“I’m starving, I hate that I can’t eat right now,” Jenna groaned as she got into JC’s Jeep.

“I’m not even going to stop for anything for me on the way.”

“Josh, it’ll be a while.  It’s my brain, I’m sure it’s a delicate process.  You should eat.”

“Maybe I’ll grab something from the cafeteria.”

Jenna’s phone was ringing, Kelly had just gotten off shift.  “Hey…” Jenna answered quietly.

“I know it’s early, hopefully I didn’t interrupt anything, but I wanted to see if you two could go out for breakfast or something.”

“I’m on my way to the hospital, actually.”

“Oh no, another seizure?”

Jenna couldn’t bring herself to say it.  JC swallowed the lump in his throat.  “She’s getting a biopsy done.”

“I’ll meet you here,” Kelly said, the shift of her voice changing to being serious.

The drive to the hospital was quiet, JC silently praying everything would be ok.  He was still scared from when his dad was first dealing with it.  He knew his dad was lucky, also making sure he got the best care he could.  Jenna would be no different.  If she needed to change hospitals and doctors, that’s what they would do.  He’d do anything he could to make sure she was taken care of, especially now.  

They got into the pre-op waiting room, Jenna signing in.  Kelly was already sitting down, saving a couch for them.  Kelly stood, Jenna hugging her tight.

“I’m scared, Kel…”

“I wish you’d told me last night, even just a text.”

“Josh took very good care of me,” she whispered.

“I want details later…” Kelly giggled, trying to not freak out at knowing what that meant.

They all sat, waiting for Jenna to be called.  “How long do these things usually take?” Jenna finally asked.

“Depends on how severe it is, where it’s located.  They should be able to tell you beforehand.  Hopefully it’s quick, but it could take an hour or more.  It’s the brain, not a skin sample.  Do your parents know?”

“No.  I don't want to worry them until we know for sure.  You know my mom.  She’d be insisting on staying at the apartment, I already have Josh doing that.”

“With the added bonus of being your boyfriend and not your mother,” Kelly smirked.  

They called Jenna, Kelly having JC go with her to get ready.  She changed into a hospital gown, feeling a bit of when they first met.  JC helped her into the hospital bed, even though she didn't really need his help.

“I’m Dr. Black, sorry to meet you under these circumstances.  Thankfully, this should be an easier biopsy, but still delicate.  We’re just doing a biopsy for right now, so it’ll be a small incision in the back of your skull.  We’ll get a sample of the lesion, and we’ll want to observe you for a bit.  Make sure you wake up from the anesthesia, then keep you for a few more hours.  Unfortunately you won’t be able to eat during that time.  We’ll keep track of vitals, so if your blood sugar drops, we can compensate for that.  We’re hoping to release you before dinner time tonight.  I know that feels like a long time, seeing as it’s 8AM now.  We still have a wait ahead of us, there’s a couple more surgeries, emergency ones may come up.  I’m guessing this is someone close to you, to be back here with you?”

“My boyfriend,” Jenna smiled, knowing he had pretended to be such when this all started, and now it was a reality.

“We’ll come get you when the surgery is over and she’s in recovery.  I’m sure she’d like to see your face when she wakes up.”

“That would definitely be nice, yeah.”

“Once she goes in, you can sit in the waiting room, walk down to the cafeteria, whatever you need to do.  Again, we’ll come get you once she’s in recovery.  It’ll be about an hour and a half to two hours, assuming there are no complications.”

“Complications?” JC asked.

“Like another seizure, especially a severe one.  We’ll be able to monitor all of that, but hopefully it won’t be an issue so we can do what we need to do.”

“Will you need to shave my head?” Jenna asked nervously. 

“Not the whole head, no. Maybe a small patch where we’ll go in, but you won’t notice it under the rest of your hair.  It's a very accessible point, thankfully.  It’ll still take a while, but that’s how it works.”

Dr. Black walked away, nurses coming and going in front of them to various patients waiting in beds like hers, waiting for surgery or in recovery.  JC was in a chair beside her, holding her hand.

“How are you feeling?” Jenna asked.  His face showed very little emotion.

“Trying to hold it together, at least until you go in.  I make no promises once you go in.  I’m terrified, Jenna.  I know you are too, I just can’t believe the world would do this to me.  It’s like I’m cursed…”

“Josh, you’ve had so much good in your life.  I know life hasn’t always been kind, but you’ve always made the most of it.  It would have been easy to just give up, quit the music business entirely.  You chose to do things on your terms, not bend to what a label wanted you to do.  You kinda pick and choose who you work with now, and you’ve had a lot of success.  Fans still love you, like all the guys, and you don’t let things get to you.”

“This is different, Jenna.  If anything happens to you…”

“We’ll make the most of the time we have.  For now, we just hope and pray for the best.”

They sat quietly for a while, JC holding Jenna’s hand, thinking of ways to make the most of his time with her, whether it was a week, a month, a year, or the rest of his life.

Dr. Black returned to her bed.  “OK, we’re ready to take you in.  Everything will be fine.”

JC kissed the back of her hand, standing up to give her a gentle kiss on the lips, almost as if it were their last chance.  He had walked with her as far as they would let him down the hallway. Then he was directed to the small waiting room outside the OR. Kelly watched him for a while. He just sat on the couch with a blank stare on his face. 

His phone buzzed beside him. He was completely oblivious to it. It rang several times. Kelly picked it up, seeing it was Justin. 

She answered the FaceTime.

“Justin, hi.”

“Kelly? Why are you answering JC’s phone?” he asked, surprised.

“Because he is in his own little world right now, and in no shape to answer it,“ she replied.

“Why is he in no shape to answer his phone? What’s going on?”

“Jenna. She is in surgery right now. He’s pretty fucked up right now. You should come be with him."

“Surgery? What the hell? “

“They found a tumor on her brain yesterday. They are doing a biopsy as we speak. I really think he needs you. He hasn't said a word at all since they took her back, that was about 45 minutes ago.”

“Let me tell Jess. WOW, I’ll be there as soon as I can.” 

“OK, We’ll be here.”

“Please let me know how she is.”

“I will,” said hanging up and looking back over at  JC, who still looked distraught. 

15 minutes later, a nervous Justin showed up in the waiting room. 

He walked over to JC and said, “C?” 

JC looked up at him, stunned. He stood up, and Justin hugged his brother, who completely broke down in his arms. He held him there for several moments until his sobs subsided.  He led him back to the couch he had been sitting on. 

“What happened, man?”

“She got a call like a week ago from the neurologist that there was an abnormality. An MRI showed she has a brain tumor. So they scheduled a biopsy today, and here we are.”

"Do they think it is cancer?"Justin shuddered to think.

"They won't know until this surgery is done.  The doctor said it could take a week to get the results from the biopsy." 

"Why didn't you tell me?" 

"There was no time. She literally found out yesterday afternoon.  There was no time,” he said, rubbing his face with his hand. 

"Does she know how you feel?" 

"Yes, we’ve been ‘official’ the last couple days..”

Justin smiled.  "About fucking time, man."  

A middle aged man in a white lab coat and navy scrubs approached them at this time.

JC stood, " Dr. Black, how is Jenna?"

Dr Black sighed and said, "The biopsy went as well as it could. There was a complication. She had a seizure during the procedure and her brain activity is very chaotic right now. We had put her into a medically induced coma to let her brain rest and play catch-up. She is in the Neuro ICU at the moment, on a ventilator. You should be able to see her soon.”

"How long will you keep her like that?" Kelly asked. 

“If everything goes the way I expect it to go, she should be off the ventilator  by sometime tomorrow. She is sedated to the point where breathing on her own is not possible. So she is getting help with that. They will do a 24 hour EEG and then wean her off the sedatives. "

"Can I see her?" JC asked quietly.

"Yes. I'll  send a nurse to get you once she's settled.  I have every reason to believe that she will be ok. When we get the results from the biopsy, we will know more about treatment options." 

"Ok.  Thank you,” JC said, the same look still on his face as before. 

"C. She's gonna be ok. The doctor just said she is gonna be fine,” Justin tried to reassure him. 

"She's in a coma, T. Does that sound OK to you? " 

"C. Look at me," Justin said, sounding more like a dad than a brother. "She needs you to be her strength right now.  Not a mess. It's ok to fall apart for a minute or two. But right now she needs you to be the man I know you are. So go do it." 

Kelly walked up to them both at this time and said, "Josh. You can see her now."

He shook his head, and looked helplessly at Justin.

"Want me to go with you? I know how you are in places like this. It might be better if I do,” Justin asked. 

Kelly shook her head and said,  "How about we all go together?”

"You ready, C? "

JC shook his head yes and followed Kelly's lead.  A nurse in maroon scrubs led them to a room with a sliding glass door.

That's when he got his first good look at her. Her red hair was in a braid off the right side . She was so still. She was never still when she slept, he thought to himself.

Her head was wrapped in gauze with leads coming out  of the top every which way that had burn netting on to hold it to her head.There was a tube taped to the corner of her mouth, attached  to the vent tubing. There was a central line on the right side of her chest, with IV lines attached. He watched the rise and fall of her chest as the machine breathed for her. 

He felt like the air was sucked out of the room. Kelly noticed he had turned white as a ghost.  "Justin," she said before JC hit the floor. Justin caught him mid fall, and maneuvered him over to a couch in the ICU waiting room. 

"Is he ok? " Kelly asked.  

"I was afraid this might happen. He has never been good in hospital settings like this. And It's Jenna. That makes it that much worse. Give him a few minutes. He will be fine. I'll get him in there, even if I have to use a wheelchair. " 

She smiled at them both, "I'm gonna go see her then. " 

"We'll be in there in a while,” he said, looking down at JC, who was still out cold. 

Kelly walked into Jenna’s room, and sat down on the chair next to her bed. 

“You have quite the following, you know. Justin and JC are outside. JC did not handle seeing you like this well at all. He passed out. He loves you so much, Jenna. You have to be okay. “

She heard someone clear their throat, and turned to see JC standing there, still looking a little pale but standing on his own two feet.  Justin was not too far behind him.

“You ok?” Kelly asked him, looking him over, skeptical. 

“I’m ok now. Can I sit with her for a while, alone?” he asked, his voice low and quiet.

“Sure. I’ll be back later, love,” she said, bending down and kissing Jenna’s forehead. 

Justin walked with Kelly in the hallway, away from Jenna’s room.

“I called Lance. I think he needs to be here as well. I called his Mom, too. I think that he needs all of us around right now. Joey and Chris know as well,” Justin said in a hushed voice. “I don’t know if Joey and Chris will come out, but they are on standby. Karen said she will be on the first flight out in the morning. “ 

“I haven’t even called her parents yet. I feel horrible, but this all came up so fast. But with her in the ICU, I need to call them. I know she is gonna be ok. But they need to know what’s going on with their only daughter. I’m gonna do that right now,” she said, patting Justin on the shoulder as she walked into the waiting room. He hung back and stayed next to Jenna’s room just in case. 

JC felt his entire body start to tremble.  He sat down in the chair next to her bed. He took her hand in his and brought it to his lips. He cleared his throat and tried to stop the tears from coming, but it was a losing battle.

“I love you, Jenna . I don’t know if you can hear me, but I am not leaving this room until you wake up and tell me to leave. “ 

…

Jenna woke up to the sound of a baby crying. She sat up, and saw a monitor sitting on the nightstand. She heard Josh's voice on the monitor. She picked it up and watched the screen, a slow smile spreading across her face.

She saw him pick up a tiny bundle out of a crib, and him rocking the bundle back and forth. "Shhhh, you are gonna wake your mama up." She heard the door open and he shut it with his foot not too long after that. She sat up and saw him coming over to the bed. 

"Sorry mommy, but I decided I'm hungry.”  He sat down beside her and handed the tiny bundle to him. His name came to her.

William Roy Chasez. They had gone round and round about it. She was sure that  this would be their only child and wanted to name him after his Daddy. JC had said no way. Then they settled, after 8 months of arguing about it, to name him after his grandfathers. Two of the most important people in the world to them. Josh called him Liam, and it stuck. 

She took him out of the sleep sac he was in and put him up to her breast. He latched on with ease. 

"Have I told you how beautiful you are?" JC asked her.  She still wasn't too sure of that . She still had relatively short hair from having a successful craniotomy, then having a baby a short 6 months later. 

To say that her life had changed since her accident, was a massive understatement. But, she wouldn't  trade any of it for the world.