Justin shifted, trying to find a comfortable position in the hard hospital chair that was growing increasingly more uncomfortable by the minute. All he'd basically done since they got to the hospital was sit, and he was tired of it. Not that there was anything he could've done for either JC or Chris, but damn it, he wasn't good at just sitting around when his friends were hurt.

The second Lonnie had pulled the SUV in front of the ER, there had been a flurry of activity. Justin had been the one to jump out first, barely waiting for Lonnie to put the car into park. Then he'd reached back inside for JC, and Lance had helped maneuver him out of the vehicle given that JC was barely lucid at that point. As JC slid out of the SUV, Justin took on the majority of his weight and slung JC's right arm over his shoulders while carefully stepping out of the way so Joey could get out.

"I'm going to get some help," Lance had said, rushing towards the automatic doors.

Chris had been already halfway out of the vehicle when Joey had hopped out and come around to the passenger seat. Joey had forced Chris to allow him to help ease out his injured leg, much to Chris's annoyance. And then Lance had returned with two orderlies, each pushing a wheelchair. JC and Chris had been carefully helped into them, and that was where they'd been split up. Joey had gone with Chris, while Justin and Lance had stayed with JC, doing their best to answer questions about what'd happened.

Together, he and Lance had done their best to leave out the specifics of their ordeal and just focus on how JC had come to be poisoned. The doctor had probed deeper, trying to determine as much about the poison as she could so she could determine if an antidote existed. Justin had felt the pressure, but unfortunately neither he or Lance knew much about the poison that JC had ingested. They'd answered the doctor's questions as best as they could, all the while terrified that it wouldn't be enough. That it'd be deemed there was no antidote for the poison.

The doctor had decided to try a general antidote - one that worked on a multitude of different poisons. It'd been a shot in the dark, and they'd feared the worst. But thankfully, it'd worked.

JC had awoken already after several hours of sleeping, and they'd all felt a bit of relief when he'd opened his eyes. Or at least, Justin and Joey had since Lance had been sitting in a separate room where Chris was recovering. There had been panic in JC's eyes and voice, his thoughts going to Chris's wellbeing and then to fear of Tommie coming after them. Joey had tried to reassure JC, but ultimately JC's body was so weak that he'd given into the pull of sleep even though Justin knew JC was still worrying.

After JC had fallen asleep, Joey had gone back to Chris's room to check on him and Lance. The three of them had been on a continuous rotation between the two rooms, taking turns dealing with the quiet stillness of JC's room and the frustration in Chris's room as they all had to fight with him to stay put and rest. Even though it was clear he was in pain, Chris kept trying to get out of bed to check on JC. Or hunting down Lonnie and laying into the bodyguard for his role in their kidnapping. So far they'd been able to keep Chris in bed, but Justin didn't know how long they'd be able to keep it up.

Justin hadn't realized he'd spaced out until he heard an increase in the beeps that monitored JC's pulse. It was a subtle change, but it was enough for Justin to know that JC was awake. He blinked and rubbed at his eyes, sitting up straight in his chair before dropping his hand to look at JC.

JC's eyes were still closed, and Justin watched him for a long moment. His breathing seemed even, but Justin had spent the last couple hours watching him sleep so he could tell that his breathing wasn't as deep as it'd been before. Evidence of which not only in the breaths that fogged up the oxygen mask, but in those steady beeps as well.

"I know you're awake," Justin said.

There was a large puff of air as JC sighed before he opened his eyes. "Maybe I was trying to go back to sleep," he said, his voice muffled by the mask.

Justin gave a little sigh of his own and leaned forward, resting his forearms on his knees as he kept his eyes fixed on JC. "Or maybe you were hoping I was on the verge of falling asleep. So you could be left alone with your worry."

JC averted his eyes, looking to something on the other side of the room. "Well, you do need sleep."

"Maybe," Justin agreed. Honestly, he was exhausted, but he also knew JC was using it as an excuse. Something he was beyond tired of. "Or maybe I need you to stop keeping things from me."

That got JC to look at him again. "Justin..."

"I don't need you to protect me, JC. And anyway, I know you're still worried about Tommie." Justin paused. "Right?"

Justin held JC's gaze, daring him to lie to his face. He could tell that JC was thinking about it, and he raised an eyebrow to make it clear that there was no way he would accept anything but the truth. Finally, after a few long seconds, JC tore his oxygen mask off and glared at Justin.

"Yes, okay," he snapped. "But what do you expect? We had a deal, and me living wasn't part of it. So he's coming to finish the job."

Justin frowned. He wanted to say something about JC removing the oxygen mask, but it was more important to respond to what he'd said. "That's not going to happen."

"If it doesn't, then that means Tommie considers our deal is off and he'll come after you," JC replied. "All four of you."

"I don't think so," Justin said, shaking his head. "Not with our bodyguards and the police stationed in the hall."

JC's face that had been flushed with anger went white as he froze. "The police?"

"Yeah, they got called in when the doctor saw Chris's wound. Gunshot wounds get reported," Justin explained, his frown deepening. He didn't understand why the mere mention of the police had made JC react so strongly.

"Justin," JC started, his voice sounding pained, "Tommie's got the police working for him."

"JC, no-" Justin began to protest, confident JC's paranoia was getting the better of him. JC interrupted him before he could finish.

"The undercover cop that was supposed to be backup when I went to see Tommie? He works for him, and who knows how many others do too."

Justin started, his gaze automatically going to the closed door. Even though he couldn't see into the hallway, he could picture the two police officers that were stationed there - one outside of JC's room and one outside of Chris's. The thought that they might be in cahoots with Tommie was one that gave him chills and made him better understand JC's fear, but he quickly remembered they weren't the only ones out there.

"Maybe they're working for Tommie, maybe they're not," Justin said. "But you're forgetting about our bodyguards. No way are they going to let anything happen to us."

It was something Justin still believed even in spite of Lonnie's apparent involvement in JC's kidnapping and supplying him to Tommie. Justin didn't know how to feel about the fact that Lonnie had been sent to them by Tommie to spy on JC and keep an eye on them, but what he did know was that Lonnie had essentially saved JC and Chris by coming back for them. To Justin, it was evidence that Lonnie truly did care about them and didn't want anything to happen to them. A feeling he knew the other bodyguards shared, especially in light of what'd happened.

"They're here?" JC asked, frowning. "I thought we were keeping everyone away, trying to keep this all quiet..."

Justin let out a short, humorless laugh. "Yeah, secrecy goes out the window when NSYNC shows up at the ER with two members on the verge of death."

He'd exaggerated Chris's injuries, but JC knew what he'd meant. Justin was worried that the mention of JC's near death experience would trigger some strong emotion. But in typical JC fashion, his biggest concern was about their media perception.

A look of dread spread across JC's face. "How bad is it?"

Justin wanted to tell JC not to worry about it, but it was too late for that. And anyway, having him worry about the media fallout of everything was better than him worrying about Tommie's return.

"Leaving the hospital is pretty tough right now. There are reporters and fans camped outside. Johnny's here; he gave a statement a while ago."

"What'd he say?"

"That we'd come to LA to meet with a producer for the new album, and we'd ended up getting carjacked on our way back to the airport. We were then taken to a remote location where things went bad, and the carjackers left us, running scared."

Justin watched JC process all that. He'd simplified Johnny's statement quite a bit, but he'd hit on the high points. It had been Chris's idea to expand on the carjacking story (because that was basically what'd happened to Justin, Lance, and Joey), leaving any mention of the LA gangs out of it. And looking at JC now, Justin could tell that Chris had made the right call. He could see the panic and fear building in JC's eyes, and he knew without a doubt JC's thoughts had turned back to Tommie and any potential retaliation. So he tried to redirect JC before he could enter full panic mode.

"We called your parents beforehand. You know, so they didn't have to hear about it from the media," Justin said. "They really wanted to come, but we managed to talk them out of it. Though, I would expect a call from them."

JC nodded. "It wouldn't surprise me if they're at my house by the time we get home."

"Penny might be too."

There was a brief second of confusion before JC's expression morphed into one of anger, having understood what Justin wasn't saying. "You called her?" he demanded.

"She deserves to know. She cares about you."

JC glared at him. "Not anymore. Not since I broke up with her."

"You're wrong, C," Justin said, shaking his head. JC opened his mouth, but Justin didn't let him get a word out, already knowing what he was going to say. "You can argue with me all you want, but I talked to her. She didn't sound mad. If anything, she sounded...sad, and worried about you."

Justin watched JC, waiting for a reaction. Though, he didn't get much of one. JC looked away, not saying a word. The look on his face though told Justin he didn't believe him.

"JC, what happened between you guys?"

JC sighed, something between aggravation and exhaustion. "This again. You're still harping on this even after everything that happened?"

"I'm asking because of what happened," Justin said. "It's obvious Sabrina messed you up, but now maybe you can move on. You can be with someone that really loves you."

"And you think that's Penny," JC replied, no question in his voice. "She probably hates me."

"I don't think so. But tell me what happened. Make me understand."

JC shook his head, looking down at the thin sheet that'd pooled in his lap. Justin thought for sure he was going to blow him off again, refusing to talk about his relationships as always. But after a long moment, JC began to speak. His voice was soft and quiet as he finally opened up about his breakup with Penny.

"It was a couple days before the judge made his decision. We were just hanging out..."

JC was lying on the couch with Penny, his left arm draped over her as they lazily watched TV. He was completely exhausted and on the verge of sleep. There had been so many meetings with lawyers in addition to the time they'd spent in court. Not to mention none of them had been sleeping much, too worried about the judge's impending decision and what it would mean for their career.

Originally, he and Penny were supposed to have gone out, but she'd taken one look at his face when he'd arrived at her apartment and announced they were staying in. JC had felt kind of bad about ruining a night out for her, but he'd also felt relief. The last thing he'd wanted in that moment was to go out, but he would've if she hadn't insisted on staying in just to make her happy. And if he'd any doubts that she wasn't regretting her decision, they disappeared when he heard her sigh contently and felt her body relax even more against his.

"I love you," she said, breaking their companionable silence and jerking him to a more alert state.

The words were said softly, but in the relative quiet of the living room, it'd felt like she'd shouted them. His heart stopped, and his stomach dropped. He wanted to believe that she was just saying that, that she didn't truly mean what she'd said. But even without being able to see her face, he'd heard the sincerity and truthfulness in her voice.

"What?" JC struggled to sit up, pulling his right arm out from under them both and using it as leverage to push himself upright. Penny sat up too, and they'd ended up sitting next to each other on the couch, angled slightly towards each other. "You don't know what you're saying. It's too soon."

"Too soon?" she repeated. "You're meeting my parents in a few days. You can't put a timeframe on these kinds of things, JC."

"And I suppose you want me to say it back."

"Only if you want to," Penny said, and JC could tell that she truly meant it. "I just couldn't keep going on with this without telling you how I feel."

Truthfully, they'd been dancing around this for a while. There had been several moments - private, tender ones both in and out of the bedroom - where it'd seemed to be leading to a deep expression of feelings. There'd almost been a tension in the air as the unsaid words lingered between them, waiting for one of them to be brave enough to voice those three little words. But JC had always steered them out of those moments, once going as far as cutting her off and abruptly changing the subject. So even though he'd known this was coming, her words had still managed to take him by surprise.

"Why? What is it you want?" JC asked, unable to believe that she could truly love him. Not when he'd been doing everything he could to sabotage her from saying so before, and she knew it.

"Nothing," Penny said. Her eyes were open and expressive. "Just you. Just your love."

JC shook his head. "Bull. Love doesn't really exist. It feels real in the beginning, but it's just something people tell each other to get the other make sacrifices for them."

She stared at him, like she couldn't reconcile the man in front of her with the one she'd believe him to be in her head. "You don't really believe that."

"I do," he said with no hesitation. He looked her in the eye. "And I don't love you."

Penny frowned. "But I thought-"

"You thought wrong," JC interrupted her. Even though he didn't know exactly what she was going to say, he'd had a pretty good idea she was going to cite several moments exchanged between them where she'd seen love in his eyes. He enjoyed spending time with her, but love...that wasn't something he was willing to let himself experience again.

For the first time, her soft, gentle expression hardened and she glared at him. "No, I didn't. I know what I saw and what I felt. If you're not man enough to own up to it, that's not my fault."

"You saw what you wanted to see," JC shot back. "Just like the photos you take, you focus on what you want and block everything else out. It paints a pretty picture, but it's not real."

She turned on the spot, narrowing her eyes at him. "I'm not the only one guilty of not seeing the whole picture. The world isn't as dark as you think it is, and it's no wonder you're so unhappy."

"I'm not unhappy," JC denied, though it was a blatant lie. In that moment he'd felt the furthest thing from happy. He then added sarcastically, "But thanks for that stunning insight."

She shook her head. "I don't know what your problem is, but if you want to go back to being miserable and living a lie that's fine by me. But you're not dragging me down with you."

"Fine by me."

Without another word, JC walked out of her apartment. He paused for a moment on the other side of her door, wondering if he was truly doing the right thing. But the feeling passed, previous experience reminding him he was better off, and he left.

Justin sat in silence, watching JC as he'd finished. During the entire recount of the breakup, JC hadn't once looked at him. It wasn't unusual since JC often couldn't look them in the eye when they'd finally broken him into confessing something he'd kept under close wraps, but his discomfort seemed greater than normal. There was something more to it. Then it hit Justin.

Regret.

It wasn't something Justin was used to seeing from JC, but now that he'd put a name to it, it seemed quite obvious. And he'd realized he'd been seeing it a lot the last few days from JC. Every time Sabrina's name was even mentioned, JC's shoulders would slump forward a bit and the light in his eyes would dim. And he'd had the same reaction every time they'd try to bring up Penny.

"She hates me, J," JC said, finally looking at Justin like he'd given up on getting any kind of response out of him. "Even if I wanted to get back together, she wouldn't go for it."

"Do you want to get back together?"

JC shrugged, but Justin saw right through the nonchalance he was trying to project. Just like Justin had guessed a few nights ago - the night all this had started - JC had broken up with Penny, scared of his feelings and running from them rather than facing them. It was a typical scenario for him, and Justin hadn't always been able to understand it (though he'd recognized JC had been in some bad relationships). After hearing about Sabrina and having several encounters with her, he finally got why JC had never been able to make a relationship stick. A habit Justin wanted him to break.

"JC, you gotta at least talk to her. You won't know what she'd say unless you do." Justin paused. "And you can't keep running from relationships forever."

"The hell I can't," JC snapped, his anger rising up once more. "I-"

But JC couldn't get another word out as a coughing fit took over. It lasted several seconds, and as Justin listened to the effort it took for JC to draw air into his lungs, he realized what an idiot he was. JC had discarded his oxygen mask minutes ago, and Justin had let him go on about Tommie and Penny, doing all the talking. Something that he was obviously paying for now.

Justin first handed JC a cup of water, allowing him to wet his dry, overtaxed throat. Once JC'd had his fill of water and the coughing had finally abated, Justin reached out and slipped the oxygen mask back over his face. JC glared at him and lifted a hand to remove it, but Justin grabbed his arm, forcing him to lower it back to the bed.

JC shot Justin another annoyed look, but he didn't try to remove the mask again. Instead, he tried to pick up where they'd left off. "Who says I have to be with someone? I can be one of those people that's single forever and happy like that."

Justin frowned. He wasn't convinced people like that actually existed - people who never got married or ended up in a stable relationship, but if they did, he couldn't picture JC being one of them. JC loved his solitude, yes, but he was also a caretaker. Justin couldn't imagine him with no one to look out for and take care of, unless he got some pets. He got an image then of JC holed up in his house with dozens of cats, a permanent wardrobe of sweats and cat hair everywhere, and he shuddered.

Justin opened his mouth to respond to what JC said, but he stopped when he saw JC struggling to keep his eyes open. It'd seemed their conversation had taken a lot of him, and again Justin felt like an idiot. The guys were going to kill him for pushing JC to talk when he was still recovering, the antidote still hard at work at ridding every last trace of the poison out of his body.

"Get some sleep, JC," Justin said. "Nothing needs to be decided right now."

JC looked like he was going to argue, but he literally couldn't keep his eyes open. No doubt the steady flow of oxygen helping with that, especially given how weak JC was. So it only took a few seconds for JC to fall back asleep.

Justin sat back in his chair. He wanted to kick his legs out in front of him and try to get some sleep himself, but he wouldn't dare. Not after JC further explained his fears about Tommie coming for him and possibly having the police on his side. Maybe JC was right and it wasn't over, but he'd be damned if he'd let anything happen to him.

******************

Chris was sitting up in his hospital bed, picking at the breakfast an orderly had brought for him when a new nurse walked into the room. It wasn't that he wasn't hungry - it was just the food was horrible and he was holding out hope he'd be released soon so he could get a real meal. Though, each time he'd asked the doctor he hadn't gotten much of an answer.

"Good morning," the nurse said, chipper and more vibrant than him or Lance who was quietly reading the morning paper next to his bed. She stopped at the foot of his bed and picked up his chart, flipping through a few pages. "How are we doing today?"

"I'm okay, but I'd be a lot better if you could tell me when I'm getting out of this joint," Chris said.

The nurse looked up at him, shaking her head slightly. "I'm afraid I don't know the answer to that. Sorry. The doctor should be in within the next couple hours though."

Chris groaned internally. If he had to sit in this room for another couple hours secluded from the rest of his friends, he was going to lose his mind. "Well, do you think you could put me in my friend's room then?" Chris jerked his thumb over his shoulder, knowing from what Lance had told him that JC's room was just on the other side of his.

There was a moment of uncertainty in the nurse's face, and Chris decided to pull out something most would have trouble saying no to. "Please. I just want to see for myself that he's okay."

The woman who'd been on nightshift had been ornery and hadn't taken well to his request to be moved into JC's room. This nurse though, her face softened at his plea and it made her look younger. Though, she had to be only in her fifties if he had to guess.

"Let me check, but I'm sure we can make that happen," she said, giving him a smile.

Chris thanked her, and after she'd left the room, Lance shook his head from behind his paper. "You're impossible."

It took about fifteen minutes, but finally the nurse came back in. "We got the okay," she said, brightly.

Chris grinned, thanking her again. Lance got up, relinquishing his paper in favor of helping the nurse with whatever she needed in order to help move Chris to JC's room. He ended up wheeling the IV for the nurse as the two of them maneuvered his bed out into the hall.

"Causing trouble, Kirkpatrick?" Mike asked from his stationed spot outside of Chris's room as Chris was wheeled by in his bed.

Chris laughed. "Always."

His good humor didn't last though. As soon as he crossed the threshold into JC's hospital room, he started in surprise. Standing at the foot of JC's bed, talking quietly to Justin and Joey was Lonnie.

It didn't take long for Chris's surprise to morph into anger.

"What are you doing here?" he demanded. He hadn't seen Lonnie since he'd dropped them in front of the ER yesterday. "Haven't you been fired yet?"

That was what Chris had assumed would happen when Lance had mentioned that Johnny was talking to Lonnie. In his eyes, Lonnie was compromised and so naturally Chris had figured that meant the end of his career as one of their bodyguards. He'd been counting on never seeing the man again, and yet here he was.

"Chris!" Justin hissed.

Lance sighed heavily next to Chris as he pushed the IV pole beside the bed. The cheery, motherly nurse was no longer smiling and quickly went about making sure he was situated in the bed. Then he excused herself, leaving the room and pulling the door shut behind her.

"What? He helped kidnap JC! No way should he keep his job after that."

"Chris, please," Lance said, his voice quite lower than Chris's. "You're going to wake JC."

Chris glanced towards the bed and saw JC shift in his sleep, his brow furrowed. Though, he couldn't tell if it was from pain and general soreness or if his loud voice had in fact started to rouse JC from sleep. He did lower his voice, though it didn't lack any of the earlier agitation.

"Just leave," Chris said to Lonnie. "I don't even know why you're here."

Lonnie frowned. "I wanted to check on him," he said, nodding his head towards JC. "On all of you."

Chris rolled his eyes. "Like you even care."

Lance and Justin had identical looks of disbelief and Joey looked just as ready to reprimand him as they did. Though, a much quieter voice spoke before they could. Someone who made the entire room freeze.

"Leave him alone, Chris," JC said, his voice groggy from sleep. The oxygen mask he'd been wearing most of yesterday was now gone - a sure sign he was on the mend.

"C'mon, JC," Chris replied in a voice that said ‘are-you-serious?'. "He's a large part of why this happened. He's working for Tommie."

JC shook his head minutely. "No he isn't. Not anymore," he said, looking at Lonnie and their eyes met. "Maybe not for a long time."

"I'm not," Lonnie agreed. "I may have been placed with you guys to keep an eye on JC and report back to Tommie, but he was right." He glanced at the rest of them, his gaze lingering on Chris. "I became soft. I came to care for the five of you, and I still do."

"So what happened yesterday?" Joey asked.

Lonnie turned sad, regretful eyes to JC. "I didn't want to do it, but I also knew Tommie would just send someone else if I said no. I thought if I was there, I could control the situation and keep things from getting too bad."

"I'm not mad," JC said softly. "I know you did what you could."

Chris scoffed. "Oh come on."

Lonnie turned, glaring at Chris. It was the first bit of irritation he'd shown since Chris had come in and immediately started on him. "You four didn't make things any easier. I'd told you to stay in Orlando, but none of you could be bothered to listen to me."

Justin's mouth dropped open a bit in surprise, and Chris had to admit he was feeling some of that himself. He wasn't sure it changed his opinion of Lonnie though. If anything, it just reinforced the role Lonnie had played in this whole thing. Though, he could see that Lonnie wasn't unaffected by what'd been asked of him.

"You came through in the end when it mattered," JC reminded quietly.

Lonnie looked at him, and the two of them locked gazes for a long moment. The room was silent, but Chris could swear they were having some kind of exchange using just their eyes. It was something he was used to seeing JC do with Justin, but it'd seemed it wasn't exclusive to just him. After several seconds, Lonnie gave JC a small smile and gave his calf a gentle squeeze before heading for the door.

They watched him go, but JC made him stop just before he could walk out into the hall. "Lonnie," he started, "if you hear from Tommie...tell him I want to meet."

"JC!" Justin objected.

Lonnie frowned a bit, but if he had any objections, he didn't voice them. Instead, he promised he would and then disappeared into the hall, the door closing behind him.

"What the hell are you doing?" Chris demanded. "It's over."

JC shook his head. "It might not be. And if it's not, I'm not bringing this back to Orlando with us."

Chris sat back against the bed with a harsh exhale. "God, you're paranoid."

JC turned his head to glare at him. "Oh really? I think I'm being smart because every time I let my guard down thinking it was over, something came up and proved it wasn't."

"And is anything going to bring you closure?" Chris challenged. "Will you ever truly believe it's over?"

"Yes," JC said with a short nod. "Sabrina's dead, and Tommie...that's why I want to meet with him. He'll either say it's over, or..."

JC trailed off like he was unable to finish the thought, but Joey did it for him. "He'll kill you," he said sadly with concern written all over his face.

"Are you really willing to take that chance?" Lance asked.

JC gave a little shrug. "Either way, it would finally be over."

Chris saw right through the forced nonchalance, and he wasn't the only one. Justin objected, "For you maybe."

"Justin..." JC started, but Justin cut him off.

"No, damn it. You don't get to take that tone with me. You've kept us in the dark and you've tried to do things on your own, and look where it got you!" Justin gestured to the room they were sitting in, his annoyance clear. But then he took a breath and when he leaned forward in his chair to look JC in the eye, his eyes and voice were soft. "If Tommie was going to come, it would've happened by now. So please, leave it alone."

There was a long pause, all of their eyes fixed on JC as they waited for his response. Chris thought for sure JC would never agree because they all knew how stubborn he was, but he hoped that Justin got through to him. For all of their sakes. Because even though it seemed unlikely Tommie would do anything to the rest of them again, there was no way any of them would be okay with JC dying.

"Okay," JC agreed at last.

Chris raised an eyebrow, unsure if JC was sincere or just trying to appease Justin so he'd settle down. He hoped it was the former because he didn't like the idea of JC seeking out Tommie when it was over. Mostly, he just hoped both he and JC would be released soon so they could get home and put this all behind them.