Karen stared at her sleeping son through the window of Jenna’s room. He looked horrible. Justin had told her that he refused to leave her side since he went back into the ICU, except to the bathroom. The nurses had been great to him. They normally wouldn’t let family stay as long, but because he was who he was, they did not bother him as long as he let them do their jobs. 

“You must be Josh’s Mom. I’m Kelly, Jenna’s roommate,“ Kelly said from behind her. Karen turned to see a young dark haired woman standing there.

She shook her head yes, and offered her hand. “Please call me Karen.” 

“He refuses to leave her.”

“I had no idea until yesterday that Jen was no longer in the picture. He had talked about Jenna, but never about this.” 

“It all came up really fast. Jen left about two weeks ago. His relationship with Jenna had been building for a while now, and Jen saw it for the first time when we all went out together. She saw them together, and she told him to make a choice. “

“It looks like he did,” she said, looking back at her son, who was still asleep in the chair next to Jenna’s bed.

“Believe me, the feeling is mutual. She adores your son. He is so good to her. And she is good for him too.”

“I believe that. That’s what Justin and Lance have both said,” Karen smiled. 

“I just wish that you weren’t here because of this.” 

“ You and me both.” 

JC heard voices talking outside the door to Jenna’s room. He opened his eyes and looked up.  Seeing his mother standing there shocked him.  He stood and walked into the hallway. 

“Mama,'' was all he could manage, she walked over to him and wrapped her arms around his waist.  He let out all the unpent emotion he had been holding in for a while now.  She held him there until he cried it out on her shoulder. After a few minutes later, he regained a little composure. 

“How did you know?” he asked as they walked into the Neuro ICU waiting area.

She poured him a cup of black coffee, and handed it to him then did the same for herself. 

“Justin called me yesterday. Said you needed me, so here I am.”

He reached out and hugged her again. “Thank you. He was right.” 

“I usually am.”  Justin grinned at JC, as he walked into the waiting room.

“How’s our patient?”

“Still knocked out. They take off the leads in about an hour. She didn’t have any more seizures last night or this morning. So they should start weaning her off the medications that are sedating her later today,” JC said, feeling a little bit of  relief that she hadn’t had any more seizures since the biopsy.

“ So you're sleeping beauty is gonna wake up today,” Justin said, putting his hand on JC’s shoulder. 

“I sure hope so. I don’t know how much more of this shit I can take,” he said,shaking his head back and forth.

“So, when were you gonna tell me that you broke up with Jen?” Karen asked.

Justin looked uncomfortable, and said, “I’m gonna go see Jenna. I’ll  be back in a little while. Let you two talk.”

“Great.”  JC said.

“ Well?” his mother said, waiting for an explanation.

“I told you about her accident.  Well, we became friends. And a couple of weeks ago at Lance’s club we danced a couple of times and Jen saw us together. She said that I hadn’t looked at her the way I look at Jenna in years. She told me that I was in love with her and that I needed to explore my feelings for her. And Mom, she was right. It breaks my heart that she was right. But, I love Jenna. I’ve never felt this way about anyone before. And now I may lose her.” 

“I can tell, honey. I have a good feeling . She is gonna be ok,”  Karen said to her son with a smile. 

“She was so scared. And so am I,”  he said, hanging his head. “We don’t know what it is. Just that it’s a tumor.”

“I’m sure that whatever the results are, Josh, you are gonna handle it the best way you can. Just like your Dad and I did. It will work out,” Karen tried to reassure her son.

“ I sure hope you’re right. “ 

...

They pulled the leads about 10 am and started backing off the medications at the same time. 

By 3 pm the ventilator was removed and she was breathing on her own. She still had not regained consciousness.  He sat next to her bed, his hand in hers. He nodded off. 

She opened her eyes, and everything was fuzzy. Her vision, memory.  Her throat was raw and sore, having no ideas why. She felt a hand in hers. She turned her head and saw JC sitting next to her. She couldn’t get her mouth to work. She squeezed his hand with all her might. Then a soft moan came from her lips. JC sat up. 

He looked up at  her and said, “Jenna? Baby? Can you hear me?”  He squeezed her hand, and she squeezed his hand back. 

“Jenna,” he said, tears brimming in his eyes. She opened her eyes, trying to talk, but being  unable too. “ I love you “ She mouthed to him, losing the battle to her own tears. 

“I love you, too,” he said, and pushed the button on the call light. 

A nurse came into the room and smiled.  “Well, look who’s awake. I’m gonna call Dr Black right now.” She left the room. 

Kelly came into the room. “Hey there stranger. How are you?”

She finally got her mouth to work. “My throat hurts.”

“Those are the most beautiful words I’ve ever heard in my entire life,” JC said, kissing her forehead. 

“Water,” she said. “Please. Can I have a drink?” she asked.  He got some water from the pitcher on the counter and let her have a sip. 

“Thank you.  What happened to me?”

“You had a seizure on the table when they were doing the biopsy and they had to sedate you so your brain could rest. They had a breathing tube down your throat. That is why it hurts,” he said, brushing the hair out of her face.  "I'm just glad you woke up, came back to me."

“I had the best dream,” she said, a lazy smile on her face, thinking about the dream.

“Yeah? What about?” he asked.

“Our baby,” she said, waiting for his response. 

“Our baby?” he replied, shocked at her admission. 

“I told you it was a dream. But it was so real. Like he was right there.  I can still feel myself holding him in my arms. Is that weird?”

“After all that you have been through the last few days, no, it doesn't sound weird at all,” he said, cupping her cheek. He could not get the cheesy ass grin off his face. The thought of her having his baby surprisingly made him almost giddy.

“What was it? Boy or Girl?”

“Boy. He looked just like you. His name was Liam.” 

“Liam? “

“William Roy Chasez. After our dads.”

“I love it.”

“You named him.”

“I did?”

“Said you wanted him to have our fathers’ names,” she grinned. He looked so tired. She felt bad that she had put him through so much in such a short time. But she was glad he was here nonetheless. A tear ran down her cheek.

“Hey.  Are you hurting? Do I need to get a nurse?” JC asked, concerned. 

She shook her head no. Another tear came, followed by another. 

"No. You stay right where you are." Her voice was raspy from the tube placement. "It doesn't hurt. But, you need to go home and get some sleep before you crash, Josh."

"The nurses set up a cot for me right over there. I'm not leaving this hospital without you." he said, still not believing that she wasn't in pain.

"Josh...”

"The answer is no, Jenna.  I am not leaving without you. My mom is bringing me some stuff from the house. Kelly went back to the apartment last night while you were asleep to get your stuff.”

She used the controller on the bed to sit up more.

"Karen is here? " Jenna said in disbelief. 

"Yeah. She got here this morning. Justin called her and told her I needed her and she took the red eye this morning."

Jenna looked away from him and tried to hide her tears. 

“Jenna, What’s wrong?”

“I’ve caused all this drama, and I don’t want to be a burden,” she said, sniffing. 

He got up and sat on the edge of the bed and said, “You are not a burden. I don’t know who ever told you that you were. There is a room full of people out there right now that love and care about you and your well being. Your Mom and Dad are supposed to be here later. Kelly only left briefly to get your things. Justin has been here off and on the last two days, along with Lance and Michael.  You are loved.”

There was a knock on the glass of the door, and Jenna looked up from her blankets. JC smiled to see his mom standing there in the doorway. Karen walked into the room and smiled warmly at Jenna.  She rested her hand on her son’s shoulder. 

“It’s good to see you awake.”  Karen said, looking lovingly at JC. 

“Thank you.” 

“I’m Karen, Josh’s mom,” she said, going over to the opposite side of the bed and taking Jenna’s hand in hers.

“Jenna. I’m sorry we met like this.” Is fangirling someone’s mom wrong? She wondered to herself.

Karen squeezed her hand. “No worries. I’m glad I finally got to meet you.”

She heard baby laughter.

"Josh, am I hearing things now? I could swear I just heard a baby laugh."

Karen smiled at her son's  girlfriend. 

"No. That's my fault. Lance and Michael brought the twins by for me to see, since I have to leave tomorrow morning."

 A nurse walked into the room and said " Alright, Dr Black is on his way to examine Jenna. I need everyone  out." 

JC bent down and kissed her on the forehead, and said, “I'll see you when he's done," and he and Karen left the room.

A few minutes later Dr Black came into the waiting room with a smile on his face.

"Everything looks good, we are gonna transfer her out to the regular floor. She should be able to go home in a few days. Back to work in a couple of weeks." 

"Thank God," JC said out loud.

…

An hour later they had transferred Jenna out to the Neuro step-down, and her room was full of people.  Kelly, JC and Karen, and Lance and Michael and the twins.

Violet was crying and reaching out for Jenna. "No baby. She can't hold you right now," Michael sighed. 

Jenna smiled, and patted the bed beside her.  "Sit her right here." Michael set her down next to Jenna. Violet stopped crying and snuggled up next to her. Within minutes, her eyes were heavy and she went to sleep. 

"She loves you." 

"The feeling is mutual.”

"I had a dream while I was out." 

"A good one or a bad one? " Michael sat down on the edge of the bed next to his daughter. Lance had talked JC into going to get coffee and something to eat, and they had Alexander. 

"We had a baby. It was so surreal, Michael.  I could feel him in my arms." 

He smiled at his friend.  "Well, that baby would have one hell of a set of parents. That's for sure." 

"It was just a dream, Michael. The reality is I may have cancer. And…." 

"Cancer or not, you would make a fabulous mother. There is no denying that, Jenna. I don't think that this is cancer. But if it is, we will all be here for you one way or the other. You are a part of a big fucked up family now and we all love you."

A tear slipped down her cheek.

"I know."

…

JC’S  phone rang in his pocket. He looked and saw that it was a call from Eric.

He sighed, and stood up from the table in the Cafe and said, "I need to take this. It's Eric. " 

He walked out into the hallway.  "Hey."

"Hey? That's all I get is a Hey. Josh what in the hell is wrong with you. You break up with your girlfriend for some unemployed teacher you saved, and now you are canceling events from your calendar without telling me and blowing off artists?"

JC chose to not get mad at his manager. It wouldn’t do any good. 

"First of all, she left me. After she fucked me one last time. But  she didn't mention that, did she? And Jenna is not an unemployed  teacher. She works at Hawthorne School as a kindergarten teacher and she is brilliant. And that new artist is tone deaf and can't carry a tune. And as far as canceling things on MY calendar. My girlfriend just got diagnosed with a brain tumor that very well may be cancer.  So excuse me if I want to spend every moment I can with her." 

 Eric was silent on the other end of the line.  "They think  it may be cancer? "

"We don't know . She's in the hospital right now, had a biopsy Saturday and spent the night in the ICU on a vent because she had a seizure on the table. She just woke up this afternoon."

"Jesus, Josh. Why didn't you just say something?" 

"Because I didn't want to hear the words."

"What words? " 

"That she may be taken from me as soon as I get her. That's what.  It’s like this is some kind of movie, I fall in love with this woman who only has months to live.  You know I’ve had shit luck with romance.  I thought Jen was it, and now Jenna comes in and changes everything I thought I knew.  She makes me want things I haven’t wanted with anyone else, Eric.”

“What are you saying…”

“She’s great with Lance’s twins, I maybe wanna try and be a dad.  She dreamed we had a little boy.  I know more than anything, I want to marry her.”