As it turned out, the hospital wanted to keep Janice for three more days, total, with a planned release on Saturday morning.  This did not go over well in any way, and Caroline spent the majority of her Wednesday at the hospital in a constant state of headache.  Thankfully, she didn't have to go it alone, as Cameron had taken the day off of work to stick around the hospital.  Her dad stopped in as well, though his presence didn't really help matters much.

Mark Reed was a practical, simple man, and Caroline had a hard time imagining that her parents had ever been married to each other.  She had memories from before the divorce, of course, but none of those consisted of her parents actually getting along.  She'd been nearly ten years old before realizing that not everyone's parents fought 24/7, and that her home life wasn't exactly the picture of normal.

Whereas Janice was opinionated and calculating, Mark was a pushover and a hothead.  They were opposites in almost every way.  Mark rarely opened up discussion about the topic, but Cameron claimed that Mom and Dad's relationship had gone steadily downhill over the years.  Perhaps one day, they had actually gotten along well, but now, every time they crossed paths was a battle royale.

"Just take the damn medicine, Janice," Mark ordered gruffly when Janice refused the pain medication the nurse offered her for the umpteenth time.  "Maybe it will calm you down."

"I don't want it," Janice insisted, glaring daggers at her ex-husband.  Caroline sat in the corner, rubbing her temples and weighing the option of taking the pain meds herself.  Janice had bitched and moaned until the hospital agreed to remove the fentanyl drip they'd had her on, but her pain had intensified enough after that to make her even more impossible to deal with.  She declined to take any medication that wasn't "completely naturally derived", of course.  Caroline had even made a trip to the holistic medical supply store that her mother frequented and bought up every pain remedy available.  Apparently, none of them were working, no matter how much Janice tried to convince everyone otherwise.

"Caroline, will you light my candles, please?" Janice asked, and Mark crossed his arms over his chest. 

"How many times do we have to tell you, you can't light candles in a goddamn hospital!"

Janice shot something back, her voice raising to a high trill, and Caroline stood up.

"Dad, why don't we go get something to eat?  Cameron's on his way back in with Megan," she assured Janice before she could start whining about being left all alone.  "We don't want to crowd the room too much."

Thankfully, Cameron and Megan appeared a moment later, and Caroline ushered her dad out into the hallway.

"Jesus God," Mark sighed, bringing a hand up to pinch the bridge of his nose, and Caroline knew both she and Cameron had picked up that habit from him.  "The woman is incorrigible!"

"It's a high-stress situation," Caroline reminded, patting her dad's shoulder as they walked towards the cafeteria.  "She'll calm down a bit once her pain goes away some."

"If she would just take the freaking medicine, it would go away right now!" Mark pointed out, then waved his hand.  "I know, I know.  I'm preaching to the choir."

He wrapped his arm around Caroline to pull her close as they walked.  "What about you?  You'll at least take an Advil when you get a headache, right?"

Caroline smiled wearily.  "I take Excedrin.  It's stronger."

Mark chuckled.  "That's the spirit."

After a quick scan of the meager food offerings, Caroline ended up with much the same meal she'd had the night before, a cup of coffee and an orange (she avoided the mealy apples this time around).  Her dad, on the other hand, piled his plate high with a large roast beef sandwich.

"I've got to say I don't miss those days," he admitted, nodding towards Caroline's choice of dinner with a frown.  "I mean, I respect your choices and all, don't get me wrong.  But there's something demoralizing about having to sneak out of your own house for twelve years, just to get a damn cheeseburger."

Caroline smiled as she peeled her orange.  "I understand."

"Well, how's my girl doing?"  Mark reached across the table to pat her hand.  "I've hardly gotten to talk with you at all today."

Caroline finished chewing on her orange slice before she replied.  "I've been fine.  Working a lot."

"That's right, how's the new job going?" Mark asked between bites his of his sandwich.  "Cameron told me your boss drove you here yesterday?"

Of course Cam spilled the beans on her, Caroline thought with a mental eye-roll.  "Yeah.  He has a home office, so I work there, primarily.  I was in the office when Cameron got a hold of me, so JC offered to drive me here."

Mark nodded slowly, wiping his face with a napkin.  "Nice guy?"

"Yeah, he's an okay guy."  Caroline took a sip of her coffee; it tasted just as bad as it had the night before.  "A little...unique, but he is a celebrity, I guess."

"What is he, a pop singer?" Mark asked, and Caroline nodded.  "Eh.  What's Brandon think of that?"

"He thinks its humorous, but he also knows there's nothing funny about the size of my paycheck."

Mark laughed out loud.  "Pretty easy work?"

"Yeah, but I stay busy," Caroline said.  "It's not the job I'd imagined I'd be getting right after college, but...it's better than nothing."

"Slim pickings out there," Mark admitted.  "And you know what I always told you."

"Do well at whatever you do," Caroline repeated diligently.  "I know, Dad."

"I'm proud of you, Caroline," Mark said, pointing his fork across the table at her.  "No matter what."

Caroline picked up another piece of orange.  "Thanks."

"Speaking of Brandon, how's he doing?  I hear he's out of town for a few days."

"He's in San Francisco for a gig," Caroline replied.  She rearranged the pieces of orange peel on her plate, trying to fit them together like a puzzle piece.  "He'll be back this weekend."

"And how are you two doing?" Mark asked.  Caroline didn't look up from her orange peels.  She knew that her dad liked Brandon, or at least tolerated him, but she also knew that he wasn't a big fan of his career choices, or lack thereof.  Mark hadn't been happy when his daughter had moved in with a failed lawyer-slash-mechanic two years ago, but he was too passive-aggressive to outwardly say so.

"Um.  We're fine," Caroline said slowly.  Mark waited, his eyebrows raised.  "I don't know.  Things have been a little rough lately."

"How so?"

Caroline sighed.  "I work a lot, and I have to travel sometimes.  It's been hard on him, I think."

That was an understatement.  When Caroline had gotten back from Vegas the previous month, she and Brandon had gone almost two full days without speaking.  He'd even spent the night on the couch before Caroline had forced him to talk it out with her.  Even after they'd made up, things were still a little shaky.  Brandon didn't want to come out and admit that he was jealous of JC, but that much was obvious.  The worst part was that Caroline didn't know if she could blame him anymore, but she tried to push that thought out of her mind as much as she could.

Brandon had at least been comforting when she'd called him late the night before.  He'd even offered to drive home and skip their second show, but Caroline told him no.  She knew the band couldn't go on without him, and she didn't want to inconvenience everybody else.  Maybe when he did get home he'd take it a little easier on her...but not if he found out that JC had been the one to drive her to the hospital and hold her hand in the waiting room.

"Well, you're at a tough age," Mark pointed out.  "Your mother and I got married when she was 22 and I was 25, and it wasn't easy."

Caroline cocked her head.  "No offense, Dad, but I don't know if you're the best person to take relationship advice from.  You and Mom did get divorced, after all."

"Yes," Mark allowed.  "But not until we tried to make it work for twenty years."

Caroline didn't count the last ten, as they'd barely been on speaking terms with each other, but she didn't say so.

"It's true, some things just aren't meant to be," Mark said.  "But if it weren't for marrying your mother, I wouldn't have you three.  And trust me, I wouldn't have wanted to be married to Cathy in her twenties. She's calmed down a lot in middle-age."

Caroline laughed.  "So what are you saying?  I should stick it out with Brandon until we just can't stand each other anymore?"

Mark narrowed his eyes at her.  "No, smart ass.  I'm saying that you do what you can to make it work, but if it's not there...it's not there."

The statement made Caroline feel sick to her stomach.  She'd been with Brandon for four years - she'd never before questioned whether or not anything was "there".  It been easy to feel that it was there, whatever "it" was.  Now, things were so much more confusing, more difficult than before.  But that didn't mean she would give up.

"The real question is," Mark continued, "are you happy?  You, I mean, nobody else.  Are you happy?"

Caroline stared at him, not entirely sure how to answer.  She couldn't remember the last time she'd equated the word "happy" with her life; these days, it was more like "keeping busy" or "getting by". 

"Yeah, Dad," she said, standing to refill her empty coffee cup.  "Don't worry about me."

Her dad thankfully changed the subject when she returned to the table, but they didn't stay in the cafeteria much longer.  Caroline felt bad leaving Cameron and Megan on their own with Mom, so she refilled her coffee once more, to go this time.

Once back out in the hallway, Caroline could hear her mother's voice from inside the room.  From the tone of it, she still wasn't happy with something.  Caroline hesitated outside the door, not quite ready to return, and Mark glanced back at her. 

"You okay?"

Caroline nodded.  "I just...have to go make a phone call.  I'll be right back."

She made her way down the hallway to the familiar waiting room, which was a little more crowded than it had been the night before.  She didn't really have anyone to call, so she sat in a chair in the corner and pulled out her Blackberry to see if there were any new emails to return.  There was only one, a short note from Kevin expressing condolences about her mom.  She did, however, have a text message, sent earlier in the day.

Are you hanging in there?  It was from JC.  Caroline tapped in a reply.

Barely.  They're not releasing my mom until Saturday, so things have been a little crazy.

She'd barely set her phone down for more a minute when it buzzed with a reply.

Why so long?  She's not happy about it?

Caroline snorted.  That was an understatement.  She replied to his message, and pretty soon, they were texting back and forth like a couple of teenagers.  Caroline knew she should put the phone away and head back to her mom's room, but the conversation with JC was much more enticing. 

She'd been sitting in the waiting room for a good twenty minutes when a female nurse approached her.  "You're Caroline, right?  Janice is your mom?"

Caroline slipped her phone in her pocket in a hurry, as if she'd been caught doing something bad.  "Yeah, I'm Caroline.  Is something wrong?"

"Oh, no."  The nurse shook her head.  "We just got some flowers delivered for your mother.  Would you like to take them back to her room?"

"Oh."  Caroline stood up, surprised.  Who would send her mom flowers?  "Sure, I can take them."

"Great.  They're at the nurse's station."

Caroline followed the nurse over to the desk, her eyes widening at the large bouquet of bright orange calla lilies and pink roses.  It looked expensive, and there was only one person it could be from.  She checked the small card with a soft sigh.

Wishing you well.  JC Chasez (Caroline's boss)

Great.  This was going to go over real well with her brothers.

"It's nice," the nurse said.  "That's some boss you have!"

Caroline forced a tight smile and pulled out her phone. 

You sent flowers? 

JC's response came a few seconds later.  Yeah.  Why, is that bad?

Caroline was about to reply when someone called her name from down the hall.  It was Seth, half-jogging towards her.

"What's up?" he asked.  "Whose flowers?"

"Mom's."  Caroline picked up the vase before Seth could examine them further.  "I was just taking them down there."

"Did you get these?" Seth asked, falling into step with her down the hallway.  "They look expensive."

A split second passed where Caroline wondered if she could pick off the tag and pretend they were from her after all.  But didn't that insinuate that she had something to hide?  She and JC were just friends...less than friends, he was her employer.  So what if her brothers teased her, they had no idea what they were talking about.

"No, they're from JC.  My boss," she clarified, even though Seth's eyebrows had already gone up.

"Seriously?"  Thankfully, they had reached the right room, and Caroline pushed the door open before Seth could continue.

"Wow," Cameron noted as she walked in with the bouquet.  "Suck up much?"

Caroline sent a cold gaze in his direction as she set the vase down on her mother's bedside table.  "They're not from me, douchebag."

For the first time all day, Janice actually looked pleased.  "Oh, my!  Who are they from, Caroline?  They're just lovely!  How nice to have a touch of spring in this depressing little cubicle."

"Actually, they're from my boss."  Caroline plucked the card off and handed it to her mother.  "He, uh, drove me here last night, and I guess he wanted to send his respects."

She didn't turn around to observe her brothers' stares that she already felt burning into her back. 

"My goodness."  Janice read the card and pressed her hands to her chest, still in awe of the flowers.  "How kind of him.  Please, call and thank him for me, Caroline."

"Or maybe he'll stop by again," Seth interjected, and Cameron snickered.  "Isn't your car still at his house, Care?"

She sighed.  "Okay, assholes, get it all out of your system right now."

"I think it's sweet," Megan said, stepping up next to Caroline to smell the flowers.  "I wish my boss was that nice."

"If your boss was as nice as Caroline's, I'd be beating his face in right about now," Cameron said. 

Megan just rolled her eyes, and Caroline was thankful she was there.  She'd grown up being the odd girl out of the bunch, but having a cool sister-in-law evened out the game a little bit.  Megan was just a few years older, and she had no problem standing up to her husband for Caroline when push came to shove.

"Speaking of my car, I need a ride home tonight," Caroline announced, sitting down in one of the free chairs.  The nurses had brought in some extra seating for them, even though, technically, five people was way too many to have in the room at once.  "I need a shower."

"Don't you mean back to JC's house?" Seth asked. 

"I'll get a cab there tomorrow," Caroline replied with a scowl. 

"We'll give you a ride, Care," Megan said, patting her back.  Janice frowned.

"Who will be here with me tomorrow?" she asked loudly.  Mark, sitting in the corner of the room, sighed heavily, and Caroline patted her mother's hand before he could say anything.

"We'll work it out, Mom."

Between the five of them, they managed to somehow work out a schedule for the next couple of days so that Janice would always have someone available to her in the hospital before she was released on Saturday.  Caroline managed to beg off until Friday morning, which would free her up to get some work done at JC's the following day.  Since he would already have left on his trip, she would have plenty of time to make up for the day she'd missed.

Cameron and Megan drove Caroline back to her apartment a little later, and thankfully, Megan managed to carry the conversation so that Cameron couldn't give Caroline much of a hard time about JC.  When she made it upstairs, Moo was scratching restlessly at the door, probably starving.  Caroline took the time to feed her, as well as supplement her own meager dinner. 

By the time she'd showered and changed into pajamas, it was only 8:30, but she was more than ready for bed.  Not ashamed, Caroline climbed beneath the covers with a large yawn.  Seth hadn't been kidding about the futon - she'd only managed to sleep about three full hours the previous night, tossing and turning on the lumpy mattress.  If anything, it had given her a stronger appreciation for her own bed, with its soft, worn sheets and mass of pillows.  She took a moment to relax and decompress in the quiet.

Caroline had almost fallen asleep when she remembered to plug in her phone and set her alarm for the next day.  She connected the charger on her Blackberry, and as the screen flashed on, saw the last message JC had sent her.  Chewing on her bottom lip, Caroline threw caution to the wind.

Hey, my mom loved the flowers.  That was really sweet of you, if not a little exorbitant.  Thanks.

JC didn't reply for a few minutes, and Caroline thought that maybe he'd gone to bed early, too. 

She had set her phone down and rolled over in bed, when the vibration against the nightstand startled her.  She picked up the phone and read JC's reply:  Glad she liked them.  Are you still at the hospital?

Caroline typed out the response, No, my brother drove me home.  I'm in bed.

She cursed herself after hitting "send".  JC did not need to know anything about her bed or whether or not she was in it.

His reply didn't disappoint.  Kinky.  What are you wearing?

Caroline laughed out loud in the silence of her room.  None of your business.

And once again, she found herself texting back and forth with JC, holding her phone under the covers like she was a little kid trying to stay up past bedtime.  The real guilt didn't set in until she rolled over and looked at Brandon's empty side of the bed.  His nightstand held a notebook and a framed picture of the two of them at one of the band's shows last year.  Caroline's stomach clenched.  The phone buzzed as JC's last text came in, but Caroline forced herself to ignore it.  She put the phone down, made sure her alarm was set, and pulled the covers over her head.

It took Caroline longer than normal to fall asleep that night, and when she did, it was a restless one.