::Chapter 9::

"Humility is a virtue, and it is a virtue innate in guests."

-Max Beerbohm

"Rise and shine," came Leanna's all-too-cheery voice.

Mira let out a long whine and pulled her pillow down heavily on her face, willing the pounding in her head to cease. It didn't, of course, serving as a painful reminder of her evening the night before, as though the pink gown she had fallen asleep in hadn't done the job for her already.

"Come on, Mir, get up!" called Leanna, rummaging through Mira's closet. "I'm leaving in twenty minutes! Have you seen my black shoes?"

"Wha-?" mumbled Mira, propping herself up on her elbows. "Where?"

"Los Angeles," said Leanna, rolling her eyes. "Did you forget? I have that conference down south for MBA students," she said, her voice muffled by the walls of the closet she was currently sticking her head in. "Here they are!" she cried, waving the shoes triumphantly over her head. With that, Leanna ran out of the bedroom.

Mira scowled and slowly sat up. She grabbed her head to keep it from rolling off; at least it felt like it, anyway. Steadying herself with the bedpost, Mira slowly made her way to the door, after which she slowly inched her way to the kitchen. The thought of food made her stomach churn, but the thought of a cup of coffee to ease the throbbing seemed most appropriate at the moment.

She was passing down the hall past the den when she realized JC was sitting at her piano, tinkering away at a few notes. "Hey, Lea, I-" he began. He stopped when he spotted Mira, not Leanna, standing in the entryway.

"What are you doing here?" asked Mira.

"I'm taking Leanna to the airport. Nice dress," said JC smugly. "Do you always dress up for breakfast?"

"Bite me," she said flatly, continuing on her path to the kitchen. She served herself a cup of coffee and eagerly sipped the dark liquid. Feeling slightly more lucid than before, she returned down the hall, stopping in the doorway of the den.

"Did a reporter get me drunk?" she asked.

JC simply nodded. Mira nodded in contemplation.

"I had no idea he was a reporter," said Mira softly, mostly to herself, but making the mistake of saying it a little too loudly. "I thought it was weird that he should be asking me so much about my boyfriend."

"You should keep an eye out," said JC. "You're dating Justin now."

"I didn't think about the catch," said Mira softly.

"Are you saying you can't hack it?" he said, arching an eyebrow.

Mira matched his look, crossing her arms over her chest. "Excuse me?"

"Are you saying you can't handle dating a guy like Justin?" asked JC.

"I never said that," said Mira.

"You need to be more careful," said JC, staring at her intently. "Who knows what else you told him."

"How was I supposed to know?" demanded Mira. "I'm not used to dealing with undercover reporters!"

"Did you think that dating Justin would be like dating any other, normal guy?" said JC.

Mira paused. "Yes, actually."

"Learn to think ahead, next time," said JC.

Mira glared evenly at JC for a moment before spinning around and heading back down the hall. She, of course, nearly fell the second she steadied herself, as any quick movements while nursing a sensitive hangover wasn't too bright of an idea. The room was already spinning; why help it along?

Mira bumped into Leanna in the hall. "I'm going to go take a shower," said Mira, hugging her friend. "Have a safe trip."

"I will," said Leanna with a smile. "Be good."

Mira smiled and continued on her way to the bathroom when Leanna called her name. "Yes?" she asked, turning around.

"Just letting you know, I gave JC a house key," she explained.

"What? Why?" cried Mira.

"Because I want my plants to be alive when I get home next week," said Leanna. "He's going to be watering them while I'm gone."

Mira rolled her eyes. "I could do it. You didn't have to give him a key."

Leanna's eyebrow raised. "Wilbur the goldfish. Need I say more?"

"He was an anorexic fish," said Mira defensively. "Why give him food?"

"Bye Mira," said Leanna with a giggle, ending the conversation.

Mira continued her path into the bathroom, where she steadied her stance by leaning her hand against the doorframe. She closed the door behind her and flipped on the CD player she kept sitting on the counter. The opening strains of Dana Glover's "Maybe" flooded the small bathroom. Mira softly began humming along with the familiar words as she turned on the faucet and began peeling off the pale pink gown she still wore. She stepped into the shower and sighed contentedly as the soothingly warm waves of water washed over her, bring her tired body to life.

Her mind ran back to the night before, digging up the strange events that had occurred. They were blurry, of course, as for most of it she had been either drunk or passed out, but she still managed to remember the key events. She'd gotten drunk and answered a few questions she probably shouldn't have. JC rescued her and was to take her home. That's where her memories ended, minus the vague image in her mind of JC standing over her bed, which was strange, in and of itself.

Fifteen minutes later, Mira turned the handle of the faucet, letting the water slow to a stop. She stepped out of the shower, belting along to the tune of Dana Glover's "The Way", the song which always managed to cheer her up. By the time she opened the bathroom door, she was taking advantage of the supposedly empty house and walked out, her blue towel wrapped firmly around her body, singing at the top of her lungs.

"Is anybody feeling what I'm feeling on the radio?" she sang, making her way to her bedroom. She froze in mid lyric in the middle of the hallway, spotting JC standing at the end, his eyes wide as he openly stared at Mira.

No one said anything for a moment, as they were both too shocked to say anything. Footsteps could be heard further in the room, and suddenly Justin appeared behind JC. His eyes grew wide, and the grin on his face was huge. "Lookin' good, Mir," he said with a grin.

That was all Mira needed to hear to tear her out of her stupor and rush into her bedroom, slamming the door behind her. "What are you doing here?" she called through the closed door.

"I came to see my girlfriend," called Justin innocently. "Now can I come in there?" he asked playfully.

Mira rolled her eyes. "Not a chance, Timberlake. Next!"

There was a pause. "Next what?"

"What's Chasez still doing here? Hasn't Leanna left already?" called Mira.

Yet another pause. "What are you doing here, man?" asked Justin.

"Leanna decided to take a cab to the airport. She said that she hates airport good-byes. " said JC. "Besides, she was meeting Mike there."

"He said-" began Justin.

"I caught it, sweetie, thank you," said Mira. "Now can you boys move out of the hallway so I can get dressed? Its kind of weird changing with you guys standing out there.

"Oh fine," whined Justin, his voice and footsteps fading down the hallway. Mira quickly changed into a pair of sweatpants and a UC Berkeley T-shirt and pulled her wet, wavy hair up into a ponytail. She left her room, making her way down the hall, moving hesitantly, feeling slightly embarrassed at the condition JC and Justin had seen her in.

Justin sat on the couch in the den beside JC. He grinned widely as Mira turned the corner. "You didn't have to change, you know," he teased.

Mira rolled her eyes. "I'm going to get myself some breakfast. Do you want anything?"

"No thanks, I'm good," said Justin with a shake of his head.

"Famous last words," she teased as she left the two watching TV as she made her way across the linoleum floor into the kitchen. She reached into the breadbox and pulled out a bag of blueberry bagels; one of which she promptly pulled out. She began rummaging through the drawers for a sufficiently sharp knife to keep the bagel from crushing underneath the pressure. As she did that, she heard the sound of footsteps behind her. "I thought you said you didn't want anything," she said, turning her head. She stopped, the knife she held in her hand frozen in the air, as she spotted not Justin, but JC standing behind her.

He glanced at the knife skeptically and moved past her to the sink, a watering can in his hand. "I didn't think you'd resort to violence," he said nonchalantly. "It's just breakfast."

"What are you doing in here?" she snapped.

JC stared at her incredulously and held up the watering can. "Baking a cake. What does it look like I'm doing?"

Mira rolled her eyes, sighing dismissively, and returned to her bagel. She lifted the knife and easily cut through the dough, ending with a sudden, searing pain shooting from Mira's hand. She gasped and dropped the knife and bagel halves onto the wooden countertop. She held her hand tenderly, wincing in pain, whimpering softly. "Ow, ow, ow," she whispered, tears beginning to roll down her cheeks.

"What are you whining about?" sneered JC, pressing down on the faucet handle, ending the noisy stream of water into the can. He turned around, surprised to see Mira's eyes squeezed shut, her bottom lip trembling. "Mira?"

Mira slowly opened her clenched fist, revealing the deep red coloration of the blood smeared over her hand, dripping from a sliced open wound along the top of her palm.

"Come here," said JC, gingerly grabbing her wrist and leading her to the sink, where he lifted the faucet handle, letting a small trickle of warm water drip over the wound. Mira immediately jerked her hand back, but JC softly and tenderly kept her hand in place.

"JC... it hurts," she whispered, tugging at her hand.

"Almost done," said JC in a low soothing voice. He ran his fingers over her palm, surrounding the cut, to help in washing off the blood. He turned off the faucet and let go of her wrist, only to tear a paper towel from the dispenser beside him. Rolling it into a small tube, he handed it to her, instructing her to hold it and to clench her fist. Mira did, wincing at the sharp pain radiating from the wound. JC left the kitchen, returning a moment later with a box of Band-Aids. Pulling one out of the box, he carefully pulled the tabs off the self-adhering bandage and placed it over the wound.

Mira looked up, watching JC as he watched the bandage intently, gently pressing it against her skin. "How did you know where the Band-Aids were?" she whispered.

JC's eyebrow raised in amusement. He looked momentarily away from the wound to Mira's eyes and returned his gaze to her hand. "Leanna... she's a little..."

"Klutzy," stated Mira with a nod.

"Gracefully impaired," said JC, letting go of her hand. "I've needed the Band-Aids on hand on a few occasions," he said with a shrug.

"Oh," said Mira. They paused, letting the awkward silence speak volumes. "Thanks," she said finally.

"You're welcome," said JC with a small smile. "You should be more careful," he said, echoing the same words he'd said earlier, only this time with a much more gentle and kind meaning.

"I don't mean just for this," said Mira. "For last night too. I don't remember much, but I remember what you did for me."

"Oh... that," said JC. "You're welcome," he said after a pause.

The pair paused for another moment, the silence resounding in their ears.

"Since when does breakfast take so long to make?" came Justin's voice from outside the kitchen. JC turned back to the watering can in the sink while Mira stood in place. Justin walked in through the entryway, the wide, teasing grin on his face fading instantly as he spotted the remnants of tears on Mira's cheeks.

"What happened?" he asked, rushing towards her and rubbing her arms.

"Nothing much," said Mira softly. She held out her palm. "I just had a little accident. JC got me a Band-Aid."

"Does it still hurt?" asked Justin, looking carefully at the Band-Aid. "Do you need stitches? Because I can take you-"

"Justin," said Mira. "I'm fine. Really."

"Are you sure? Because-"

Mira placed her uninjured hand over his mouth. "I'm sure. If you don't stop, you'll be the one hurt, here."

"That's the Mira I know and love." Justin grinned. "Now don't you worry... I'm going to take good care of you now," he said, gathering the bagel halves that lay on the counter.

Mira giggled. JC abruptly slammed the watering can against the side of the sink. "Sorry," he muttered, leaving the kitchen.

Few Days Later...

"Hiya Pete," said Mira, waving to a tall man as she walked towards the science building.

"Mira," he nodded, holding open the door for her.

"Such the gentleman," she teased. "Thank you."

"Getting a late start today, huh?" he asked, holding the door open a moment longer.

"Shh," she said, pressing her finger to her lips. "Don't tell."

Pete chuckled lightly and said goodbye to Mira. She made her way into the building and through the familiar corridors and stairwells down to the basement where her office was located. She began digging through her purse as she walked, fishing out her keys. She finally found them, after digging through the black hole that was her purse, but it was pointless. The door to her office sat wide open. Mira's brow creased in confusion. Her pace slowed and she carefully turned into her office.

Papers were strewn everywhere. The contents of the drawers of her desk were dumped on the ground. Everything that had sat on top of her desk now lay on the floor. Mira covered her mouth with her hands in shock. Her office had been ransacked.

Not knowing what else to do, she took off, running up the stairs, two steps at a time, finally reaching the second floor where she rushed down the hall towards Dr. Cohen's office.

"Mira?" came a voice.

Mira froze and quickly realized that JC stood in front of her, regarding her curiously. "Are you okay?"

"Not really," she said with a shake of her head. "What are you doing here?"

"Leanna called and sent me to give you this," said JC bitterly, holding out a brown paper sack, inside of which contained the lunch that Mira had accidentally left at home. Leanna, being worried about Mira's eating habits in her absence, had gone through the trouble of making lunches for Mira for the weekdays. Mira sighed at the thought. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," said Mira shortly. "Thank you for the lunch. I've got to go now," she said, running her hand through her hair.

"Listen Mir... talk to me," said JC, grabbing her arm. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong," said Mira, tearing her arm out of his grip. "I don't need to spill all my problems to you all the time, you know."

"I never-" began JC.

"Look, just do me a favor and have Justin call me," said Mira with a shrug. She was too nervous and worried to even think about the effect of her words at the moment.

JC's face hardened. "Fine," he said flatly.

"I've got to go," said Mira, jogging off down the hallway, leaving JC standing in place, staring after Mira's retreating form. Mira turned a familiar corner and sped into the corner office where she'd spent hours of her time.

"Dr. Cohen! I-"

She froze when she spotted Dr. Cohen standing in the middle of the room talking with two uniformed police officers. Surrounding them was a scene similar to Mira's office. Everything was lying on the ground in a mess. Papers were crumpled and tossed everywhere. Pencils and pens, which had previously sat so neatly on Dr. Cohen's desk, now lay in broken pieces all around the room on the ground. Even the small crystal vase that Dr. Cohen kept with fresh flowers sitting on his desk, refilled faithfully by Dr. Cohen's wife daily, now lay in broken shards around the room.

"Dr. Cohen," gasped Mira.

"Hello Mira," said Dr. Cohen, tearing his attention from the two police officers. The tired, saddened stare in his normally cheerful eyes was enough to break Mira's heart right then and there. "What a fine way to start a morning, am I right?" he said with a sigh.

"They ransacked my office too," said Mira.

The police officer looked up from his small notebook. "Your office too?"

Mira nodded. "I just found it." Mira quickly gave the officer directions and he left to investigate. "Who would do this?" asked Mira.

"I don't know," said Dr. Cohen with a saddened sigh. "I just don't know."

Mira paused, watching Dr. Cohen as he made his way to a chair, where he sat himself down and sighed sadly. Suddenly Mira gasped. "What about the Rayonex research?" she asked.

"No need to worry about that," said Dr. Cohen with a shake of his head. "I already sent it to FDA for further testing, along with your research, Mira." Mira let out a sigh and ran her hands through her hair, slowly beginning to pace the room. She leaned down and picked up a large piece of crystal remaining from his wife's favorite vase.

"Mira!" came the calling outside. Suddenly Justin ran in, panting. "Are you okay? JC called me and I saw your office and they told me you were up here and are you hurt? Did you see anyone? What happened?" he asked, all in one breath.

"Justin, relax," said Mira assuredly. "I'm fine. I just stumbled on my office in shambles this morning."

"Are you sure you're ok?" asked Justin, quickly looking her over. "Was anyone there? Did you see anything?"

"No, Justin, I didn't," said Mira with a shake of her head. "Justin, I'd like you to meet Dr. Cohen," she said, motioning to the elderly man. "Dr. Cohen, this is my boyfriend Justin."

Justin took a step forward and shook Dr. Cohen's outstretched hand. "Nice to meet you."

"It's a pleasure," said Dr. Cohen. "I'm sorry, Justin, to meet you on a day such as this. I'm afraid I'm not in the best spirit."

"That's completely understandable," said Justin with a nod. "I'll just have to make sure to meet you again on another, less stressful day," he said with a small smile.

Dr. Cohen nodded and smiled. "Mira, you had better make a dash back downstairs. The police would probably like to speak to you regarding your office."

"You're right," said Mira with a nod. "I'll see you in a bit."

With a small wave, Mira left the office, Justin close behind her. The moment Mira stepped out of the office, she paused in the middle of the empty corridor, looking down at the ground.

"Are you ok?" asked Justin, stepping towards her and running his hands down the length of her arms.

Mira looked up at him, tears running down her cheeks. She slowly shook her head. "No," she whispered.

Justin immediately wrapped his arms around her and enveloped her in a hug, kissing her forehead lightly and rubbing her back soothingly. Mira took comfort in his embrace, but couldn't help but feel guilt at the way she'd treated JC earlier.

'Oh well' she decided. 'It's not like he really cares anyway.'

Chapter 10