All of my heart I do
Blood through my veins for you
You alone have all of me."
~ Lyrics from RAPUNZEL by David J Matthews
Keely fell asleep after only eating half of the sandwich the hospital had given her. It was a struggle for her to eat even that much.
"What's on your mind, son?"
"If this surgery tomorrow doesn't get rid of everything, she'll have to start with chemo. That could take months and we're supposed to start recording soon. I won't be able to concentrate knowing she'll have to go through that."
"I can't tell you what to do, Josh. You're the only one who can decide." JC reached out to lightly rub Keely's arm.
"I can't lose her, Ma. But if it comes down to that, I need to be there with her."
"She's a fighter, Josh. Look what she went through with Andrew every night, yet she still made the love story believeable. He insulted her talent every chance he got, and she put it all aside and was able to get her self a Tony nomination."
"That she did."
*****Flashback*****
It had taken Keely a week to ask JC to be her date. He'd just come off a short tour of Western Europe and the United Kingdom. Neither of them enjoyed being separated only two weeks after they'd admitted their feelings.
"I should have just asked Jacob to be my date, Mom. Where the hell are my shoes," she asked almost dropping the phone.
"Have you checked the top shelf of your closet, Keely?"
"How do you do that?"
"I'm your mother. Now why are you so nervous about being with him for a few hours? You like each other, right?"
"That's the problem, Ma. This is going to be our first real date and I want to look perfect. I don't give a shit about the awards ceremony. Sorry for the language, Ma. I just...he's used to having beautiful women on his arm whenever he has to do a red carpet thing."
"Honey, this is your show tonight. I bet he's even dressing for you, trying to look perfect."
"Mom, I gotta go. He's here. I'm gonna be sick."
"You'll be just fine." Keely hung up the phone and ran down the stairs to open the door. She inhaled sharply when she saw him. It was just a normal tux with a navy blue vest, but on him, she thought it looked so much better.
"J...Josh, you look...wow, um, sorry." Keely smacked her hand to her forehead and blushed. "Please, come in, have a seat. I'm sorry I'm running late."
"I think I'm early actually. I brought this for you," he said taking a single pink rose from behind his back.
"Thank you. I'm just going to change. Make yourself at home," she said taking the flower from him.
Ten minutes later, Keely walked down the stairs wearing a long navy blue sleeveless dress. Her back was completely exposed since she had pulled up her dark hair.
"I just need to grab my wrap and then we can go."
"You look absolutely stunning, Keely." She looked down at the floor as a faint blush stained her cheeks.
"Would you mind if I..."
"What?" JC slowly leaned forward and kissed her for the first time and Keely could have sworn later that sparks flew. It was fleeting and unexpected, but that's what made it the most perfect first kiss of her life. "You really do look beautiful, Keely."
"We should get going, Josh."
"Oh my God, there are so many people," Keely said once the limo pulled up to Radio City.
"Try to ignore that they are there. Just smile and let them get a few nice shots of you."
"I have a feeling they going to want a lot more once they figure out we're here together. Ready to shock people?" The driver opened the door and helped Keely step out of the car. She knew the exact moment JC stepped out of the limo. There was a moment of shocked silence and then everyone was yelling, the flashbulbs almost blinding.
"Just keep smiling, Star," he said gently taking her hand. She turned her head to look up at him and many cameras captured the gesture.
"Do you really want to shock them, Josh?" Keely never gave him time to answer because she didn't want to lose her nerve. She placed her hand on his cheek and brought his mouth down to hers. They felt the same spark as the the first time they'd kissed that night.
"You little vixen."
"I think we've let them see enough. We should get to our seats before everything starts."
*****End Flashback*****
"Ma, can you stay here with her? I uh...I need to talk to the guys."
"Don't be too long. She'll know that you aren't here." JC nodded and walked out to the waiting room.
"Hey, guys, I need to talk to you."
"Sure man, how's Keely?"
"She fell asleep again. They're going to bring her in for surgery early tomorrow morning. I'm staying here tonight cause they made an exception. I...uh, I made a decision with Keely's doctors. I'm taking a leave of absence from the group. I've always needed Keely and now she needs me. If she beats this, then I can say I was there every step of the way. If it kills her, I want to be there to hold her and tell her I love her the moment she takes her last breath. Vik, if Justin can't or doesn't want to take over for me in the studio, Dexter will be more than happy to log some time at the boards. I'm sorry guys, but I can't be part of the group if my head isn't in the game."
"C, if Tara and I had to go through something like this, I'd take a break to be with her. I'm completely behind you."
"We all are." Keely's father walked off the elevator then and spotting the group, jogged over to them.
"Where's my baby?"
"She's sleeping, Gary, but you're more than welcome to go see her. It's the fourth door on the left past the nurses' station."
"Tell me the truth, Josh. Is my babygirl dying?"
"There is a small chance that she could die, but her chance of survival is huge." While JC told her father everything he knew about her condition, Keely woke from a fitful sleep.
"Hush, sweetie, it's okay. He didn't leave you."
"Is it supposed to hurt this much?"
"I don't know, Keely. I'll go find Josh for you and see what they told him while you were sleeping." Keely nodded through tears, just wanting to have him close. She was very surprised to see her father walk in with JC a few minutes later. She could tell he was fighting back tears.
"It's okay to cry, Dad. I've been doing a lot of it." Gary was so afraid to hurt her that it took him a while to go to Keely's bedside.
"I'm so scared, Dad," she whispered as he hugged her tightly.
"You can fight this, Vanessa. I have faith."
"I'm sorry, gentlemen, but visiting hours are over now," a nusre said walking into the room.
"I'll see you tomorrow after you wake up, Little One. Gary hugged her one last time before the nurse took one of Keely's arms and checked her blood pressure. Twenty minutes and a shot of morphine later, JC and Keely were alone again.
"You know, being in the hospital like this reminds me of our attempted first night together," JC said with a smile. For the moment he was lying behind her on the bed with her body tucked against him.
"Oh yes, our romantic evening in the ER. People must have thought we beat each other."
"I wanted you so badly that night."
*****Flashback*****
A baptism in sweet fire...that's what it felt like every time her lips touched his neck. He cupped her face and kissed her hungrily before pulling away slightly.
"Are you sure you want to do this, Keely?"
"I love you Josh. That's all the assurance I need."
"That's all I was waiting to hear, Star," JC said picking her upto carry her to her room. In his haste, JC tripped over their shoes.
"Oh shit!"
"JC!" In seconds they had gone from romantic gesture to unromantic pile of limbs on the very hard wood flooring of her apartment.
"Josh, get up...you're crushing me here. I think you cracked my skull open." JC tried to push himself off of Keely, but only found that he'd injured his wrist.
"Fuck, I think I broke it," he said still lying on top of her. It was then that the absurdity of the situation hit Keely and she began to laugh. Moments later JC joined her.
"Looks like we're spending some quality time at the hospital tonight. I'll push, you roll and then I can finally breathe freely."
"Try not to use it too much for the next three or four weeks. I'm going to give you some Tylenol 3 for the pain," the resident said as he wrapped JC's wrist in an ace bandage and put his arm in a sling.
"How is your vision," he asked turning to Keely.
"It's doing okay, just a little fuzzy every so often."
"Do you have someone to drive you home?"
"I'm sure Tiny will be here chewing my butt out any time now."
"Where is his scrawny ass and please tell me he didn't break that beautiful woman of his," a deep voice said from the corridor.
"He beat me up, Tiny," Keely joked as the bodyguard walked into the examination cubicle.
"What did he do to you, sweetheart?"
"Tiny! I'm worse off than she is!"
"Hush your mouth. I'm talking to the lady."
"We had an accident. J here picked me up and then tripped over our shoes. I hit my head on the floor and he fell on me. Very sweet of him, don't you think?"
"I messed up my wrist pretty bad, man. They said I almost broke it."
"Come on, let's get you guys back home. It's late and this moron has an appearance to make at eleven."
"Maybe someone was trying to tell us not to have children," Keely whispered as they walked out to the car.
*****End Flashback*****
"What if I was right then, Josh? Maybe we weren't meant to have a family." He propped himself up on an elbow and turned her slightly to see her face.
"Look at me, Keely. This isn't anyone's way of keeping us from anything. We'll handle this the same way we've handled everything else that's been thrown our way. Talk to me, Keely, tell me what you're thinking about that is making you so tense."
"Before Dad came in, I woke up from a nightmare and I only saw your mother in the room. I was trying to sit up and reach you and you walked away from me. I told you that I loved you and needed you here with me and you said that it wasn't worth the effort anymore." She was looking down at her fingers, picking at the blanket.
"Don't think that, Star. I'm with you through this. I'm here for the long haul. I love you and this isn't going to make me walk away. If anything, it makes me want to be even closer to you. Don't you realize that if it were possible, I'd trade places with you so you wouldn't be in pain? I'm going to be right here, Keely, because you're a part of me that I'm not willing to give up yet."
"Could you just hold me, J?" He wrapped his arms around her, kissing the top of her head.
"Tighter, Josh, hold me tighter."
"Always, Star, for always."
