They entered the suite as quietly as possible, hoping not to wake anyone up. JC knew that he, Chris, Dani, and Bobbie shouldn’t have stayed out this late, especially when they had to get up early that much earlier in the morning for the Thanksgiving Day parade, but he wouldn't have missed this chance for the world. Through her connections with the theater crowd, Bobbie had managed to get them tickets to the hottest show in town, the South American acrobatic show that allowed the audience to participate with the cast members and go flying around the theater. He, Dani, and Bobbie all had great fun flying around like Peter Pan while Chris sat firmly on the ground cheering them on. And with the amount of alcohol that all of them had consumed that night, JC was quite surprised that he was still able to stand up. In truth, he actually wasn't really "standing up". Rather, the four of them were leaning against each other, barely making it through the doorway without tripping over one another.

"You girls want to stay here tonight?" Chris slurred as he practically collapsed onto Dani as they both fell onto the couch. "I can kick Justin over to Lance's room and JC and Bobbie can take his bed."

"Now Chris. You know we can't do that. You have minors here." Bobbie replied good-naturedly. "Lynn and Diane would have our hides if we pulled a stunt like that."

"Lynn?? Hahaha – have you seen Justin when he's around Britney? That ain't no PG-13 stuff that they're doing!" Chris laughed.

"Let's get you boys to bed and then we'll go to our rooms." Dani said as she gently but firmly guided her boyfriend to his own room. "Bobbie and I will meet you bright and early for breakfast."

As he allowed himself to be led to the room that he shared with Lance, JC half-nuzzled, half-devoured Bobbie's neck along the way with his kisses, eliciting further giggles from his friend.

"Why JC, I didn't know you play on both teams now," Bobbie whispered as she managed to get him to sit down on his bed and started taking off his clothes. They both saw that Lance was fast asleep and tried to be as quiet as possible.

"What can I say, Bobs? You're just irresistible. Even a fairy like me falls under your spell." JC giggled in his familiar drunker than a skunk tone, pulling Bobbie down on top of him as he laid down on the bed. "Come on, stay here with me tonight. Country boy over there won't mind. He's a good boy that Poofu. Always goes to bed on time, always on his best behavior when Momma Bass is around."

"Sssshhh!" Bobbie admonished him gently as she pushed away from JC's deliciously inviting proposal. "You know that shit is going to hit the fan in the morning if I stay here tonight. Besides, if you stop fooling around so much and put some effort into getting what you really want, you might just be able to get a room with only one bed instead of two." As if Bobbie's words were a pale of cold water splashed over his face, JC immediately became more sober and more serious.

"I … I don't know what you're talking about, Bobbie." JC stammered, sitting back up in the bed again.

"JC, this is me, remember? This is Bobbie, Stacy's roommate. We're the two people who let you crash on our couch for six months when you got ripped off in LA and was left penniless, but that stubborn Chasez pride of yours wouldn't let you call home for some help. We're the shoulders you cried on when your first boyfriend dumped you, remember?" Bobbie whispered as she put an arm around JC's shoulders.

"Am I that obvious?" JC asked, glancing over to the sleeping figure.

"No, not to him. But Stace and I can tell. We know you too well." Bobbie replied, pulling JC into a hug as they both stared at Lance. "He's an angel, JC. Don't you ever let go of him."

"He's not even gay, Bobs." JC whispered, with a touch of wistfulness in his voice.

"How the hell do you know? Have you ever asked him?" Bobbie replied.

"No, I've never actually asked him outright. But, come on, he's from Mississippi, he's southern Baptist, and he's got a picture of a girl sitting right next to his bed at home." JC replied, defending himself for such an obvious omission.

"Well, how'd he react when you told him you were gay?" Bobbie asked, trying to get JC to see what was right in front of him.

"He didn't. He just shrugged, as if I had told him that I was going downstairs for a soda or something." JC admitted, never really questioning Lance's reaction. He had just been grateful that Lance wasn't as conservative as he seemed to be.

"See?" Bobbie needled her friend.

"See what? Just because he doesn't launch into fire and brimstone at my confession doesn't mean he's gay too." JC argued. "Hell, for all I know he might be plotting to save my soul –" A sudden fit of coughing from Lance startled both JC and Bobbie. Glancing at the nightstand next to Lance's bed, JC noticed an assortment of cold medications. Putting his hand over Lance's forehead, he almost pulled his hand away.

"Jesus, he's burning up!" JC said aloud. At the touch of the older man, Lance stirred and tossed in his place, and slowly those pale green eyes opened for JC and Bobbie to see.

"Oh, hey y'all. Have fun tonight?" Lance croaked out, his voice sounding every bit as miserable as he looked.

"Lance honey, how do you feel?" Bobbie asked, sitting down next to Lance and pulling the covers over him when she noticed that he was shivering, despite the hotness of his skin.

"I'm fine, Bobbie. Just a little cold, that's all. Ain't used to this weather." Lance said through clattered teeth. He squirmed as JC came back from the bathroom and put some wetted towels over his forehead. "That's … that's cold, JC."

"You're burning up, country boy." JC said, clamping his hand down onto Lance's forehead so that the younger boy wouldn't be able to remove the towels. "Bobbie, can you make some hot tea with lemon? There should be some wedges in the fridge. I'm going to call down to the desk for a doctor."

"No … noo … doc - doctor." Lance protested. "It's just, just a little … little … cold."

"Don't argue, country boy." JC said, pulling Lance into him with one arm and hugging his shivering bandmate to try to keep Lance from shivering so much. With his free hand, JC quickly dialed the front desk.

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

"How is he?" Joey asked as he saw the doctor come out of JC and Lance's room. They were all up now; they were all worried.

"He should be in the hospital." The doctor said sternly. "He's got all the signs of the early stages of walking pneumonia. I want to put him in for observation, but he refuses to go, and I can't make him go. He keeps saying something about having to do the parade in the morning. And seeing as how I can't change his mind, I've given him some Levaquin. It should help with his lower respiratory infection and should get him through the parade, or whatever it is that he's adamant on doing. But after that, I want him right back into bed, and I don't want him up for at least 48 hours. He has promised me that he would do that. I'm going to check on him later on this afternoon. Can I get you all to see to it that he gets his rest?"

"Don't worry, doctor. I'll make sure he gets some rest even if I have to sit on him." JC replied, not sure whether he's angrier at Lance for being stubborn or at himself and the others for not noticing how sick Lance was becoming. "Hell, we'll all sit on him if we have to."

"Well, young man, I really don't want my patients to die under the weight of their friends, but in this case I think that your suggestion is reasonable. You can tie him down to the bed if you must, just make sure that his body gets some rest in order for the antibiotic to work. His immune system is quite weak now and it needs time to recharge." The doctor said as he made his way toward the door. "Here are the prescriptions for him, I trust that one of you will have it filled immediately?"

"Yes sir." Justin replied as he took the sheets of paper from the doctor and closed the door behind the exiting man. Turning around, he groaned as he saw the nuclear explosion that was about to happen.

"JC, calm down. Yelling at him isn't going to make him any less stubborn." Chris said as he and Joey blocked JC's path. "We'll just get through this parade, and then we'll tie him down and make him rest."

"Get the hell out of my way, the both of you. I'm going to knock some sense into that country boy right now. And then I'm going to call Lou and Johnny and tell them we're canceling the Macy's gig. There is no way in hell he's leaving this hotel room in his condition." JC said calmly even as every fiber in him tinged with anger.

"We can't cancel the parade," Lance said, as he stood in the doorway, his frail frame paler than the late November dawn coming through the windows.

"Get back in bed, Lance." JC said, his anger all but melted away as he saw Lance lean on Bobbie for support. "You're in no condition to go anywhere today."

"We can't cancel the gig, guys." Lance repeated, this time taking a few steps toward the couch. "I'm fine. It's just a little infection. I promise I'll obey the doctor's orders as soon as the parade is over."

"Why, country boy? Why can't we cancel this gig?" JC asked. "It's not like we're really singing live, it's going to be all taped, what with this weather and all."

"Trust me, we can't." Lance said, closing his eyes as he leaned back into the couch, trying to catch a few more minutes of rest before facing the freezing rain that awaited them on the parade route.

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

"Is he any better?" Joey asked as he quietly entered JC and Lance's room. The younger man was out cold, his medications making him sleep for most of the day. The older man was sitting on his bed, working quietly on a laptop. The four of them had taken turns watching over their friend, with three of them keeping up with their scheduled appearances while the fourth one remained at the hotel. Joey, Chris, and Justin had just gotten back from another of the endless interviews, and they had just about an hour before they were off to another appearance. What a way to spend Thanksgiving.

"He's better. Not as restless today as he was last night." JC said. "The doctor came by earlier. He said that the medications are working. His chest sounds much better today than it did three days ago."

"And how are you doing?" Joey asked, lightly putting his hand on Lance's forehead to check on his friend.

"I'm fine, Joe. Just fine." JC gritted through his teeth, never once taking his eyes off Lance.

"Remember what Bobbie told you, JC." Joey reminded his friend.

"And what would that be?" JC asked.

"Don't let go, JC. Don't let go."