Chris thanked the locksmith and led him to the door of his apartment. He hadn't already had his locks changed like he'd let JC believe, not having bothered with it when he'd decided to just stay with JC for a couple days. It wasn't like changing the locks would do much good since Robert had broken in the first time, but still, he recognized there was a piece of mind that came with changing the locks. That and he'd needed his landlord's permission, which he'd gotten just a few hours ago.

Nothing was out of place, which led Chris to believe that Robert hadn't forced his way inside again. He was pretty surprised by that because he would've thought his father would break in again to steal some stuff that he could sell if he needed money that badly. Unless maybe it wasn't all about the money. But if that was true, Chris had no idea what the hell Robert wanted then because all he'd demanded was money.

Chris glanced at the clock on the entertainment stand and realized he should head out. He was set to meet with Johnny in a couple hours and he had a few errands to run first, one in particular being getting his new key duplicated so each of the guys had one. There was no doubt JC would be demanding one to have for emergencies, especially since he'd already been told the locks had been changed.

By the time Chris had pulled out of his parking spot and got onto the main road, it'd taken him only a couple minutes to realize he was being followed. He wasn't able to see the driver, but he had no doubt in his mind who it was. And he knew without a doubt that his mind wasn't playing tricks on him as the car was the same one he'd seen whenever Robert was around.

All of thoughts of his errands left his mind as he reached for his cell phone, knowing he had to take advantage of this. Robert likely had no idea he realized he was being followed and Chris could use that to finally put an end to this whole damn thing once and for all.

Keeping one eye on the road so he wouldn't wreck, he dialed Johnny's cell phone number. It only rang a couple times before Johnny answered.

"Hey, Chris. I didn't think I'd be hearing from you until our meeting. What's up?"

"Actually that's what I wanted to talk to you about. Are you at the compound?" Chris asked.

"Yeah," Johnny said and Chris could imagine him frowning on the other end. "You coming over now instead?"

"Yeah. I was going to do a few errands, but considering Robert's following me, I think it'd be better to confront him there instead of a Wal-Mart parking lot."

"He's following you?" Johnny didn't even wait for Chris to confirm it before he said, "Damn it, Chris. This is why I wanted you to get the police involved."

"I talked to them earlier."

There was a beat of silence before Johnny asked, "What happened?" There was a bit of reluctance like he didn't really want to know what'd pushed Chris into going to the police since he'd been so adamant against going before.

"Robert showed up at JC's and threatened him." There was a tense moment and Chris rushed on before Johnny could say anything. "Nothing happened. Everyone's fine, and don't call the police. Not yet."

"Why not?"

"Because I'm going to use it as leverage to get him to back off. I just want you to be aware of what I'm doing because if I can't get through to him, you might be able to persuade him in a way I can't."

There was a long pause like Johnny was considering if he wanted to go along with this plan that Chris was putting together as he went. Finally, Johnny relented, "Okay, no cops. But I am going to call Mike and Tiny. They're nearby and I want someone to take care of Robert if things get out of hand."

"Fine, but just keep them out of sight, okay? I don't want to spook him. Hopefully I can convince him to drop this whole thing and that'll be the end of it," Chris said.

"Call if something else comes up. Otherwise, I'll see you soon."

Johnny hung up the phone shortly after that and Chris tossed his cell phone onto the passenger seat. He'd been impressed with the way Johnny had been able to focus, even after Chris had revealed that Robert had threatened JC. Granted he hadn't given him all the details, but he knew that Johnny hadn't needed them to get the drift what he was saying. That definitely wasn't the way he'd wanted Johnny to find out, and he knew he owed their manager the full story once they'd gotten all this crap with Robert settled.

It was another fifteen minutes before he pulled into the compound's long driveway since he'd had to take the long way as he hadn't been heading in that direction when he'd left his apartment. And just like he thought, Robert followed him the whole way and apparently had no qualms about pulling into someone else's driveway. But that was just fine with Chris. That was what he'd wanted him to do.

Chris threw his car in park and turned off the engine, wasting no time in getting out. He didn't want Robert to have any kind of delusion that he was in control of what happened. Robert wasn't confronting him; he was confronting his asshole of a father.

Robert got out of his own car and immediately began to close the gap between them. "This your second home or something?"

"Or something," Chris said. "Still stalking me I see."

Robert just shrugged. "I knew you'd go back to your place after what happened this morning with your friend."

"So, what? That was a ploy to force my hand?" Chris's eyes narrowed dangerously. "You could've gotten him killed you asshole."

"You didn't seem too worried I'd pull the trigger," Robert said, his casual tone grating on Chris's nerves. He wanted nothing more than to reach out and strangle the man, but he managed to resist the urge.

"I know never to completely count out the crazy people. They can snap without any real warning," Chris replied. "It was just lucky for me I managed to outsmart you."

Robert scowled. "Ripped me off is more like it."

"Why don't you tell me what the hell the money's for?" Chris stepped closer to Robert - close enough to be threatening but far enough that he could easily sidestep him if he tried anything. "Drugs?"

"No!" Chris raised an eyebrow, not at all convinced and Robert amended. "Okay, yes. But it's not what you think."

"Do tell."

"The money's not for me. Not to buy drugs anyway. I used to be a runner for this guy...right around the time you came down to stay with me. That's why I was out all the time." Robert waved a hand. "Anyway, I gave that up last year, but Carlos thinks I'm still in debt to him. Says I owe him for screwing up the last deal I was in charge of."

Chris was mildly surprised that his father wasn't a drug addict. Though, he had to admit he did get a certain amount of relief from the knowledge. It made him respect the man. Just a little.

"I'm failing to see how this is my problem," Chris said. "You can't honestly expect me to just fix this for you, acting like I owe you something when you haven't been around. I barely know you."

"I'm still family."

Chris shook his head. "No, my mom and sisters are my family."

"Maybe I'll just make this their problem then. I'm sure your mom would love to have a little reunion."

A sudden surge of rage ran through Chris's blood and he shoved Robert up against the side of his car. "You're trying to blackmail me and I'll tell you right now it's not gonna work. If I hear you so much as showed your face to any of them, I'll kill you."

Robert shoved at him, creating some distance between them. "You're the one making this harder than it has to be. Just give me enough money to pay off my debts and I'll be out of your hair."

"You owe twenty thousand to this Carlos guy?" Chris asked, remembering the amount Robert had made him write out on the check he'd given him.

Robert shrugged and nodded. "What can I say? When you screw up with Carlos, he makes you pay back what you owe with interest."

"And I'm supposed to feel sorry for you?"

"You're supposed to want to help your father," Robert said. His face softened then. "I did love you, you know. Do love you. I wouldn't have left if your mom hadn't kicked me out. Why else did I stick around so long? If I didn't want you, I would've left the second I found out she was pregnant."

Chris had to admit that Robert wasn't stupid; he was trying to play off emotions Chris would have about the abandonment. The only problem with that was that Robert was trying to push all the blame on his mother, and that was probably the fastest way to turn him against him. That and while his mother may have been the one to kick him out, she'd had her reasons - something Chris had accepted a long time ago.

"If this is what your love gets me then you can keep it," Chris told him.

Instantly, all traces of softness on Robert's face vanished. "Fine. Have it your way." He put his hand behind his back and pulled out his gun, pointing it at Chris. "Give me the damn money!"

Chris's heart rate instantly increased even though he still had his doubts Robert would be able to pull the trigger. Then again, it was like he'd said just a few minutes ago...you couldn't write off the crazy people.

Before he could even respond, a new voice came from behind Chris.

"I wouldn't move if I were you."

Chris instantly recognized Mike's voice and he knew that he and Tiny must've gotten there just before him. They'd likely seen the whole thing from inside the compound, keeping out of sight like he'd asked, but unable to prevent themselves from stepping in once they saw the gun. He couldn't deny that he felt better with them out just because of the apprehension they put on Robert's face.

"Who are you?" Robert asked Mike. "His bodyguard?"

"Actually, yes," Mike said. "We are."

"So we advise you to take a step back before we force you to," Tiny added.

Robert looked unsure and his arm wavered slightly before he lowered the gun to his side. Chris quickly glanced at the two bodyguards and did his best to assure them. "It's all right, guys."

"So this is what it comes down to? You hiding behind bodyguards?" Robert asked.

Chris gave him one of his no nonsense looks, trying to come off as intimidating as possible. "Actually it comes down to you giving this up or me turning you into the cops."

"So now you're blackmailing me?"

Chris's shrugged, acting casual about it but he knew his face told Robert just how serious he was. He would do whatever he had to in order to protect his friends and family. "I think the police would be very interested to know about your involvement in one of the local drug rings, don't you?"

Robert scowled. "Maybe I'll just let the press know what you're willing to do to your own father."

Chris wasn't surprised by the threat as Robert had said something similar before. "Go ahead. You have a lot more to lose from it than I do."

The look on Robert's face told Chris he knew that too. "This is really how it's going to be? You're really just going to cut me out of your life?" Robert asked.

"Considering you weren't ever really in my life...yes."

Robert's hazel eyes met Chris's own brown, and they stared at each other for a long moment. Finally, Robert almost seemed to physically deflate as he said, "Fine."

Mike and Tiny stepped forward then, gesturing for Robert to head back to his car. Robert took a couple steps before he stopped to look back at Chris. "If you change your mind, you know where I'll be."

Chris frowned, as he felt a strange tug in his gut. He watched as Mike and Tiny escorted his father back to his car, feeling relieved things finally seemed to be over but something else he couldn't quite put his finger on. But he wasn't going to dwell on it because he still had to fill Johnny in on everything that'd happened since their last meeting.

Despite the lecture he'd likely get from Johnny for taking some unnecessary risks, he felt more relaxed than he had in days.

***********

"So that should be the last of him. It's all finally over."

Chris concluded his recounting of what'd happened at the compound, and JC watched as he threw back the rest of his drink. He'd gotten a call from Chris about an hour ago saying that he and Joey were going out and he could come with if he wanted. JC had agreed, still not ready to go home. When he'd met up with them and they'd all gotten settled at a table with drinks, it hadn't taken long for Chris to tell them what'd happened after he left JC's.

"You seem pretty subdued," Joey noted.

Chris shrugged. "I'm relieved it's over, but I don't know. I feel kind of weird."

"Maybe part of you regrets that you didn't help him," JC offered.

"No," Chris shook his head. "It's not my job to bail him out. It's not my fault that he got himself into the mess he did."

"Yeah, but he's your father," JC said.

"He's nobody. I hardly knew the guy."

JC frowned, but it was Joey that said something. "He's right, Chris. You might not know him well, but it doesn't change the fact that he's your father. I'd be surprised if you didn't feel weird about the whole thing."

"At least it's over and I can put all this crap behind me," Chris said.

"Or you know, you could do something about your feelings." Chris looked at JC blankly and he clarified, "You could help him."

Chris's eyes immediately narrowed. "JC..."

JC held up a hand. "Just hear me out." He leaned forward slightly, locking eyes with Chris. "It was one thing when you thought he was a drug addict, but the money's not for drugs. Not really. He's trying to turn his life around, and I think that's why you're having trouble with what happened."

"So he says," Chris said. "It could be a lie. Certainly wouldn't be the first time he's lied to me." He gave JC an appraising look. "And for someone who held you at gunpoint, you're defending him pretty hard."

"I'm not defending him," JC denied. "I just...he's your dad, and everyone deserves a second chance."

Chris shook his head again. "He's already had too many chances."

JC glanced at Joey and could tell he was able to hear the "I'm not giving him anymore" as loud and clear as he could. They let the subject drop and a silence fell over them even though it was far from quiet as the loud speakers pounded out the bass heavy music. Things were a little muted from where they were sitting on the other side of the room, no speakers nearby.

Another minute of silence passed between them before JC spoke, finally voicing a question he'd wanted to ask since he'd joined them. "Have you noticed anything weird about Vanessa?"

When JC had left his house, his driven around town for a little before he ended up getting on the highway and heading to Daytona. It was the closest beach to Orlando and JC often found he would drive there when he needed to think as there seemed to be something about the ocean air that could bring an otherwise unattainable clarity to his mind. While there, he'd come up a number of different reasons why his mind might have created what he'd seen in the guest bedroom of his house and he'd done his best to sort through any unresolved feelings. But he still couldn't shake the feeling that what he'd seen had actually happened so he wanted to see if any of the others might have noticed anything odd.

"Weird?" Joey repeated, exchanging a look with Chris. "Like what?"

JC shrugged, picking at the label on the beer bottle Chris had bought for him. "Never mind. Forget it."

"C'mon, you obviously asked for a reason. What's up?" Chris asked.

JC looked at him, seeing a serious expression Chris's face. He knew this was him gently pushing, wanting to make sure that he didn't keep too much to himself again. And really, JC didn't want to keep this to himself.

He made up his mind when Chris added, "If you found out something about Vanessa - something bad - you should tell us so we can decide if it's serious enough to tell Lance."

JC sighed and nodded, mentally psyching himself up for what he was about to say. He looked at each of them. "I don't think she's human." He could see the corners of their mouths twitch, like they were trying to hold back their amusement. "I saw my cat turn into her."

Immediately Joey and Chris burst out laughing. "Good one, Jace," Joey said through his chuckles. "Just because we're drinking doesn't mean you can pull one over on us."

"Yeah." JC forced a smile, knowing it would be best to play it off as a joke. Otherwise, their concern would instantly appear, fearing he'd finally snapped. "What can you expect? It's the only time I stand a chance against you guys."

"I think that beer went straight to your head," Chris said. "That's the last time I buy you the good stuff."

Joey pushed himself up from the table. "Speaking of, I'm going to get another drink."

"Me too," JC agreed, standing as well. He was beginning to seriously wonder if he was going crazy, but whether he was or he wasn't and what he'd seen had actually happened, he needed another drink. Or two.

As it turned out, JC couldn't even remember how many drinks he'd had by the time Chris and Joey had decided to call it a night. He'd spent the night dancing and flirting with random girls, buying them drinks and allow them to buy him some. He'd only had a couple more beers before he'd switched over to his usual rum and Coke - something he was beginning to regret as he stepped outside and realized the pounding in his head was real and not just a byproduct of the music pulsing through his body.

"Shit," JC mumbled, putting a hand to his head and stumbling as the quick movement caused the world to tilt dizzily. Before he could face plant onto the hard asphalt, a pair of hands caught him and wrapped an arm around him to steady him.

"Beer before liquor never sicker," Joey sing-songed from JC's left. He glared in the direction of his buzzed friend and probably would've tried to punch him if he wasn't afraid of kissing the ground.

Chris chuckled quietly, and JC could feel the rumble in his chest since he was pressed up against Chris's side to help keep him on his feet. Somehow they made it to the car, and JC was deposited into the backseat of Chris's car. He wanted to protest, not wanting to leave his car behind, but he was afraid he'd puke if he opened his mouth as his stomach was already beginning to churn. So he just closed his eyes and allowed himself to sag against the door, his warm forehead resting against the cool window.

The next time JC opened his eyes, he jerked to a sitting position causing the world to tilt and making him even more disoriented. Unfortunately, it also made his stomach lurch and he pushed himself off the couch he was on, practically falling once he was on his feet. He reached out to steady himself, but quickly abandoned the chair he'd used for support to rush to the bathroom. His mind unconsciously recognizing he was in Chris's apartment and leading him the right way.

As soon as JC was in the bathroom, he dropped to his knees in front of the toilet and began to throw up all of the alcohol he'd consumed. When he was done and had flushed the toilet, he was panting and praying his stomach wouldn't make him do that again. He fell back against the tub, swearing off drinking a bunch of alcohol without eating first. Normally he could hold his liquor pretty well, but his neglect to eat dinner had sped up the absorption into his body.

JC continued to lie propped up against the bathtub, trying to catch his breath while idly wondering what'd woken him in the first place. Suddenly, it came to him and he would've jerked upright if he'd had the energy. He'd had a nightmare about Lance...and Vanessa. His plan of drinking to forget about what he'd seen and that he was going crazy obviously hadn't worked so his mind had conjured a dream about Vanessa hurting Lance. It was just a dream...nightmare really. That's all.

But JC couldn't shake the feeling it wasn't. He knew it wasn't a precognitive dream, that obviously what he'd seen couldn't happen, but he couldn't deny the bad feeling he got. It wasn't the first time he'd gotten a bad feeling before something bad happened, and he was rarely wrong. The dream might not have been accurate in what it predicted happening to Lance, JC only remember wisps of the dream already, but it was a warning. That much JC was sure of.

The thought that Lance could be in trouble helped to sober him up, and he got to his feet, still feeling kind of shaky and overall like shit but more clear headed than he'd been before. He went to the sink to splash his face with water before he stepped back out into the living room.

The place was quiet, Chris obviously still sleeping and from the snoring that JC could hear coming from the second bedroom, Joey had spent the night and was still out as well. He paused, trying to remember exactly how he'd gotten there as he didn't remember much of anything. But then he remembered Chris helping him into the backseat of his car while JC's jeep had been left behind at the club. That complicated things a bit since he knew he had to get to Lance's.

He could take Chris's car, but while JC felt more with it than he had all night, he felt like he was too shaky to drive. So instead, he grabbed his cell phone that'd been set on the coffee table and left the apartment. When he got outside Chris's building, he called for a cab and sat on the sidewalk to wait, only realizing then just how late it was. 4:13 a.m. Lance was going to hate him for showing up at his door at such a late hour, especially if nothing was wrong. But JC knew this was the right thing to do.

The cab showed up ten minutes later, and it was another fifteen after that before the vehicle pulled up in front of Lance's house. JC paid the driver and got out of the cab, pausing at the end of the driveway. Despite how late it was, he could see the yellowish glow coming from a couple of the first floor windows signaling that Lance was still awake. JC considered that a good thing because he'd have an easier time trying to convince Lance of what he'd seen without having him be pissed that he'd woke him up. Then again, Lance could've fallen asleep with the lights on.

Regardless, it didn't change what he had to do. JC took a deep breath and quickly made his way up Lance's driveway. He paused in front of the front door, knowing this was his last chance to turn around and forget it, but he also knew that wasn't an option. The bad feeling in his stomach had grown since he'd left Chris's like just being in close proximity to Lance heightened the feeling that his friend was in danger...even if he didn't know it yet.

JC rang the doorbell, hearing the chime echo throughout the house. He waited several seconds, but there was no answer so he pressed the button again. Another few seconds passed before the door opened, and JC's stomach dropped when he saw not only Lance but Vanessa, who was hanging off his shoulder.

"JC," Lance said, surprised. "What are you doing here?"

JC's eyes were on Vanessa whose lips were curled upward in an almost sinister smile. She looked almost amused, like she knew why he was there and had expected him to show up all along.

"JC?"

Lance's voice had JC tearing his gaze away from Vanessa and back to him. He was frowning, but JC wasn't entirely sure if it was out of concern or annoyance that he'd bugged him this late and then didn't say anything.

"I need to talk to you," JC said, feeling even more that he'd done the right thing in coming here.

Lance's frown seemed to deepen. "Now? Can't it wait? It's almost five o'clock and we were getting ready to head upstairs..."

JC glanced at Vanessa briefly before looking away, not liking what he saw in her eyes. He focused on just looking at Lance, doing his best not to let his gaze stray to the woman hanging on his arm. "It's important, Lance."

"Okay. C'mon in." Vanessa pulled herself off Lance, allowing him to step back and open the door. JC stepped through the threshold, letting out a breath as he tried to calm his still churning stomach. He might not feel drunk anymore, but the alcohol was still definitely affecting him.

Lance led him to the living room with Vanessa following and gestured for him to sit on the couch. He sat in a nearby armchair and looked at JC with concern. "You okay?"

"Fine," JC said, though he swallowed kind of rough. He knew he must look like hell, but he wasn't going to let Lance make this about him.

Lance didn't look entirely convinced, but he didn't push it either. "So what did you want to talk about?"

"I need to tell you something. Something about...Vanessa," JC said with a bit of hesitance. His eyes unconsciously sought out Vanessa and saw she was standing behind Lance, and he looked back at Lance. "Can we talk alone?"

Lance glanced up at Vanessa. "If this is about her, I'd rather you tell us both so we can address whatever issues you have."

"What do you think you know about me that Lance doesn't?" Vanessa asked, smirking at him.

JC could tell by the look in her eyes that she was just daring him to tell Lance about what he'd seen, like she knew he wouldn't be able to go through with it. But he was going to prove her wrong. He knew he couldn't ease into it though because he could very well lose his nerve or be more apt to play it off as a joke like he'd done with Joey and Lance. To do so here would be a disservice to Lance, who JC was convinced was in danger from Vanessa.

"She can turn into a cat," JC blurted.

For a second, there was no reaction. Lance blinked one, twice, and then shook his head. "You're drunk."

"I'm not!" JC protested, immediately on his feet. "I'm telling you the truth. I saw her! She and my cat Sheila are one in the same. I followed Sheila upstairs and instead of seeing a cat, I saw her!"

"Come now, JC. You know people can't turn into animals," she said, but the smile on her face told him she was taunting him.

"Which is why I'm positive you can't be human," JC replied.

Vanessa turned to look at Lance who had also stood up. "See, I told you they didn't like me. It doesn't matter that I make you happy."

"JC, I don't know why you'd make up such a story-" Lance started.

"It's not a story!" JC objected, desperate to make Lance see he was serious.

"But it's obvious you've been drinking," Lance continued as if JC hadn't said anything. "You're welcome to use one of the guest rooms and sleep it off. We can talk about this more in the morning when you're more yourself."

"Lance, you've got to listen to me. I'm not making this up," JC pleaded.

Lance shook his head. "We'll talk about this more in the morning." He looked to Vanessa. "You ready to head up?"

Vanessa smiled, and JC wondered how Lance didn't notice how predatory it looked. "Definitely."

JC watched as the two of them left the living room and disappeared up the stairs. He wanted nothing more than to grab Lance's arm and force him to listen to him, make him realize he'd never make something like this up. But he knew all it would do right now was piss Lance off and definitely wouldn't make him more open to believing him.

There was a pink hue to the sky, a faint bit of light entering the large windows in the living room and illuminating it a bit. JC realized he wasn't going to get anywhere with Lance right then and was about to take him up on his offer to sleep in one of the guest rooms when the pain in his head spiked, causing the room to spin violently.

JC crashed to the floor, desperately willing himself not to throw up. It was hard considering the room continued to tilt dizzily on its axis, but the pain in his head was nothing compared to the sudden stabbing pain he felt in all of his bones. It almost felt like there was an invisible force pushing on his bones, like it was trying to shrink them. All JC knew was that it was the worst pain he'd ever felt in his life.

He thought he was going to pass out, but a pain tore through his body, making him scream in agony.

***********

As soon as Lance got into his bedroom, Vanessa was practically on top of him obviously wanting to carry through with what they'd intended to do before JC had interrupted them. Lance, for his part, was happy to oblige, needing the distraction from the concern he had for JC. He wasn't sure what'd happened to make JC drink enough to come up with a story like that, but whatever it was, it couldn't have been good. But it was also something that could wait until morning...or afternoon as it was already technically morning.

"Do you still want me?" Vanessa asked, her voice low and sexy as she smiled at him seductively.

"Yes," Lance said without any hesitation. It'd been kind of a surprise when Vanessa had told him that she was ready for them to become intimate, but it was certainly a welcome one. It told him she now believed that he wasn't going anywhere and was willing to be with her.

Vanessa's smile seemed to grow as she pulled him close once more, pressing her lips against his. Lance deepened the kiss as he carefully led her to the bed, gently lowering her onto the plush bedding that covered the queen sized mattress. He was on top as they made out, but as they came up for air, Vanessa took him by surprise by rolling them over so she was now on top.

"Last chance to back out," she said, smiling down at him.

Lance shook his head. "C'mere." He tugged on her arm to pull her down onto him and kissed her again.

From there, Vanessa seemed to take over. She guided Lance's hands up her body, tracing her curves and helping him to release her from her clothes. Then she set about taking off his clothes, pulling his t-shirt over his head and unzipping his jeans before pulling them and his underwear down in one smooth motion. She lowered herself onto him, him fully aroused by that point and more than ready as they finally gave into their desires.

There was no talking as they found a rhythm that worked for both of them. The only sound was the occasional moan or gasp of pleasure, which just seemed to increase as they both began to climax. In the moment, Lance couldn't help but think he'd never felt so connected to a woman during their first time together as he did with her.

When it was over, they were both panting but feeling pretty sated. Vanessa kissed him once more, nipping at his lip. Lance couldn't help but gasp as he felt her teeth break through the sensitive skin on the inside of his lip, the cut already beginning to bleed.

She shot him an apologetic look as she gently sucked on his bottom lip before finally pulling away. "Sorry about that," she said.

"There's nothing to apologize for. That was amazing," Lance replied.

"And now you're all mine."

Lance tilted his head slightly, feeling like there was something deeper than just what she'd said. Something less playful and more possessive, but before he could ask her about it, a scream caught his attention. It was distant, but there was no mistaking who it belonged to. JC.

Lance immediately sat up, pushing Vanessa off him. He went to get out of bed, but she wrapped a hand around his bicep. "It's probably nothing. C'mon, let's go to bed."

"No," Lance gently shook her off. "Something's wrong."

He got out of bed and pulled on his discarded underwear and jeans quickly before all but running downstairs. When he got to the bottom, he immediately spotted JC where he'd left him just inside the living room. He was lying on the floor, curled up in a fetal position with a look of pure agony on his face.

Lance raced over to his side. He put a hand on JC's shoulder, trying to offer him comfort, but considering JC didn't even open his eyes, he wasn't sure he was aware that he was there. His eyes scanned JC's body, looking for a sign of something that could be creating this much pain for him, but he couldn't see any visible injury. The most concerning thing was that he was covered in sweat, which made Lance wonder if he had a terribly high fever.

"Hang on, Jace. I'll get you to a doctor."

"A doctor's not going to do much."

Lance turned quickly to see Vanessa standing behind him, wearing just a thin silk robe. "What do you mean?"

"The curse didn't transfer completely so he's unable to transform."

"Transform? Curse?" Lance looked at her completely baffled. "What are you talking about?"

Her lips upturned like she was amused. "You should've listened to him. He actually knew what he was talking about. He didn't know everything of course. After all, he didn't know about the curse."

Lance stared at her, trying to process all that she said as he realized he obviously didn't know her as well as he'd thought. Because this smirking woman in front of him talking about curses was a stranger to him. Then it hit him.

"You can turn into a cat?"

Vanessa nodded. "All thanks to a curse. One I've been working on transferring to your friend there," she gestured to JC. "But I didn't get to finish before he found me out. So now his body is trying to transform and unable to, the pain of which could kill him."

"You're just going to let him die?" Lance asked, looking down at JC who was moaning in pain, likely having killed his vocal chords from screaming.

She shrugged. "Why shouldn't I? I'm not a cat anymore."

Lance had a feeling that he'd found himself into a really bad situation being here with her and she was going to use him for something. But that meant she needed him and he felt like he could use that to his advantage.

"Finish it, save him. Or else I'll take myself out of the picture. You won't be able to go through with whatever you have planned," Lance bargained.

Vanessa smirked, stepping closer and caressing his cheek. "Oh, honey of course I will. You've already given yourself to me. But I'll do it. Just because I have a sweet spot for you."

She pinched his cheek and laughed as Lance did his best not to appear vulnerable. All he could think about was that he never should've slept with her, that she'd likely been referring to that. But he did his best to push it out of his mind as he looked down at JC with a worried expression.

Vanessa moved closer to JC and before Lance's eyes, the tall slender woman turned into the very cat that JC had adopted. The cat went over to JC and bit down on the back of his neck, causing JC to cry out in pain. It only lasted a second before the cat backed away from JC and almost immediately was replaced with the very womanly figure of Vanessa.

Lance already felt in shock at what he'd seen, but his eyes widened even more as JC let out another guttural scream while he seemed to shrink and hair sprouted. He continued to scream through the transformation, it eventually turning into a yowl. If Lance hadn't seen it before his very eyes, he wouldn't have believed it.

In place of where JC had lied on his living room floor was a gray tabby cat.