Kelly entered to find JC and Jenna asleep in her bed. JC stirred when the door clicked shut.

He sat up and rubbed his eyes.

"Everything ok?" Kelly asked.

"Had a run in with her mom about an hour ago. Jenna tried to get up and wound up getting sick instead. Sarah got kicked out and Jenna got a mild sedative and some nausea meds. "

"Let's go out in the hallway," Kelly said. JC got up.off the bed and followed her into the hallway.

"I don't want her mother around her right now. She is causing way too much drama."

"I agree. But, Jenna may not want that. Her and her mom have always had a strained relationship. Just have to play it by ear," Kelly shrugged her shoulders.

"I want to marry her, Kelly." 

"Wow. " 

"Why does everyone seem surprised by that?" JC wondered out loud.

"What did Justin or your mom say? I know you told them."

"Justin is in my corner.  So is mom. " 

"Well, I guess that makes three of us." Kelly grinned. “Convincing her of that may be something else entirely. She already thinks all this is because of the tumor.”

“I would have loved her tumor or not.” Josh said, looking in the window of Jenna’s room at her sleeping form. He saw her moving in the bed. “I think she is awake.”

“I’ll let you talk to her," Kelly said, patting him on the shoulder. "Don't be surprised if she says no.”

“I’m still gonna ask. I have to, Kelly.”

“I get it. I just don’t want you to get your hopes up.” 

“Well, we’re about to find out," he said, taking a deep breath, and opening the door.

He walked up to her bed, and sat down on the edge.  She opened her eyes, and smiled. 

“Josh…I love you.”  Jenna whispered. 

He took her hand in his, and squeezed it.  “Marry me, Jenna.”

She looked at him in shock. Not too sure that she was hallucinating the fact that he had just proposed.  “What?” 

“I know it’s soon, but I know I love you. And I know that I want a life with you, no matter how long we may have. "

“You want to marry me?” she asked genuinely. 

“With all my heart, Jenna," he said, kissing her forehead. 

She didn’t answer him, and looked down at the blankets on her bed.  She looked back up at him, tears in her eyes. “There is nothing more that I would love to do than marry you, Josh. But, no. I can’t do that to you. I couldn’t live with myself if this is cancer and putting you through that hell.” 

“I won’t let you do this alone, Jenna. I meant what I said. I’m in this for the long haul. I’m not going anywhere. I love you," he said, crawling into the bed with her and holding her close. 

“Please don’t hate me," she whispered. 

“I could never hate you, Jenna. Don’t you know that by now?”  he said, brushing the hair out of your face. 

“Can you do something for me, Josh?” 

“ Anything.”

“Anything?”

“Yes. “

“ Would you be my power of attorney? In case something happens to me? I don’t want my mother in charge of things. I want you and Kelly to be in charge of my final decisions.  Because I believe that you both would carry them out the way that I want.” 

He looked at her, “I would do anything for you. Yes. Whatever you want.” 

Tears formed in her eyes. “Thank you.” 

“You bet. “

“I just turned down your proposal, and you are agreeing to be my power of attorney.”

“I’m still your boyfriend, and I don't want your mother doing something against your wishes. I will have my lawyer come by and we will talk about it with Kelly. About what you want done and what you don't want. " 

…

She woke up the next morning, and she turned in her bed to find JC sleeping next to her. He pulled her closer to himself in his sleep.

He stirred and opened his eyes, smiling down at her.  “Are you feeling better?”

“I'm not gonna run any marathons, but I feel better than I did yesterday," she smiled. 

She looked down at the blanket. “ I’m sorry you got grilled by my mom.That was not fair.”

He kissed the top of her head, "I’ll live. “ 

There was a knock on the door, and Dr. Black stuck his head in the door.

“Good morning, you two.”

“ Hi.”

“How are you feeling today, Jenna?” Dr Black asked, as he examined her. 

“No more headache. They said I can get up and move around today.” 

“I encourage that.”

“When can I go back to work?” Jenna asked. 

“I’d like you to have at least a week to recover at home before you go back to work.” 

“When can she go home?” JC asked.

“If there are no further problems and no more seizures, she can go home tomorrow.” Dr Black smiled. “ I have to finish my rounds, I’ll check back with you later.”

 Once the doctor was gone, she looked over at JC.

“I can’t wait to see my own bed.”

“About that. I was wondering…. Um. Would you come home with me?” 

"You want me to go home with you?”

“I do," he whispered, placing a tender kiss on her lips.

“Over my dead body.” The moment was totally shattered by Sarah, who was standing in the doorway of Jenna’s room. 

“Mother. If I want to go home with him I can.”

“No, you can’t. You’re sick and you need your family. “

“NO. I need my boyfriend and my friends and family. And for you to STOP trying to run my life. I have a brain tumor. I am not incapacitated.” 

“You are coming home with me and your father where you belong. That is the end of it,” Sarah said, crossing her arms over her chest, daring JC to say something. 

“Well, I say that if she wants to go home to her apartment or wants to go home with me, that she is of sound mind to.” He stood up and went to get something off the tray table. “ You might want to read through this before you start trying to run the show. “

She ripped the paperwork out of his hands and began to read it. 

She looked shocked at both of them, "What the hell is this?”

“Josh is my Power of Attorney, and Kelly is my medical Power of Attorney. “ 

“This can’t be true. You would not do this to me.”

“Why can’t you just realize that this is not about you, Mom? I need you to be there for me, not trying to run the show. I am perfectly capable of making my own decisions. But, in the event that I can't do that anymore, I trust Josh to do it for me. And Kelly is right along with him.” Jenna answered her mother cooly.

“This can’t be legal. “

“ It was filed in court this morning. My lawyer brought the paperwork over and went over it with all three of us," Josh said, sitting on the bed next to Jenna. 

“I don’t accept that .”

“Well, it doesn’t really matter what you accept, Sarah. It’s what your daughter wants. And that is what I care about. What she wants, and needs. Not myself."

“Well, aren’t you just the most romantic schmuck ever?” Sarah bellowed.

“Will you just stop? Please? I need you to leave. I don’t want to be around you right now," Jenna said. Her voice was cold, shocking even JC. 

“But.’

“NO, Mother. If you can't accept what I want and how I want to do things, then I need to have you not be around me. I have enough to deal with. I can’t handle your bullshit too. So, feel free to leave if you can't accept this. It is not going to change.” 

“Neither of us want that, Sarah. Just so that you understand that. We just want what is best for Jenna. And this is what she believes is best for her," JC said, as Sarah looked at him with daggers in her eyes.

“I will take you to court.” 

“No, you won't, Mother. Just leave. I knew this would not go over well, Josh.” Jenna said, tears starting to form in her eyes. She linked her fingers through JC’s and said, “Please just go.”

Sarah just stood there staring at her daughter and her boyfriend. She turned on her heel and left the room. Jenna leaned back into JC and tried not to cry. 

“It’s ok, babe.  You’re being so strong, it’s ok to let go.  I’m sorry you’re going through this, but you’re not alone.”  He kissed the top of her head.  “Before we were so rudely interrupted, we were discussing you living with me at my place…”

“It’s farther from work, that’s a longer drive.”

“Closer than Calabazas with your mother…”

“Please don’t talk about her.  It’s only been a week, Josh…”

“I proposed, I think I’m sure I want you to move in with me. In fact, I KNOW I want to wake up to you in my bed every morning…” he said, nuzzling her neck.

“Waking up in my bed isn’t enough?” she laughed. 

“Wake up in mine one morning and you’ll understand… Pretty sure you’ll understand once I get you into it.”

“I’m not getting released until tomorrow at the earliest, not sure I’ll be feeling up for anything…”

“ All in due time, Jenna. I just want you with me." He grinned at her, and she laid her head on his chest.

“How do we explain this to Kelly?” Jenna wondered.

“Odds are she already figured it out,” Kelly said, stepping into view in the doorway.

“I like this interruption better,” Jenna laughed into JC’s chest.

“Sarah came by, I take it?”

“Told me I couldn’t live with JC, that I needed to be at home to recover.  Correction, I need to be at HER home.”

“Have things always been this… toxic between you two?”

“Once I got into college, I started dating, wanting to be out on my own.  As much as she hated that her daughter had epilepsy, she suddenly wanted to control me because I’m ‘disabled’.  Once I could actually take care of myself, she wanted to be in control.  For the most part she leaves me alone, until things like this happen.”

“Did she like Steve?”

“It’s… complicated.  She did and she didn’t.  She worried he wouldn’t be able to take care of me, physically and financially.  I totally get the financial part, he was working for a video game company as a game tester making barely above minimum wage, then after he got laid off I put him through massage therapy school.  We were supposed to have our own place and pay the bills with my income from being a student teacher in a special intern program.  Looking back now, a weight was lifted once we split, but at the time, and in some ways, it still sucks.  She liked Steve as a person, that he made me happy, but I think she knew it wasn’t going to work between us, and made it so it definitely didn’t.  I think that’s why she was so quick to change her mind about you once she found out who you were.  Your job makes enough money that I could be taken care of.  She just has a funny way of showing her approval.”

“She approves of me, but doesn’t want me to have control of your life.”

“She’s just met you, so I guess I see her point.  But I’ve known you for a month, longer if you count what I thought I knew about you for the last 25 years…”

“Let’s not count that, I’m not sure how much of that is true anymore.”

“I can say one thing that is…” Jenna smiled.

“What’s that?” JC wondered.

“A certain rumor… We discussed it, I said Lance had it wrong…”

“Now I get it,” Kelly smiled at Jenna.  “Lucky duck.”

“And now this is awkward,” JC blushed, turning 5 shades of red.  

“Be shy all you want, I’m not ashamed of my man.  I’d be bragging even if you weren’t a celebrity.”

“Thanks… I think.  For both thinking I’m a celebrity and for, well… I’m not sure how to put it?”

“Satisfying your woman sexually?  Most women can’t say about half the men they date…” Kelly laughed.

“Steve tried, he really did.  Given that he’d gone to a private religious school or got pulled from public school the days they did stuff about sex… It’s no wonder he had no clue what to do.  That and he said his dad literally told him ‘Tab A into Slot B’.  When he finally took a general ed class in college, he was like ‘it’s a flux capacitor!’”

JC choked on his breath at Jenna's last comment.  “Can’t say I’ve ever thought of it that way.  Not that I THINK about your… stuff.  Fuck, is it awkward in here or is it just me?”

“Just you.  For a man that writes such horny songs, you don’t like talking about it,” Kelly teased.

“Not in front of other people, no.  Between just me and whoever I’m with, sure.”

“You don’t tell your guy friends about things you and girlfriends do?”

“Not anymore, no.  Back in the day, yeah…  Now, it’s sort of implied.  You girls talk about that kind of thing?”

“Yeah. I mean, I don’t have to…”

“Hey, that’s not fair!” Kelly objected.  “So I can tell you about guys I’m with but I don’t get to hear about JC?!”

Jenna gave her a look.  

“Just don’t talk about it in front of me, ok?” JC laughed awkwardly.

“ So, you don’t mind me moving in with Josh?” Jenna looked at Kelly, who was smiling at her .

“No. I encourage it. It’s about time you did something for you. I want you to be happy, Jenna. And this guy makes you happy,” Kelly said, smiling at the two of them. 

“Yes, he definitely does." Jenna smiled up at JC. “ Very happy.”

“Then it’s settled. You’re going home with me tomorrow,” he grinned. “That makes me very happy.”

"I just hope I get to go home,” Jenna said, putting her hand up to her head, “My head is beginning to hurt again.” Kelly put on the call light, and her nurse appeared. 

“Can I get something for pain?” she asked the nurse. “My head is beginning to hurt.”

“Sure , I’ll be right back," the nurse said, leaving for a moment and coming back with  a plastic cup with pills in it. 

Jenna took the meds, and laid back down on the bed. After the nurse left the room, she looked up at JC and said, "I’m gonna take a nap.” 

JC kissed her on the lips, and covered her up with the blankets. 

“OK. We’re gonna go get some breakfast,” he said,  and they left the room quietly.