Justin was lying on the couch, a blanket draped over him as he watched a movie he'd seen a hundred times through heavy eyes. He was tired, despite having just woken up a couple hours ago. Kim had still been sleeping when he'd gotten up, having gotten in late from her internship at one of the local hospitals. So Justin had gone downstairs and fixed himself a bowl of cereal, but had been unable to motivate himself to do much else which was how he'd ended up on the couch.

Before he'd channeled surfed to the movie he'd ended up on, he'd called Chris. He'd ignored the threat Chris had answered the call with, obviously unhappy with the early wakeup call when he'd been trying to sleep in. As far as Justin was concerned, it was a bit of payback for JC. It was no secret they disagreed on how to best handle getting JC to open up to them, but Justin felt Chris taken an action that wasn't necessary. He hadn't bought Chris's lame story about his building being fumigated and laid into him for hounding JC without even giving Justin much of a chance to talk to him more. After all, JC had already confided in him a bit. It'd stood to reason Justin had been on the right track to getting the full story of JC's breakup and how he was dealing.

Chris had only listened to so much of Justin's bitching before he cut him off, obviously fed up.

"All right, I get it. Jesus Christ," Chris had muttered. "Despite what you might think, I can get him to talk without being a bastard about it."

Justin had backed off then, feeling kind of bad for basically accusing Chris of being unable to talk to JC without attacking him. It wasn't true because Justin knew JC had gone to Chris before, just as willing to talk to him or the others as he was Justin. What'd happened on tour just made them all conscious of JC's emotions and they did what they could to avoid putting more stress on him. It wasn't fair to think Chris would push JC so hard that he'd make things worse.

So Justin had apologized and ended the call shortly after, leaving Chris to go back to sleep. That was nearly a half hour ago, and it seemed like that the more time that passed, the more Justin felt the pull of sleep. He normally wouldn't fall asleep so soon after waking up, but he hadn't slept well last night as his worry for JC kept him awake and weird dreams had continuously interrupted what sleep he'd managed to get.

He was practically asleep when Kim came in, still dressed in the ratty t-shirt and old shorts she slept in. She seemed to be passing through on her way to the kitchen, but stopped when she saw him lying on the couch. A frown marred her flawless features as worry lines appeared around her mouth.

"Are you sick?" she asked, stepping closer to the couch.

Justin shook his head marginally. "I'm just cold," he said, looking up at her with tired eyes.

"Well, you could turn down the AC. You always got it blasting."

"You never complained about it," Justin pointed out. "Until now anyway."

"I'm not complaining," Kim protested. "I'm just..." She shook her head then, dismissing the thought and Justin's attempt at redirecting her concern. Her eyes narrowed slightly. "You sure you're okay?"

Justin nodded. "I just didn't sleep well last night."

Kim sat on the edge of the couch by his feet. "Still worried about JC?"

"Yeah," Justin sighed. "He keeps trying to tell me everything's okay, but when I took the food to him last night, it'd looked like he'd been crying. But he just denied it and said it was allergies when I asked."

"Maybe that's all it was."

"No. I know when he's lying. He's just trying to get us to believe everything's okay so we'll back off."

"Would it really be so terrible if you gave him what he wanted?" Kim asked, her voice quiet and soothing which was the exact opposite of how Justin felt at that moment. He felt like he needed to fight for JC's wellbeing.

Justin started to object, but Kim held up a hand. "I know you don't want a repeat of before. No one does. But do you really think pushing him to talk about everything is helping?"

"I'm not the one pushing him," Justin said. "Chris is the one who forced himself onto JC, making up some story about his apartment being fumigated. He's the one that's pushing for answers."

"But so are you." Justin opened his mouth but once again, Kim cut him off, "No you're not being as demanding about it, but you still want him to tell you everything. And JC's resisting that."

There was truth to what Kim said. Justin had been content to let JC come to them about his breakup with Emma, but as a week had gone by and JC hadn't approached any of them, it'd made him uneasy. And it'd been that anxiety along with Chris's demanding attitude that got Justin to try to get JC to open up, which he had. But now that he knew the general facts about what'd happened and saw firsthand how JC was dealing, he was that much more motivated to get JC to really to talk and get everything off his chest. Something that JC was just as aware of and doing his best to dance around any conversation that could potential lead to him opening up about what he was feeling.

"I just don't understand why he doesn't want to talk to us about it," Justin said. "It's okay for him to be there for us, but not the other way around?"

Kim sighed. "I know what happened on tour was upsetting for you guys, but you weren't the only ones affected."

"What do you mean?" Justin's brow furrowed as he tried to follow her train of thought. He normally understood the point she was trying to make, but there was a hazy fog in his brain that was making it hard to think. No doubt from the bad night's sleep.

Kim looked kind of hesitant, but she spoke anyway. "From everything you've told me, JC's never been one to lose control. So what happened was huge and it took away all his defenses. He's probably trying to get things back to the way they were before."

"That's the problem," Justin said. "The way things were before sucked. Things were never supposed to get that bad. That's why we went into this together - so we'd have four other people to talk to that we're going through the exact same thing."

"Maybe you need to remind him of that."

"Yeah," Justin sighed. "That is if Chris doesn't close him off completely by the time I get to him."

Kim gave him a look. "I think you should give Chris a little more credit. He can be intense, but there's no denying he's fiercely protective of you all. He wouldn't hurt any of you on purpose."

Justin thought back to his earlier phone call with Chris and realized she was right. Yes, Chris could be relentless when he wanted an answer, but he would restrict himself when it came to them, knowing instinctively how far he could push. The only time he lost sight of that was when he was blind with anger, so as long as he didn't get overly frustrated with JC, things should be fine. At least Justin hoped.

"Have you told your psych professor you're applying his theories in real life?" Justin asked, looking back at Kim. "He would be so proud."

Kim laughed. "I don't use my psychology on you guys."

"Yeah, okay," Justin said sarcastically. His humor faded a bit then as he felt a sudden spike in the headache he'd been fighting off since he'd woken up.

"You all right?" Kim asked, her own smiling falling, obviously not missing the change in his demeanor.

"Headache," Justin said, pulling his right hand out from under the blanket to rub at his forehead. He was surprised when Kim suddenly jumped off the couch and knelt in front of him.

"What happened to your hand?" she asked.

Oh, that. Justin should have figured she'd notice the bandage JC had put over the bite from his rapid cat. "It's just a bite. JC's psycho cat attacked me."

"It's infected."

"No, it's not," Justin denied. "It's fine. Barely even hurts."

Kim huffed, getting annoyed in the way she always did when she knew she was right and Justin didn't believe her. "That's why it's all swollen and you have red streaks running up your arm." She reached out a hand then and placed it against his forehead. "And why you've got a fever."

"But JC cleaned it out."

"Well, he must've missed something," Kim said. She gently tugged on his arm, trying to get him on his feet. "C'mon, we've got to go to the hospital."

"Hospital?" Justin repeated, looking at her in surprise. "Why? Can't you just clean it out again and put some Neosporin on it or something?"

Kim shook her head. "This isn't a simple infection, Justin. You could very well be in the beginning stages of septicaemia."

Justin frowned at her. "Septicaemia?" He felt stupid repeating her again, but he hated when she threw around medical jargon around him.

"Blood poisoning, Justin." Kim gave him a firm look as she said, "This can get really serious. We need to get you to a hospital."

"Okay," Justin agreed, feeling his heart pound a bit at the mention that it could get serious. He knew without her saying a word what she meant by serious - he could die.

Justin shivered at the thought, and he willingly let her lead him to the car.

***********

JC frowned as a noise cut through his subconscious, trying to pull him back to reality and out of the dream he was having. He tried to ignore it at first, but the noise continued and he let it bring him to a wakeful state. His mind was still fuzzy with sleep, but he recognized now the noise was his phone ringing. He reluctantly opened his eyes and reached out, swiping it off the nightstand and hit a button to accept the call.

"Yeah?" he said. He glanced down and saw that Sheila was curled up next to him, her little body tucked against his side - just like she always was when he woke up.

"I told you your damn cat was psycho."

JC's brow furrowed in confusion. "Justin? What's going on?"

"We're on our way to Orlando Regional. Kim wants you to meet us there," Justin said.

JC flew to a sitting position, much more alert at the mention of one of the local hospitals. "Why are you going there? What's wrong?"

Justin mumbled something unintelligible, and the worry lines in JC's forehead increased. He asked Justin to repeat himself, but there was only silence on the other end. For a second JC feared Justin had hung up on him, and he barked into the phone, "Justin!"

"What?" Justin asked, his voice sounding heavy like he was tired or sick. Maybe both.

"Put the phone on speaker," JC instructed. If he couldn't get answers from Justin, then he'd talk to Kim.

There was another pause and JC wondered if Justin had heard him or comprehended what he'd asked, but then Kim's voice came through the connection. "JC," she said.

"Kim, what the hell is going on?"

"Justin's hand is infected, so I'm taking him to the ER. He could have blood poisoning."

"Blood poisoning?" JC repeated, incredulous. That sounded really bad. "What is that? Is that why he seems so out of it?"

"He's out of it because he's tired and has a fever," Kim said. "Blood poisoning is just when bacteria from an infection enters the bloodstream, but we don't even know for sure he has it. That's why I'm taking him to the hospital. That way if he does, we can get it taken care of."

Kim's voice sounded calm, but JC could hear the faint note of worry beneath. It told him that it wasn't too bad because Kim tended to almost panic when someone was seriously hurt, which was so ironic considering she was studying to become a nurse. But she'd explained that her panic only arose when people she loved were hurt.

"I'll meet you there in fifteen," JC told her.

"Don't rush. It's really not that bad," she said and JC knew she could likely sense his building worry and was trying quell it. "I just told Justin to call you so you could explain to the doctor what happened and how you cleaned out the cut. They'll also want to know the cat's medical history."

JC exhaled, trying to get the tightness in his chest to loosen. "Okay. I'll be right there."

JC hung up and nearly jumped out of his skin when he looked up and saw Chris standing in his doorway. He took another breath to work on getting his heart rate back to normal. "Justin's headed to the hospital. His hand's infected."

Chris nodded. "I heard you as I was coming out of the guest room," he said, jerking his thumb over his shoulder behind him. "Get dressed and I'll meet you in the car."

JC agreed and quickly got out of bed. Kim had told him there was no need to hurry, but when you heard the word "hospital" it was hard to operate on a speed any slower than the one that would get you there as quick as possible. So he just grabbed a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, quickly changing out of his pajamas before running out the door and hopping in the passenger seat of Chris's car.

When they got to the hospital, they bypassed the ER waiting room in favor of a private office as Chris had had the foresight to arrange a special place for them to wait so as to avoid a mob scene. There was even a hospital security guard standing outside the room just in case anyone wandered down the hall and tried to get in. The waiting room wasn't extremely crowded, but they knew from experience all it took was one person to spot them and things could quickly get out of control.

JC and Chris found the room and walked in, instantly spotting Kim and Justin on the small loveseat the office had. Justin was slumped, his body leaning into Kim's smaller form. They both looked up as they entered.

"He hasn't seen the doctor yet?" JC asked without preamble, looking at Kim. He knew he had a better chance of getting answers from her than Justin.

Kim shook her head. "We just got here a few minutes before you did. The ER's not extremely busy though, so someone should be in soon."

Soon turned out to be another twenty minutes. A nurse came in and led them all to one of the examination rooms - Chris and JC refusing to wait behind. Besides, JC had to tell the doctor what he knew.

Justin was directed to sit on the examination table, and he hopped up onto the flat padded surface. JC had to frown at just how bad he looked under the bright florescent lights that'd been absent from the office. His eyes drooped with tiredness and looked kind of glassy from the fever. His face was also flush, which only enhanced the bags under Justin's eyes. The thing that really got JC though was the uneasy expression; it made Justin look years younger. It was certainly the worst JC had seen him look in a long time, and it did nothing to ease his worry.

The nurse went about taking his vitals, and Justin groused, "I can't believe you wouldn't let me get dressed first."

Kim rolled her eyes. "I wanted to make sure we got you taken care as soon as possible. Besides, I'm still in my pajamas too."

"Yeah, but you never care about that stuff."

"Because you care enough for the both of us." Kim gave him a teasing smile and said, "You're such a diva."

JC recognized what Kim was trying to do. She'd seen Justin's nervousness and anxiety as easily as JC had and was doing what she could to set him at ease. They were all worried, but if they could distract Justin to take his mind off where he was and what was going on...well, then all the better.

Chris too seemed to have caught on. "You're a girl. You're supposed to be obsessed with always looking your best," he said to Kim, clearly trying to back up Justin.

"Just because I'm a girl doesn't mean I have to want to be dressed up all the time. Kelly's not like that."

"But it seems like Lance's new girlfriend is," JC said. It hadn't been hard to notice that even though she'd shown up in a sundress, which wasn't dressy by any means, she didn't exactly look as casual as the rest of them had. She'd definitely seemed like one of those women who cared very much about how they looked when they were out in public, always needing to look their best.

Kim shook her head. "Don't get me started on Vanessa."

"Oooh, tension already? I don't think she made a bad first impression," Chris said.

"I thought she was nice," Justin said.

"She hardly said anything."

JC's eyes went from the nurse taking Justin's blood pressure to Kim. "I'm sure she just felt out of place. She only knew Lance."

"Yeah, but she didn't really make an effort. And there's just something about her that was kind of off-putting. Like she thought she was better than the rest of us."

Justin's lips twitched. "Off-putting? Obviously you're not taking enough English classes."

Kim reached out and pinched him gently. "Shut up."

The bit of good humor they'd managed to generate immediately vanished as the doctor walked through the door. He accepted the chart from the nurse and studied it for a minute before approaching them while the nurse left the room.

"I'm Doctor Buchanan," the man started, but Chris interrupted him.

"Buchanan?" he asked with a raised eyebrow. "As in..."

"Our fifteenth president?" the doctor finished. "Yes, but I'm afraid there's no relation. Now," he looked at Justin, all business, "I understand you were bit by a cat."

"If that's what you call that demon spawn," Justin mumbled, rubbing his forehead with his uninjured left hand.

Chris and Kim laughed lightly, while the doctor turned to JC. "The cat is yours?"

JC nodded. "I just got her a couple days ago, but I took her to the vet and she's got a clean bill of health."

"And you were the one that cleaned the wound?" When JC gave his affirmation, the doctor asked him, "What'd you do exactly?"

"I wiped away the blood and poured hydrogen peroxide over it. Then I just put some Neosporin and a band-aid on it." JC unconsciously wrung his hands together. "Did I do something wrong?"

Doctor Buchanan put a hand on JC's shoulder and squeezed gently. "Not at all. Cat bites are often hard to truly disinfect and therefore can easily get infected. It doesn't even matter if the cat is perfectly healthy - they all carry a certain amount of bacteria in their saliva."

"Which is why his hand got infected," Kim said, nodding.

"Normally I would just redress the wound and give a prescription for a heavy duty antibiotic to knock out the infection," the doctor began. He looked at Justin and continued, "But I'm a bit concerned about your fever."

"What is it?" Kim asked.

"103.7."

JC's heart skipped a beat. "That's really high. Isn't that dangerous?"

Kim shook her head. "A person's temperature can get as high as 104 without any effects." She glanced at Doctor Buchanan. "Right?"

"Yes," he agreed. "The only reason I'm concerned is that the antibiotic I want to administer is strong and everyone's body reacts differently to it. I'm not expecting anything to happen, but given how high his fever already is, I want to keep an eye on it to make sure it doesn't get over 104 because that's when trouble strikes."

"How long do I have to stay?" Justin asked.

"At least until tomorrow," Doctor Buchanan said. "Baring no complications and how you're feeling, you could be back home just before dinner."

Justin groaned. "Fine," he said, a bit begrudgingly.

For JC that was a real testament to just how crappy he was feeling because as much as the guys teased him about his fear of needles and hospitals, they all hated it just as much. And Justin, who always had to be doing something, hated being confined to a bed or restricted in anyway. Back when he'd broken his thumb in Germany, all they'd heard was him whining for three long weeks about how much having a cast was screwing things up.

"Wait here and I'll see about getting you set up in a room," the doctor told Justin.

When the doctor walked out of the room, Kim turned to JC and Chris. "You guys can head out. It's going to take some time to admit him and get him set up in a room."

"I don't mind sticking around," JC said.

"He's just going to be sleeping once he's settled anyway," Kim replied. "I'll probably head back home eventually to get changed and grab my textbooks too."

JC opened his mouth to object, but Chris threw an arm around his shoulders. "C'mon, C, do everyone a favor and go shower. You reek."

JC rolled his eyes, knowing they were trying to distract him and make sure he didn't worry obsessively. He had a feeling if it was up to them, he wouldn't be allowed to worry at all. But not wanting to start a fight in the middle of the ER, he turned to look at Justin who was leaning back against the white brick, his eyes half closed.

"I'll let Joey and Lance know what's going on. I'm sure they'll stop by later," JC told Justin.

Justin nodded tiredly. "It's cool, Jace. I'm fine."

JC wanted to try to insist he stay, but he had a feeling it was a fight he wasn't going to win. So he just let himself be led into the hall by Chris, who threw a "See ya, J!" over his shoulder as they walked out.

Even though JC didn't feel right leaving Justin behind in the hospital, he took comfort in the fact that it didn't seem to be overly serious. That and knowing Justin wasn't alone eased his worry. Just a bit.

***********

Chris sighed as the character in the video game he was playing died. He'd been stuck on the same level for days, which was something that rarely happened so it was frustrating to say the least. A quick glance at the clock told him he'd only been playing for an hour, but it'd felt like forever when you couldn't move forward.

Unable to take defeat anymore, Chris turned off the game as well as the TV. He figured he'd see what JC was up to since he hadn't really seen him since they'd gotten back from the hospital, which was several hours ago. Not to mention, it was getting kind of late and they should start thinking about what to do for dinner. It gave him the perfect excuse to seek out JC and see if he could get him to open up some.

Chris headed for JC's studio upstairs, sure that was where he'd be. So he was more than a little surprise when he opened the door only to find it empty. He was kind of thrown, unsure what JC would be doing if he was home but not writing. And JC was home, that much he was sure of as he hadn't heard the front door open while he'd been hanging out in the living room.

He decided to backtrack and take his time to peek his head into the various rooms to see if JC was in one of them. As it turned out, that wasn't necessary as he immediately spotted JC through his open bedroom door as Chris approached the master suite. He shook his head, unable to believe he'd missed seeing JC before as he'd gone right past the room.

Chris paused in the doorway, taking in the scene in front of him. JC was curled up on the window seat in front of the large pane, the cat in his lap and one hand balancing a paperback book. Even though he seemed submerged in whatever he was reading, the stiffness in his shoulders told Chris he was tense - no doubt still worried about Justin in spite of the fact Kim had assured them he was settled and resting comfortably several hours ago.

"I wondered how long it would take you to find me," JC said, his voice startling Chris a bit as he'd thought JC had been so engrossed he hadn't realized he was standing there. The book was now discarded and he was looking at Chris.

Chris stepped further into the bedroom, the question "You saw me pass by?" on the tip of his tongue. But he quickly dismissed it when he realized the tone JC had spoken with told him he wasn't talking about Chris's search for him just now.

"Believe it or not, I'm not trying to make your life hell," Chris said, moving even closer to where JC was still sitting by the window. "I just want to make sure you're okay."

JC snorted. "Right. And that's why all of you have believed me when I said I was fine."

The tone was sarcastic and it was something Chris wasn't used to hearing from JC, but it'd seemed to be more and more frequent since the last month of the tour. He wasn't sure what to say at first because obviously JC knew why they were having such trouble believing him when he said everything was okay. But was it really so wrong for them to want to take some of the burden, some of the worry, off JC's shoulders?

So what Chris ended up saying was, "Justin's gonna be fine."

JC nodded absently. Then he looked Chris in the eyes and said, "You can't make me stop worrying about things. That's just what I do."

"I know, but you don't have to worry about every little thing," Chris told him. "And you certainly don't have to worry about Justin. You know Kim wouldn't let anything happen to him. He's in good hands."

JC's lips upturned slightly. "You think they're going to make it?"

"Justin and Kim?" Chris was a little thrown by the question and even though he knew it was part of a diversionary tactic - redirecting, one of JC's favorites, he played along. "Maybe. They seem like a good couple, but you never know what goes on behind closed doors."

"Lance thinks they're gonna get married."

Chris raised an eyebrow. This was the first he was hearing of it. "Is that what you think too?"

"I actually thought Joey was going to be the first to get married, but I don't know. I could see Justin marrying Kim," JC said. "But Justin says he's not ready."

"You talked to him about it already?" Chris asked, surprised.

JC nodded. "He said he hadn't thought about it at all. I think I kind of freaked him out."

Chris laughed. "I bet."

The biggest thing on Justin's mind regarding his relationship with Kim was how he was going to handle the holidays at her family's house. Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's were all quickly approaching - just a few short months away - and they'd already begun discussing their plans. It would work out that they were spend part of the holidays in Memphis with his family and the other half in Orlando with her family, and it was something Justin was already stressing about even though it was still months away. He'd met her parents, but not the rest of her family and he was unsure how he'd be received.

But all of that had been what he'd been stressing about when Chris had talked to him just before the weekend. Now though, Chris was willing to bet Justin was thinking a lot about what JC had said. He was glad he'd told JC that he wasn't ready because Chris didn't get the feeling he would be able to make such a big commitment like that, especially given how insane their careers were right then. Still, knowing Justin as well as he did, there was no doubt in his mind that JC's words were weighing on their youngest friend's mind.

"You shouldn't influence him like that though," Chris told JC. "He's so young. He's just supposed to be having fun with life right now."

"I didn't influence him," JC objected. "I just asked him because Lance brought it up to me, and I was curious."

Chris sensed there was more to it than what JC was saying, and he had a feeling it had to do with Emma. Something that was just proven further by JC's lack of eye contact, his gaze on the soft feline he absently stroked.

"It'll happen for you, C," Chris said. "Emma was-"

JC cut him off. "I don't want to talk about it."

Chris sighed. "You can't avoid talking about it forever. We'll wear you down eventually."

"Because God forbid I deal with it on my own. Can't have one of the leads go crazy again." And there was that sarcasm again. Chris was really beginning to hate that.

"We don't think you're crazy," Chris started, but JC just interrupted him again, getting to his feet this time. The cat hissed as it was rudely uprooted from his lap, but quickly settled back down, claiming JC's spot.

"No, but you think I'm unstable which is worse." JC stared at him with hard eyes. "I've been handling the stress of all this for months, for years now, and I think I've done a pretty damn good job of it. But I have one bad day where I flip out and suddenly everyone thinks I'll lose it at the tiniest thing."

Chris looked at JC and his closed off expression and knew he wouldn't be getting anywhere with him tonight. He had to find a better way to approach the subject of JC's breakup that wouldn't result in JC shutting down. And he knew the last thing JC wanted to hear was the reasons why they felt like they had to be more in tune with what he was going through. His annoyance had led him past the realm of being understanding.

So all Chris said was "Okay" and clapped JC on the back of the neck, rubbing the knotted muscles there to try to get him to relax. But he frowned when his fingers hit a bump. He moved so he could see what his fingers skimmed and saw something at the base of JC's neck. It almost looked like a hickey.

"Dude, have you hooked up with someone recently?" Chris asked, fingering the bump.

JC gave him a weird look. "No, of course not." Chris scratched at the raised bit of skin and JC flinched. "Ow!"

Chris let his arm drop as JC stepped away from him, giving him a weird look. "You have a hickey."

"No, I don't. My girlfriend dumped me, remember? And you know I'm not really into one night stands." JC rubbed at the back of his neck like he was trying to soothe the skin Chris had agitated. "It's probably a bug bite. It is the middle of summer you know. Mosquito season."

"Yeah, I guess," Chris agreed. That did seem to make the most sense. His gaze then fell on the cat who was sitting on the window seat watching them and he grinned back at JC playfully. "Or you know, your cat is the culprit. After all she is female. I'm sure she's just as susceptible to that Chasez charm."

JC chuckled lightly. "Well, she likes me better than Justin that's for sure."

Chris laughed at that. "Justin doesn't seem to exactly like her either so there's no love lost there."

"C'mon, let's order dinner," JC said, already moving towards the door. "I'm hungry."

Chris willingly followed, glad that he was able to lighten JC's mood at least a little after causing him to be all irritable in the first place. He wasn't giving up though. Not by a long shot. He just needed a new game plan. Yep, he'd just add that to his list of things to figure out, putting it just under coming up with a way to get rid of his asshole of a father.