our heads with voodoo stuff."

JC felt a bit of guilt even though he knew he wasn't supposed to. "I'm sorry."

Justin frowned, stepping closer. "You have nothing to be sorry about."

"I know. I just..."

"What?" Justin prompted when JC hesitated. "C'mon, Jace. Talk to me."

JC shook his head, looking down at the plush carpet beneath his feet. "Forget it."

"Hey," Justin reached out and grabbed his arm, forcing JC to look at him. "Tell me what she did to you."

"No." Justin opened his mouth to object and JC cut him off. "I don't want to, so just leave it, okay?"

But Justin wasn't able to do that because he said, "I can't. How do you expect to get over what happened if you don't talk about it?"

"I just want to forget about it."

"JC..."

JC held up a hand. "You guys seeing me like that was bad enough. It's embarrassing and I don't want to get into all the details. It's over now and that's the only thing that matters."

Justin sighed, not happy that he didn't want to talk. But he did let it drop, which JC was thankful for. The relief was quickly replaced by confusion as he watched Justin walk over to his dresser and grab a piece of folded up paper.

"Maybe you'll want to talk about this then," Justin said, unfolding the paper and handing it to him. JC glanced down and recognized the scribbled handwriting as his own. "I want to hear where you were going with this."

It was the beginning of a song that JC had begun to play with before he'd gone out for the evening to get food and listen to some live music. That was the very night he'd run into Marlene, so he hadn't gotten a chance to get back to it. And that almost tainted it in a way.

"It's nothing," JC said. "I was just messing with some stuff."

"I know, but I think you have something here. I want to hear the rest," Justin replied.

JC shrugged. "I don't know if I'm going to finish it."

"What? Why not? JC-"

"Stop," JC snapped, feeling irritated at the constant pestering. "Just stop."

Justin looked kind of surprised and hurt, but he quickly forced those emotions away, nodding. "I'll leave you alone then." He started to leave just stopped at the doorway, glancing back at JC. "Don't let what she did ruin anything you want to do."

JC watched as Justin walked out of the bedroom, pulling the door shut behind. It was Justin's way of guaranteeing he'd have the privacy he wanted. He felt kind of bad about it, but he couldn't deny that he needed it.

And that was what he did as he showered. He thought a lot about the past couple of days and especially what Justin had said, his insistence not to let what'd happened keep him from doing what he wanted. JC knew that while that was intended more for the song, it applied to everything else too. Marlene would continue to have power over him if he let her, so it was time to shake off what she did and move on.

As he stepped out of the shower, he felt so much better. A day's worth of sleep and a healing shower did wonders for his body, but he still had to deal with all the emotions relating to what'd happened. And the best way he was able to come to terms with things in his life was through music.

So after he was dressed, JC walked over to the corner of the room and removed his guitar from its black case. He sat down on his bed with the instrument and let himself begin to heal as he strummed out a quiet melody.

**********

"So how much trouble are we in?"

It was late afternoon, and Lance, Joey, and Chris had just returned from talking with Johnny. Justin had just finished lunch and was sitting across from Lance at the small breakfast nook in JC's large kitchen. Joey and Chris had volunteered to go back out for food to stock up JC's fridge, and JC had returned to his room a while ago after a quick lunch.

"Actually, not much. We explained everything to him and he understands we did what we had to," Lance said.

"Really?" Justin couldn't hide his surprise. They might have agreed telling Johnny the truth was for the best, but he'd been anticipating a major freak out on their manager's part.

Lance nodded. "He didn't really believe it at first, but the more we told him, the more he had to, you know? And he said it explained our behavior because the paparazzi snapped some pretty bad pictures of us."

"Press conference?"

"No. It's really not that bad," Lance said. "They claimed we were down there to party and things got out of control. That we were throwing our name and money around, but that's pretty typical. Most celebrities get accused of that at some point - even if it's not true."

"Yeah, but it's still not exactly making us look great," Justin replied.

Lance shrugged. "I wouldn't worry about it too much. We're giving the press a small version of the truth."

"Which is?"

"We were down there on vacation, and Chris got food poisoning when we were out the one night. The private jet no one actually knew about. Probably because it was so early."

"And that guy that was following me and Joey? Did he end up saying anything?" Justin asked.

"Nope. Not that Johnny's heard anyway, so you can relax," Lance said. "Things could've been much worse."

"Yeah, sounds like we got off pretty easy," Justin agreed.

"With the press maybe, but Johnny's a different story. He says none of us going anywhere alone for quite a while regardless if we're on vacation or not. We'll likely be put on lockdown the next tour."

Justin wasn't too worried about that. It might actually be kind of reassuring knowing nothing like this was going to happen again. "Like that hasn't been done before."

"True," Lance laughed. "He wants to talk to you, by the way."

"About..."

"About your solo stuff," Lance said. "I think everyone is anxious to know if you made your decision."

Justin knew that by "everyone" the guys were included in that. He hadn't said a word to them about it yet, having only just made up his mind that morning. He was going to tell them all at once, but since Lance was asking...

"I'm going to turn it down."

It was Lance's turn to look surprised. "Really?"

"Yeah, it's become obvious to me the last few days that you guys would fall apart without me," Justin said with a grin. It was a joking answer, but that didn't mean the sentiment wasn't true. He felt like he was truly where he belonged. When it was time for them to call it quits, they would be the ones to decide that. Together.

Lance laughed at his lighthearted answer. But he sobered after a moment and asked, "How's JC?"

Justin sighed heavily, one that seemed to come from the depths of his soul. He let his head fall into his hands and mumbled, "I screwed everything up. I pushed him too hard."

"Have you tried talking to him again?"

Justin shook his head. "He's been in his room most of the day and I haven't wanted to bother him. I feel like I owe him that much, you know?"

"I'm sure it's not as bad you think it is," Lance said.

"He probably hates me," Justin lamented, like Lance hadn't said anything.

A quiet voice behind him said, "I don't hate you."

Justin quickly raised his head and spun in his chair, caught off guard by JC's sudden appearance. "Jace, it's okay. I know I was out of line and-"

"No, you were right," JC interrupted. He paused. "And there's something I kind of want to show you."

Justin glanced back at Lance, but rose from the table and followed JC into his den. JC took a seat at one end of the couch, pulling the guitar into his lap as he gestured for Justin to sit. He looked into JC's blue eyes, searching for a sign as to what this was all about. He was happy to see JC's eyes were clear and focused, looking much more like himself than the past day and especially when they'd first found him in Marlene's house.

"I finished the song," JC said, breaking the silence that'd fallen over them. "Because you're right, I can't let her ruin anything for me. Especially not music."

Justin's brow furrowed in confusion, but he didn't say anything. He didn't want to push JC too hard, too fast again. Things were already leaps and bounds better than they were when they'd escaped Marlene and New Orleans.

But JC took a breath and continued, his arms draped over the guitar in his lap. "I was working on that song the night I met her and followed her back to her place. It was stupid, but I felt like we'd really connected."

"That's not stupid," Justin said, knowing JC was beating himself up over that decision and trying to take some of the weight off.

JC shook his head. "No, it was. She played me, took advantage of me..." His eyes went out of focus for a second like he was remembering that first night, but then they came back and locked on Justin's. "I still stand by what I said before. I don't want you to know the details. She did some terrible things to me, but I was more afraid of what she'd do to you. To all of you."

"She didn't do much."

JC laughed, but it almost sounded more like a sob. "She nearly killed you guys, and it was the exact same way she'd done it in one of the many dreams she forced on me. Nightmares really."

"Why?" Justin asked.

"Because she was trying to show me what would happen if I tried to tell anyone about what she was doing." JC paused, averting his eyes as he plucked a random string on the guitar. "She had this whole plan. We were going to live together, and I'd basically be cut off from everyone. She tried to convince me that no one would even care, that you guys wouldn't care."

Justin felt his blood boil, and he realized maybe JC had a point about it being better that he didn't know the details of how he'd been tortured. Just hearing this stuff was bad enough. But to hear what other horrible things she'd done to him like sealing JC's lips shut would send him over the edge.

JC was silent, obviously done sharing for now. He wasn't looking at Justin, but he kept glancing at him anxiously out of the corner of his eye. For a moment Justin wasn't sure what to say to his friend in response to what he'd told him, but then it came to him.

"She was stupid, JC. Because there was one thing she'd underestimated about you."

"About me?" JC looked surprised. "What's that?"

Justin felt his lips curl as he said, "What a shitty liar you are." JC laughed and Justin continued, "If she knew anything about you, she would've known you telling us to leave wouldn't work."

"I guess it's a good thing you know me so well then."

"Damn straight," Justin nodded. "But there's one more important thing you're forgetting." JC had a curious expression and Justin leaned forward to touch JC's arm as he said, "We never would give up you. Ever."

JC smiled softly, and Justin smiled back. When the moment had passed, he withdrew his arm and gestured to the guitar. "Well, do I get to hear it or what?"

In response, JC wrapped his left hand around the frets, pressing down on the strings while his right hand began to strum. After a few familiar sounding notes, JC began to sing. The guitar gave the song a definite blues sound to it, and as it went on, Justin knew at once they would have to put this on the next tour.

And it would be a couple months later, drawing an immediate positive reaction from the fans. Every night JC would preface the song with a short little story about their trip to New Orleans and all the music they'd been exposed to, never once flinching or showing any sign that he was hanging onto bad memories. The trip had been nothing short of a disaster. But then, overcoming adversity often makes the best stories. Blues or otherwise.

There was still a lot left to their story, and it wouldn't end badly. Not if Justin had anything to say about it.