“Oh God.” Lance whispered as he covered his mouth with his hand and glanced sideways at Stasia, who had not uttered one word since Lyn started talking, well over an hour ago. He knew the explosion was coming.
Stasia’s eyes were completely black. She took a long deep breath and the closed her eyes tightly, “WHAT do you MEAN video tape?”
Lyn was looking at her hands, “Powers told Johnny that he has a video tape of Reagan and I...being intimate.”
Stasia stood up, threw a file across the room, paper floated down as she screamed, “SON OF A BITCH!” She stormed out of the room, slamming the door so hard that it bounced against the frame and flew back open.
Lance ran both hands through his hair and sighed, “She’s upset.”
“I feel horrible.” Lyn’s voice was small.
“Why? You have nothing to feel bad about. She angry because she knows exactly how it feels to have someone...expose THAT part of your life.” Lance shook his head and closed his eyes.
Lyn looked up, “What do you mean?”
“John Black took pictures...of us...and mailed them to her. She was devastated.”
“Oh God! I didn’t know. I’m so sorry.”
“Not something we wanted to make public.” Lance answered as Stasia stomped by the open door pulling her hair up into a ponytail on her way by. They heard the front door open with a thud. He glanced out the window and watched her take off running. “And this is why she keeps running clothes....everywhere.”
“Is she going to be ok?” Lyn was frightened.
“She’ll be better when she get’s back. Running clears her head and help her feel less frustration. She is working on thinking things through completely before she reacts.” He let his head fall back against the back of his chair, “So Johnny has been paying these two for a while.”
“Yeah. I guess so.”
“Wow. This explains so much. How did I get so stupid? I should have known that Johnny didn’t actually change over night. What did he have to say when you talked to him?”
“I haven’t had a chance to talk to him yet. We came here straight from Ireland, I’m going to take a trip out to New York at the end of the week. I need to be there with my brother-in-law anyway, so it all works out well.”
“You haven’t talked to Johnny yet?” Lance looked surprised.
“No.”
“Do you mind if Stasia and I go up with you?”
“I don’t mind at all, but I really would like to talk to Johnny by myself.”
“I can understand that.” Lance nodded slowly.
“I can’t believe how much trouble I have caused.”
“Lyn, you haven’t caused any trouble. Powers and Regan and their freak vendetta caused all of the trouble. None of it is your fault, you are a victim here, and believe me I know what it’s like to see someone I care about go through something like this. I just wish our experience could have helped you avoid this. I wish we all would have learned something. Damn.” He shook his head again.
“I think we all DID learn, but this is completely different. Stasia’s stalker was hidden. We never knew what was going to happen next. I KNOW Regan and Powers, I KNOW how bad this is going to get.” Lyn rubbed her forehead, “I know that it is very likely I’m going to lose this battle, because I refuse to create more drama.”
“You’re not going to lose anything. You haven’t created any drama.” Lance leaned his elbows on the table, “Lyn, as your friend, I refuse to let you give up.”
“Lance, what would it do to JC’s life if a tape of me...and Reagan got out? What would that do to all of you? I can’ risk hurting all of you. I WILL NOT let this hurt JC.”
Lance locked eyes with her, “You’re NOT giving up. JC won’t stand for it, Stasia won’t stand for it, and I sure as hell won’t stand for it. They tried to destroy your life, and none of us are going to let that happen.”
“Lance...”
“Don’t ‘Lance’ me. I’m serious. You have fought this long. You filed the law suit, you got through everything with JC, you’ve settled into this job and excelled. Lyn, you have NOTHING to be ashamed of, and I swear YOU WILL WIN!”
Lyn started to look away and Lance put a finger under her chin and turned her face back to his, “You are my best friend’s girlfriend. You are my employee. Most importantly, you are my friend. You deserve to have your name cleared and to be able to feel as if you can go on with your life without worrying that this will surface again in the future because it was never properly resolved. Lyn, you know you want to.” He narrowed his eyes.
“Lance...”
“You KNOW you want to.”
She smirked, “Lance...”
“YOU KNOW YOU WANT TO GET THEM! COME ON LYN! WE’RE GOING TO SQUASH THEM! It’ll be fun. Tell me you don’t want to watch them squirm.”
“Well...I wouldn’t mind a little squirming.”
“Come on. Are we going to get them?”
She looked out the window and saw Justin and JC walking out of the restaurant across the street. Stasia was bouncing back down the street toward them. Lance was sitting across the table from her, playing cheerleader. She knew all of them would be disappointed in her if she just rolled played dead for Powers and Reagan.
They would never tell her she had disappointed them, but she would be able to see it in their eyes. She felt like she hadn’t fought hard enough when she saw JC with Brenna. She hadn’t thought that whole situation through well enough at the time.
She suddenly realized that she hadn’t taken any interest in her own law suit against Powers. She really didn’t know what was going on at all as far as the suit went.
She looked back at Lance who’s eyes were dancing and then out the window where JC and Justin were laughing and waving at Stasia who was rapidly approaching them. Lyn began nodding her head slowly, “We’re going to get them.” She wasn’t going to let them down, she wasn’t going to let herself down anymore.
“What did you say?” Lance smiled at her.
“We’re going to get them.”
“I can’t hear you.” He laughed.
“You are a dork.”
“Now I heard you that time.”
She stood up and hugged him, “Thank you for being my friend.”
“Thank you for letting me.” He kissed the top of her head.
Lyn looked up at Don, “Getting sick of me yet?”
He threw his arm around her shoulders, “Not at all. You gave me like a month off while you were in Ireland being dark and moody.”
“I wasn’t being dark and moody I was being heartbroken and pitiful!” She stuck her tongue out at him.
“Sorry, my mistake.” He grinned, “You’re making goofy jokes, why are you nervous?”
“I have no idea. I have nothing to be nervous about. Right?”
“Right.” He patted the top of her head.
The elevator stopped and Don took a step forward, “Lyn, they pay me to guard you, not carry you to appointments you don’t want to keep.”
“See, that’s the thing. I don’t exactly have an appointment.”
“Are you going to get us thrown out of here?”
“I hope not.” She swallowed hard, pulled down the hem of her jacket, she put her head up and walked straight down the hall. A young woman dressed in painted jeans and a torn t-shirt stood up and smiled weakly. Lyn smiled, “Is he in?”
“He’s on the phone. He’s not expecting anyone.”
“Yeah. I know.” Lyn grinned and walked toward the door behind the woman.
The woman’s jaw dropped, “What the...”
“She just needs to...chat with him for a second.” Don watched her walk through the door and stood right outside.
The door closed behind her and Lyn crossed her arms over her chest and shifted her weight onto one leg, “Hello Johnny.”
Johnny’s head slowly came up from the paperwork spread out in front of him, “Lyn? What are you doing here?”
“You had to know I’d come.” She walked across the room, resting her hands on one of his client chairs, “Why did you do it?”
“Why did I do what?” He looked surprised.
“Why did you pay Powers off?” She looked directly into his eyes.
“Lyn...I...how...I...”
She held up a hand, “You know what? Don’t tell me yet.” She walked around the chair and sat down, “First, I want to thank you for trying to help me, when you barely even knew me. I realize you did it more for JC, than for me, but I am the one who was ultimately helped, so thank you.”
“As it turns out, I wasn’t much help was I?”
“More than you know.” She crossed her legs.
“Do you want to know why I did it?” She nodded her head slowly, “I did it because I care about YOU. Because you don’t deserve to be treated the way those people were treating you. When he called and said he was going to go public with a bunch of crap that wasn’t true, that we had no way to disprove I knew had had no other choice.”
“Why didn’t you tell me? Or JC?” Lyn didn’t let her gaze falter
“I didn’t want you to worry. I thought I could make them go away. I wanted to clear it up before I told anyone, then it snowballed out of control and I didn’t know what to do.”
“Why the asshole act?”
He smirked, “None of you were asking any questions when you didn’t want to get near me. I had space to move and try to get them to go away.” He shook his head slowly, “Trust me, I never thought I’d be sitting across from you, without all of this being resolved.”
“Neither did I. Honestly, I didn’t think I’d ever be sitting across from JC while he told me that you were paying people to keep them from releasing a videotape of me and my exboyfriend. I didn’t think I would be flying to New York with my bodyguard to talk to you about this. I never thought any of this crap would happen to me, but it has, so now we move forward. I am going to move forward, I am going to fight, and I am going to take them down...with a little help from my friends.”
“So what are we going to do?”
“We?”
“Hey, I’m in this one for the long haul. I chose to get involved, I chose to try to help, and if you’ll have me I still want to.”
“You’ve already done too much, but I would be a fool to not want you on my team.” She reached into her pocket and pulled out a check. She held it out and said, “Thank you.”
“Oh HELL NO! I am not about to take a penny of your money.” He shook his head.
“You have to let me pay you back.”
“I will never even consider it.” He took the check and ripped it into tiny pieces.
“I’ll tell you what. We’ll talk about this at some later date.” She grinned.
“No. We won’t.” He shook his head.
“Are you arguing with me?”
“No. I’m discussing.”
They both turned when the door flew open, “Do any of you knock anymore?”
Stasia shook her head, “Now, do you really think you are in any position to be asking us to have manners you lying, sneaky, dishonest, yelling at everyone, pissing me off, big hearted, caring, overly giving, fool?” She crossed the room and hugged him tightly, “I knew you couldn’t REALLY be an evil bastard.”
“You were completely convinced.” Johnny smiled.
“I was not.” She shook her head hard, “You are a big, huge teddy bear.”
“I am not. I am mean and vicious and you are deathly afraid of me.”
“Am not.” She dropped down on his lap.
Lance rubbed Lyn’s shoulder on his way to the chair next to her, “Millie...Darlin’ Johnny wants people to be afraid of him. The least you could do is cower a little.”
She shook slightly, “How was that?”
“Pitiful, but darn cute.” Lance smiled, “Johnny, my partners and I had a discussion and we could use some more input. Isn’t that right Millie?”
“Mmm hmm. We were thinking you might have some ideas that might be good for our business.”
“That’s sweet guys, but you don’t need me anymore. I’d be happy to consult for you when you need it, but you are up and running and have no need for WEG to be involved anymore.”
“Johnny...” Stasia started.
“No. Seriously, you don’t need me, and I’ve got enough going on. At some point we would have made the split anyway.”
“I wish it would have happened under better circumstances.” Lance nodded.
“It really wasn’t all that bad. You put on quite a show.” Johnny leaned back to get a better view of Stasia’s face, “You would have been so proud. He didn’t back down, just wrote a check and threw my butt out.”
Stasia pushed her hair back, “Yeah I missed out on a lot while I was in school.”
“So you guys have to catch me up on everything I’ve missed.” Johnny smiled.
Lyn laughed, “Well, my exboyfriend is out to get me. Dev and Ryan are married, and having a baby. Morgan is in New Hampshire. JC and I broke-up and got back together...”
“Millie and I are getting married.” Lance grinned and Stasia beamed.
Johnny’s jaw dropped, “WHAT?”
Stasia held out her hand, “Yeah, he was crazy enough to ask, so I said ‘yes’ before he could change his mind.”
Johnny took her hand, “Dear God! You two are going to make it legal?”
“Yes we are.” Lance smirked.
Lyn leaned back in her chair, “Johnny, can I tell you how relieved I am that you don’t really hate me! You DON’T hate me do you?”
They all laughed, “No Lyn, I don’t hate you at all. So what is the plan? We DO have a plan don’t we?”
Stasia’s eyebrows bounced up and down, “Funny you should mention a plan...”
JC was sitting at his soundboard, his long fingers quickly moving dials and pushing sliders up and down, tapping his foot lightly to the music filtering through his headphones. Lyn stood behind him in the doorway watching him silently.
She glanced around the room he loved so much. She was slowing starting to understand what all of the equipment did, but she was not sure that she would ever be able to completely understand how he was able to become so completely lost in all of it. It looked like nothing more than a bunch of doo-dads, computers and wires to her, but knowing how much it meant to him, she was trying hard to find the same excitement in all of it, that he did.
She was amazed by the way he obviously felt the music being piped into his ears. He started swaying gently and humming quietly. Crossing the room, she set down two mugs of steaming tea on the table next to his chair. He looked up, smiled, moved quickly apparently stopping the music and slipped the headphones off, “Hey.”
“Brought you some tea.” She ran her fingers through his hair, “What are you working on?”
He pulled her down onto his lap, “I’m layering some vocals over some music. Just playing with some sounds.” He shrugged.
“Layering?”
“Mmm hmm.”
“English please.” She laughed.
“I am taking recorded vocals and putting them together with recorded music so they sound like a song and not two different recordings. Songs on the radio are made in tiny bits and pieces and then sort of sewn together...like a quilt.”
Lyn nodded slowly, “I think that was one of the hardest things for me to wrap my mind around. I always thought that it would be done, you guys singing with a band in the same room playing along.”
“Well, they still do it that way some times...”
“OK, let’s not confuse me!”
He laughed, “Alright, as far as you know, it’s never done like that.”
“Thank you.” She grinned.
“So what vocals and music are you layering?”
“Nice use of the technical terms.” He winked at her, “Just some stuff I recorded when the guys were here helping me install all of this stuff.”
“You guys installed all of this?”
“Well...sort of. Then I had to have a professional come in and set it up the right way.”
Lyn laughed, “Now THAT sounds like you guys.”
“ANYWAY! I recorded some music tracks here and there, so now I’m combining all of it, just to see what I can come up with. We were singing all sorts of stuff, all sorts of different styles and songs, so now I’m seeing what I can come up with.”
“You said that twice.”
“Said what twice?” He cocked his head.
“You’re seeing what you can come up with. So are you going to let me hear it?”
“Oh Sweetpea, it’s not really anything.”
“OK then, let’s make it something. How does all of this work.” She made a sweeping motion with her arm over the soundboard.
“You want to mix something?”
“Yep. I plan on making the next smash hit NSYNC song.”
“OK, here is Lance screwing around.”
He shook his head and pushed a slider forward and Lance’s voice filled the room, “Is it working JC? Are you getting the right levels?”
Lyn smirked as she heard Joey’s voice from a distance, “Hey Lance, why don’t you sing us a little of the stuff you use to seduce Stasia.”
“Joe, I use the classics...you know... ‘I've been really tryin , baby. Tryin to hold back these feelings for so long. And if you feel, like I feel baby. Come on, oh come on, Let's get it on, Lets get it on, Let's get it on, Let's get it on’...”
Chris shouted, “YEAH RIGHT! It’s more like... ‘I’d fall down on my knees, and kiss the ground that you walk on, if I could just hold you again.’”
“Funny. Very funny.” Lance chuckled.
It was quiet for a few seconds and then there was a loud thud, “OOPS!” Justin yelled. There was a lot of shuffling and then JC said through the mic, “Lance sing something else.”
“Like WHAT?”
“Like whatever you want. Just sing something I need to get the bass right.”
Lance cleared his throat and began, “‘I haven't seen you in forever. Oh you haven't changed a bit You didn't think that I would remember. How could I forget? We sang Bobby McGhee on the hood of my car, made a wish on every star, in that clear September sky. One bottle of wine and two Dixie cups, 3 am I fell in love, for the first time in my life. Oh, that's something that just don't happen twice...’”
He was interrupted when Justin screamed, “SHUT UP! I thought we broke you of the country music habit!”
“YOU SHUT UP!” Lance shot back and Lyn laughed at the tone of his voice.
Chris’ voice was louder now, “I WILL SING FOR YOU JC!”
“Someone sing for me!” JC’s laughter filled the room.
Lyn leaned back on his lap, “I’ll sing for you.”
“I would love that, but hang on a second, you’ll like this song.”
After a few seconds of quiet she smiled brightly when Chris’ voice came through loud and clear.
Tweedily deedily dee, Tweedily deedily dee,
Tweedily deedily dee, Tweedily deedily dee,
Tweedily deedily dee, Tweedily deedily dee,
Tweedily deedily dee, Tweedily deedily dee,
Tweet, tweet, tweet tweet
He rocks in the treetops all day long,
Hoppin' and a-boppin' and a-singin' his song.
All the little birds on J-Bird Street,
Love to hear the robin go tweet, tweet, tweet.
There was some quiet laughter, and then they all joined in on the next verse. She could hear them clapping and snapping their fingers.
Rockin' robin (tweet, tweet, tweet);
Rock, rock, rockin' robin (tweet, tweedle-dee);
Go rockin' robin, we're really gonna rock tonight.
They sang the entire song together, all of them sounding happy. When they finished, they all erupted into fits of laughter. Lyn turned to JC and smiled, “When was this?”
“Um....wow...last year sometime. We were here recording something for Celebrity. Not HERE, here but in LA.”
She turned her attention back to the tape when she heard Joey, “Is that song really about birds?”
Justin huffed, “What did you think it was about?”
“I don’t know...There aren’t a lot of bird songs out there.” Joey answered.
Chris sang softly, “Blackbird singing in the dead of night...”
JC sang, “Mock-ing bird...Mockin’ bird...everybody have you heard...he’s gonna’ buy me a mocking bird...”
Now Joey huffed, “OK, so there are bird songs.”
Lance laughed, “I think there are songs about EVERYTHING!”
“Sometimes I do, then again I don't. Sometimes I will, then again I won't. You are my every-thing, everything to me...” Justin sang.
“Dude, That song isn’t ACTUALLY about ‘everything’, it’s about a girl.” Joey pointed out.
“They are ALL about girls!” Chris laughed.
“Or love in general.” JC pointed out.
“I think the only thing that isn’t sung about is food.” Justin laughed.
“‘Your love, is better than ice cream. Better than anything else that I've tried, and your love is better than ice cream, everyone here know how to fight...’” JC’s voice was soft and strong.
“OK, even food.” Justin answered, “Speaking of food, let’s get some.”
There was some background noise and then the track stopped. Lyn grinned, “I wish I would have been there. I missed all of the fun.”
“We were just being stupid.” He shrugged, “So I thought you were going to sing for me.”
“I was kidding.”
“Breaking promises?”
“I didn’t promise.”
“Sure you did.”
“If I sing, will you shut up?”
“Gladly.”
“Have you ever noticed how you goad me into things?”
“I don’t goad, I encourage.”
“Whatever.” She rolled her eyes, “What do you want me to sing?”
“What ever you’d like...except nursery rhymes.”
“OH SURE! You guys can sing Rockin’ Robin, and I can’t sing Row, Row, Row Your Boat? Not fair.” She grinned, cleared her throat and began, “A - B - C - D - E - F - G...”
“STOP! You have to go in the booth.”
“JC! I’m Not going in the booth!”
“PLEEEASE!”
“This game isn’t fun anymore.”
“Come on Sweetpea.”
“FINE! You suck.”
“I know.” He shoved her off of his lap and began playing with the soundboard.
She walked into the booth and glanced around, “So now what?”
“Start by shutting the door.”
She rolled her eyes, “Must we be so professional about all of this?”
“OK, now get behind the mic, and get comfortable.”
“I just wanted to bring you some tea and maybe make out a little.”
JC threw back his head and laughed, “Plenty of time for making out later. OK, I’m all set. You’re still a soprano, right?”
“I would say so...more or less. I never sing so I haven’t done scales in years. But I don’t think I’ve fallen out of my old range.”
“OK. Whenever you’re ready, go ahead.”
“I feel like a fool.”
“You don’t look like one, quit stalling.”
She rolled her eyes and grinned, “Just thought of what I want to sing.”
“So SING!”
A B C D E F G
I never learned to spell,
At least not well.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
I never learned to count,
A great amount.
But my busy mind is burning to use what learning I've got,
I won't waste any time,
I'll strike while the iron is hot.
If they asked me, I could write a book
About the way you walk, and whisper, and look.
I could write a preface
On how we met
So the world would never forget.
And the simple secret of the plot
Is just to tell them that I love you a lot.
And the world discovers
As my book ends,
How to make two lovers
Of friends.
And the simple secret of the plot
Is just to tell them that I love you a lot.
And the world discovers
As my book ends,
How to make two lovers
Of friends.
Lyn opened her eyes, not quite sure when she had closed them. She looked up and met JC’s amazed face. She felt her cheeks flush and she shot him a sheepish smile, “I’m a little rusty.”
“RUSTY? Good GOD ALLYN! You should have a contract! You’ve got a perfect jazz voice.”
“RIIIGHT! It’s not something I’ve ever thought about. I just sang in choir to goof off. It was an easy ‘A’.”
“Argue all you’d like, but you amaze me! I want to hear another one!”
“JC, one is enough.”
“Lyn. Do we have to go through the whole begging thing all over again? I’ll do it, but it would be much quicker if you’d just SING and get it over with.”
“YOU ARE A PAIN!”
“See, the problem you run into is, you love me. If you didn’t love me, you wouldn’t cave in and do it.” He grinned evilly.
“OH!” She fisted her hands at her sides.
“Am I wrong?”
“NO!” She couldn’t stop the smile from spreading across her face, “I think it’s your turn.”
“My turn to what?”
“You sing.”
“I sing every day.”
“Not FOR me.”
“OK. Fine. You want singing, you get singing.” He got up and walked into the booth with her.
“What are you going to sing for your girl?”
He clear his throat and did his best imitation of a DJ, “And here is the latest from JC Chasez and Lyn McLachlan: Here they are with their version of Trying by Lifehouse.”
“Problem.”
“WHAT?”
“I don’t know Trying.”
“So what do YOU think we should sing?” He threw his hands in the air.
“OK. OK. I’m in a jazzy mood. Do you remember all of What A Difference A Day Makes?”
“Sure I do.” He nodded. “Every other verse?”
“Last verse together. You want to start or go second?”
“You start.” He grinned widely as she rolled her eyes.
“Do you want me to play along?”
“You couldn’t remember how to play that song if your life depended on it.”
“JC, you know better than to test me.”
“Fine. Play along. You’re just going to be embarrassed when we play this back later.”
“OH! You make me angrier than anyone else on earth!”
“And happier?”
“Maybe.” She suck her tongue out.
“Would you sit down at the piano and quit stalling?”
“FINE!” She laughed. It had always been difficult for her to remain angry at him. She moved to the piano, and cracked her knuckles.
“LYN!”
“I know, it’s a bad habit, but it’s a habit.” She shrugged. “Ready?”
“Ready when you are.”
Her fingers moved quickly along the ivory keys and she smiled up at him as she began to sing.
What a diff'rence a day makes
Twenty-four little hours
Brought the sun and the flowers
Where there used to be rain
JC moved to stand right behind her, resting his hands on her shoulders. He closed his eyes and began.
My yesterday was blue, dear
Today I'm part of you, dear
My lonely nights are through, dear
Since you said you were mine
She motioned with her head for him to sit next to her on the bench. He sat and his hand rested on the small of her back as she leaned closer to the keyboard.
What a diff'rence a day makes
There's a rainbow before me
Skies above can't be stormy
Since that moment of bliss, that thrilling kiss
JC was rocking in time to the music. He wanted to absorb this feeling and never let it slip away. He felt completely at piece.
It's heaven when you
Find romance on your menu
What a diff'rence a day makes
And the difference is you
Lyn’s voice was stronger when she started again.
What a diff'rence a day makes
There's a rainbow before me
Skies above can't be stormy
Since that moment of bliss, that thrilling kiss
She glanced out of the corner of her eye at him. His gaze met hers and they finished the song together.
It's heaven when you
Find romance on your menu
What a diff'rence a day makes
And the difference is you.
She turned on the bench to face him, “I don’t think we’ve sung together since high school.”
JC took her face between his hands and kissed her. Her eyes grew wide and then fluttered closed. She let her mind stop working and her emotions took over. She was lost in the moment, she finally felt like they were completely at one with each other. She knew that they had both forgiven him for his actions.
They quickly became tangled in one another’s arms. He was gentle and careful with her. Her softly ran his fingers through her hair. She buried her fingers in the curls at the nape of his neck. His lips moved to her neck and she let her hands fall to his shoulders where she massaged the muscles.
Reluctantly, he pulled his lips from her neck. His forehead rested against hers and fought to calm his irregular heartbeat, “Will you sing with me? Every day. I want you to sing with me for the rest of our lives. I want every song to be a duet with you.”
“I will sing with for as long as you want. I love you more than I thought possible.”
He stood up, “I think we’ve played in the studio enough for one night.” He held his hand down and she took it. JC stared at their fingers as they laced together perfectly, “I love the way we fit.”
“We’ve always fit. We complete one another. Take me upstair.” She kissed his chin.
Lyn was curled up on her side, her hair spread wildly across the pillows. The gray comforter was up around her shoulders. Her breathing was deep and even and there was a soft smile on her face. “Perfect.” JC whispered.
He was sitting crossed legged on the bench at the foot of the bed watching her sleep he suddenly realized all of the things people had told him about being in love. There had been a night, somewhere between Pennsylvania and Chicago, when Stasia had been in Michigan studying for her bar exams. JC had asked what was worst about Stasia not being there and Lance had answered , “I miss the feeling I get when I watch her sleep. Sometimes I wonder if she’s dreaming about me. Sometimes I feel like that is the only time everything is right with the world, when I can watch her sleep. You are going to know what I mean. You’re going to be sitting there, in the middle of the night, watching Lyn sleep, realizing that you want to wake up in the middle of the night every night for the rest of your life. Just to watch her sleep.” JC smirked, it drove him crazy but Lance, was always right.
“What time is it?” She hadn’t moved, her eyes were still closed but her voice was clear.
“3:24. I thought you were sleeping.”
She smirked, “How long have you known me?”
“A lot of years.”
“I would think, after a lot of years, you’d know that I can’t sleep when someone is watching me.”
“I forgot.”
“Why did you crawl out of bed, to sit on a bench?”
“I was thirsty.”
“Come back to bed.” She yawned, “You need your rest. We have to make Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow.”
“Why did I let you talk me into that?” He crawled across the bed and climbed under the covers. Lyn snuggled against his side resting her cheek on his shoulder.
“We all needed to be here in LA. It’s going to be fun. Our families haven’t all been together in a long time.”
“Our families were together at Dev and Ryan’s wedding.”
“Whatever. It will be fun.”
“Stasia will be here right?”
“Of course. Why?”
“Because she can cook.”
“I CAN COOK!”
“I know, but she can cook edible food.”
“You are not picking a fight with me, while we are laying in bed.”
“Good point.”
“We haven’t been here in a long time.” She looked around his room.
“I haven’t gotten to spend much time at this house.” He leaned up a little, “Will you help me redo this bedroom?”
“Why? I think it’s fine. You just had it done a year ago.”
“I don’t want a gray room anymore. I want something that reflects how I feel.”
“How do you feel?”
“Alive. Happy. Content. Not gray. I want your touch here.”
“I’d be happy to help.” She smiled, “We need to get some sleep.”
They settled back down into the pillows and were both drifting off when the doorbell rang. JC sat up, “Who in the hell?”
“Maybe you shouldn’t answer it.”
“No one can get up to the house without the code, it has to be one of the guys.” He slipped on a t-shirt and and laughed as she slipped out of the bed pulling on another one of his t-shirts, “Sweetpea, you can stay in bed.”
“OH NO! You’re not going down there alone. It could be a crazed stalker.”
“I’m telling you it’s not a stalker.” She walked along the hallway at his side. He glanced don at the top of her head and laughed, “I may have...messed up your hair.”
“You haven’t looked in a mirror yet. I did quite a job on your’s too.”
The made their way down the stairs as the bell rang for the third time. JC looked through the peep hole and sighed, “I should have guessed.” He pulled the door open and sighed, “Chris, it’s 3:30 in the morning.”
“It’s important.” He motioned with his arm and a second person emerged from the shadows.
JC looked down at Lyn, who’s jaw dropped, “What the hell?”
