"That was scary," Justin admitted once they had disappeared up the stairs. "I hope that nothing's wrong."
"Me too," everyone said softly.
Late that night, Chris crept into Lori's room. He couldn't sleep. The only thing that was on his mind was Lori. Maybe if he were holding her in his arms he could get to sleep.
Lori was sleeping so soundly that she didn't even feel Chris climb into bed with her. He took her in his arms and closed his eyes. 'Yup,' he thought. 'It is definitely gonna be easier to sleep here.
Lori woke up to find two strong arms around her. She didn't even need to open her eyes to know that it was Chris. She snuggled deeper into his embrace and fell back to sleep.
Lori's alarm clock went off at seven thirty. She jumped and then reached over Chris to hit the off button.
She was gonna get up to take a shower, but when he felt her moving away he groaned and pulled her back down. "Stay here," he mumbled into her hair.
"Chris, I have to take a shower. I wanna get in there before Justin claims it. He always takes FOREVER!"
Chris chuckled but he still held on to her tight.
"Why can you never let go of me?" she asked, turning around to face him.
"Because I love you," he answered.
She gave him a soft kiss. "Let me up. You can have me all day after I take a shower. okay?"
Chris sighed. "All right..." He loosened his grasp but still held onto her.
"Chris!"
"Okay, okay!" He finally let go.
She kissed his forehead and then got up. She grabbed some clothes from her dresser before making her way to the bathroom.
When she was gone, Chris grinned. She was his. Finally he had her.
Lori stepped out of the bathroom and walked over to JC's room. She tapped his shoulder and he opened his big crystal blue eyes.
"How are you feeling?" she asked.
"Better than yesterday," he answered.
"Good. It's almost eight. You should get ready." She left JC and went back to her room to find Chris already dressed and sitting on the bed waiting for her.
"Do I have you all to myself yet?" he asked, letting his hands wander over her body.
"Chris... I never knew you to be so... so..." Lori paused, searching for the right word.
"So what?"
She gave up on looking for the word and decided to try and explain. "So... with your hands like that..."
He looked at her and removed his hands from her. "I'm sorry," he blushed. Feeling like an idiot, he moved away.
Lori grabbed his collar and smiled as she pulled him back to her. She hated to see him uncomfortable. "Don't be sorry," she whispered. "You can touch me all you want." She kissed the tip of his nose and he smiled.
"I love you," he told her for the second time that morning. "Do I have you all to myself yet?" he asked again.
"I love you too, but I'm gonna go help Lance make breakfast now." She saw the disappointment in his face and added, "Do you wanna come with me?"
"Yes," he answered, pulling her to himself and holding her in his arms. "But I'm not gonna let you go until I get my kiss!"
Lori grinned. "You want your kiss?" She jumped out of his arms and ran over to the door. "Come and get it!"
Chris leapt from the bed and chased her down the stairs. When they ran into the kitchen he cornered her on the other side of the table and gave her a wicked grin. "You know that you're not getting away... don't you?"
"We'll see..." Lori grinned back. She attempted to get away but he made a move for her. When she turned to go the other way around the table he turned and met her. They chased each other around the table until she collapsed laughing in his arms.
Lance flipped over a pancake and chuckled. "You two are just like little kids!" When neither Chris or Lori said anything, he turned to look at them They were no longer running around the table. Chris was sitting on a chair with Lori on his lap. Lance sighed as he went back to the stove.
Lori kissed his lips and she felt his tongue move into her mouth. She grabbed his shirt and pulled herself closer to his body. They kissed until Lori pulled away, leaving Chris wanting more. "There's your kiss," she smiled.
"I want you," Chris whispered softly so that Lance wouldn't hear.
Before Lori could respond, Joey and Justin walked into the kitchen and dived at the plate of pancakes that Lance had just set on the table.
"Way to go, Lance!" Joey exclaimed as he poured syrup over a stack of pancakes.
"Vewy goob," Justin said with his mouth full.
"Thanks," Lance said proudly. "Where's JC?"
"He's coming."
"Good."
Lori slipped off of Chris' lap and took Lance's place so he could eat while she made the next batch. "Chris, will you go and check on JC?"
"Sure," he got up, gave her a quick kiss and then headed for JC's room. Chris was about to knock on the door when JC opened it and it hit him right in the face. "Ow!" he cried, holding his nose.
"Oh my God, Chris! I didn't know you were standing there!"
Chris took his hand away from his face and looked at the blood on his hand. "Oh, God... I think my nose is broken..."
"I'm so sorry, Chris! I feel awful!" JC grabbed some tissues from his dresser and handed them to Chris.
Chris wiped off his hand and then put the tissues to his nose. "Well, at least we're going to the doctor today," he chuckled and then cringed. "Ouch..."
JC led Chris downstairs. Everyone dropped their forks and stared. "What happened to you?" Justin asked.
"Well," JC started. "I kinda opened the door in his face..."
Lori gasped, "Oh my God!" She ran over to Chris, took the tissues from him and began to dab at his nose gently. "Sit down, Sweetie."
Soon, Chris' nose had stopped bleeding, but now it was black and blue. "How long is this bruise gonna be here?" he asked Lori as she kissed his cheek.
"I don't know, but we better get to the doctor. JC's appointment is in twenty minutes."
After eating quickly, Chris, JC, Lori and Lance piled into the car and headed for the doctor.
"Ow! Watch those bumps, Lance!" Chris called from the back seat as his hand flew to his nose.
"Sorry..." Lance said, turning onto the freeway.
"Oh, God," Chris said, examining his hand. "I'm starting to bleed again..."
"Oh, no," Lori dug into her purse, took out a tissue for Chris' hand and then held another one to his nose.
JC turned around from the passenger seat. "I'm really sorry, Chris. I didn't know you were behind the door."
"It's okay. It wasn't your fault," Chris said as Lori lifted the tissue to look at his nose.
"Ouch..." she commented on it. "That looks like it hurts."
"That's because it does!" Chris told her.
Soon, Lance was parking in the ramp and they walked inside the large building. Lori and Lance waited while Chris and JC went into a back room.
Chris looked over at JC. His face was white. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah," JC responded. "I'm just a little nervous. What if something's really wrong with me?"
"I'm sure you'll be fine, JC. You were probably just over tired last night," Chris told him. "You'll be fine," he repeated.
"I hope you're right," JC said softly as he looked down at his feet.
Chris smiled. "I KNOW I'm right."
JC smiled back at him. Chris was always so positive about everything. It made JC feel better knowing that Chris had faith.
The nurse walked in, took one look at Chris and rushed over to him. "Ouch! What happened?"
"He walked into a door!" JC giggled.
Chris frowned. "More like you hit me with the door..."
"I was kidding, Chris..."
The nurse tilted Chris' chin up and looked at his nose carefully. "That looks like it's broken."
"It FEELS like it's broken!"
The nurse turned her attention to JC. "So, you must be the one who fainted."
JC's smile disappeared. "Yeah."
"I want to give you a stress test. It will tell us if you have the recently discovered genetic disorder 'long QP syndrome'. We just need to look at your heart rate and it will tell us if you have it or not. One of the symptoms is fainting and we need to make sure that you don't have it before we jump to conclusions."
Both JC and Chris looked at her with wide eyes.
She saw their expressions and added, 'This disorder isn't serious if it's treated."
Chris relaxed a little, but JC still looked scared out of his mind. Chris put his hand on his friend's shoulder. "Don't worry, JC."
"How can I not?"
Chris couldn't think of anything to say. To tell the truth, he'd be scared too if he were in JC's shoes.
The doctor walked in and greeted them. JC went with the nurse to another room while the doctor fixed up Chris' nose.
"What exactly is this 'stress test'?" JC asked as he looked at a machine that looked like a treadmill.
The nurse walked over to some wires and held them up. "We just attach these to you and you run on the that." She pointed to the machine and then continued, "While we monitor your heart rate."
"That's all?" he wondered.
"That's all," she assured him. "Now unbutton your shirt so I can attach these." She put two of the wires on his chest and one on his wrist.
JC poked at the padding that held the wires in place and wondered if they would hurt to be pulled off. 'Probably,' he decided.
After the test was over, JC sat in a chair while the nurse and the doctor examined a piece of paper which showed his EKG line.
The doctor picked up the paper. "I'll be back in a little bit," he told JC. The nurse followed and they left JC alone with his thoughts. He didn't think that he had ever been this scared in his life. What was this disorder that they thought he had? He wished that they would have explained it to him better before they gave him the test. Where was Chris? Was he in the waiting room with Lori and Lance? Probably. He's probably already got a bandage on his nose and all.
JC was really nervous by the time the doctor returned... this time without the nurse. He sat down opposite of JC and looked at him, making JC even more nervous.
"Well, Mr. Chasez. I've got something to tell you."
JC's muscles tightened as he waited to hear what the doctor had to say.
"Well, your EKG line showed that you do have long QP syndrome."
JC sucked in his breath. This wasn't happening. This couldn't be happening!
The doctor saw the look on his face and then said, "What that means is that the Q part and the P part of your heart beat is too far apart. That tells us that you have an irregular heart beat and-"
JC suddenly became aware of his heart beating in his chest. It didn't sound irregular to him.
"-this disorder CAN be fatal if not treated. However all we need to do is give you the right medication and you should be fine," the doctor finished.
JC let his breath out. This wasn't that bad. The doctor himself had said that he would be fine. Now he just had to tell everyone...
Chris walked back into the waiting room and sat down next to Lori.
"What did they say about your nose?" Lori asked as she touched the bandage on his nose.
"It's broken," he sighed. "But it should heal pretty fast."
"Well, that's good," Lance commented. "What about JC?"
"They took him to another room to run a test or something. I think he'll be fine. I mean, what could be wrong with him? He's been just fine until last night. Trust me. It can't be anything serious. I just KNOW it."
"Whoa, Chris, you sound really positive," Lance told him.
"That's 'cause I am positive," Chris replied. Suddenly he looked down and sniffed. "But what if he's NOT okay... then what are we gonna do?"
Lori put her arms around him. "He'll be fine, Chris. Don't worry."
Just then, JC walked into the room with a slip of paper in his hand. Lori, Lance and Chris all stood up and walked over to him.
"Are you all right?"
"What did the doctor say?"
"What is that paper in your hand?"
JC gave a small chuckle. "Can we talk about this when we get home?" he asked them.
"Sure," they replied in unison.
On the drive home it was beginning to rain. JC looked up at the sky and saw a huge gray cloud. "I guess it's gonna storm," he commented.
Lance pulled into the driveway and they saw Joey and Justin in the doorway. Justin was yelling something. "Come on, you guys! Get in the house before it starts to pour!"
All four of them raced inside. They came face to face with a strange woman. "Hi!" she smiled.
"Hi... Who are you?" Chris asked.
"Oh! I was in the neighborhood and I saw the storm coming so I decided to stop by and say hi to Justin here," she explained.
"How do you know Justin?" JC wondered.
"I used to baby sit him when he was younger."
Chris grinned. "Aww... Little Justy and his baby sitter!" he said as Lori grabbed his arm and whispered something in his ear.
"Shut up, Chris, "Justin frowned. "I wouldn't be talking with that nose of yours..."
"I was kidding, Justin."
"Anyway, this is Kelly," Justin told everyone.
They all said, hi and introduced themselves.
"So, what happened at the doctor?" Justin asked JC.
"Okay, everyone sit down and I'll tell you what the doctor told me." JC looked around at his friends' worried faces. Once they had sat down he repeated what the doctor said.
"Well, thank God you're gonna be okay!" Chris gasped when he had finished. "You had me worried sick!"
JC smiled at Chris. "You were the one telling me that you knew I was gonna be okay and not to worry."
"Well, I had to be brave for you," Chris explained to JC as he put his arm around Lori's shoulder. "I didn't want you to be any more nervous than you already were."
"Thanks, Chris. You really did make me feel better."
Chris smiled proudly. "It was no problem. I was just doing my job."
Lori giggled. "You are SO funny... you know that, don't you?"
"I know!" he replied as he kissed her.
"So all you have to do is take a pill when you wake up and another one when you go to bed?" Joey asked.
"Right," JC said as the phone rang and interrupted their conversation.
Lance picked it up and said, hello. A confused look spread over his face as he looked at Kelly and then handed her the phone. "It's for you."
Lori looked at Chris. "Why would someone be calling her at our house?" she whispered.
Suddenly, Kelly started to cry and everyone looked over at her. "Oh my God! No!"
"What's wrong?" Justin asked her.
Kelly ignored him and continued to listen. "Okay," she said as tears ran down her cheeks. "Okay. Bye." Kelly fell onto the couch in tears.
Joey happened to already be sitting there. "It's okay, Kelly he said, trying to calm her.
"No, it's not!" she cried. "My sister is alone at the mall and she doesn't have a ride! She's STUCK out there in this storm!"
Without thinking Joey said, "I'll pick her up."
Everyone looked at Joey like he was nuts. "You have GOT to be kidding..." JC said, the first one to find his voice.
"Come on JC... even YOU can't leave a girl out there all alone in the storm!" Joey argued.
JC looked down at his feet.
"But, Joey," Lori started. "Have you looked out the window? You'll never make it!"
"I'm going and that's that." Joey said, frowning at them.
"Thank you so much," Kelly said as she wrapped her arms around Joey's neck. "I really owe you."
"Well, Joey can't go all by himself," Justin pointed out.
"I'll go with him," Chris volunteered.
"What?" Lori's eyes widened. "Please, Chris... don't go! Stay here with me!" She buried her head in his chest and held on to him tight, afraid he would leave her if she didn't hold on.
Chapter 5
A Chance
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