Caroline didn't tell anyone that Brandon had moved out, let alone JC.  She felt that she did a fairly convincing job of putting on a brave face during the day, then going home at night to sit in her quiet, empty apartment, alone.  After a week of being mostly numb, Caroline's empty sadness began to transform into anger.  Brandon was being ridiculous if he thought something was really going on between her and JC.  She hadn't done anything wrong.  It wasn't like she'd slept with him, for God's sake.

The anger lasted just a few days before the sadness returned again, but this new sadness was a bit messier than before.  Caroline stayed up late crying, woke up crying, cried in the shower, cried on her way into work, and had to blow her nose and redo all her makeup before she went inside the house.  If JC noticed anything different about her, he didn't say so, and Caroline preferred it that way.  It was easier to keep it inside, only letting it out when she was completely alone.

She'd been so consumed with her own misery that she'd more or less forgotten about the trip to DC.  The day before they were scheduled to leave, JC poked his head into the office to ask if she'd confirmed reservations with the airline yet.

Caroline stared at him blankly for so long that he stepped fully into the office, expression already set into a frown.  "Well, did you?" he repeated, and Caroline shook her head slowly.  "What the hell, Caroline?"

"Sorry, it...must have slipped my mind," she said, rummaging around for the right phone number.  "I'll do that right now."

JC continued to frown at her.  "You're acting weird."

"I'm just a little out of it.  Maybe I'm getting sick," she offered, but JC just shook his head.

"Well, stay away from me.  I've got a full day of sessions to get done before tomorrow.  I haven't even packed yet."

Caroline hadn't either, and she returned home to do so, mindlessly filling a suitcase with clothing.  She half-realized that no one would be around to feed Moo while she was gone, and after crying a little bit at the realization, Caroline called her brother to see if she could leave the cat with him.

"Why?" Seth asked curiously.  "Can't Brandon handle it?"

Caroline sighed heavily, realizing it was time to just come out with it.  "He moved out."

"What?" Seth demanded.  "When?"

"Almost two weeks ago."

"Christ, Caroline.  You okay?"

She shook her head slowly even as she said, "I'm fine.  You know.  Nothing's for sure yet.  He...we just needed some time apart."

Seth wasn't convinced, that much was clear.  "Is it because of your boss?"

"No," Caroline lied, her hands already shaking as she held the phone. 

Thankfully, Seth didn't pester her.  "Okay, fine.  When do you want me to pick her up?"

Caroline didn't feel confident enough to see Seth in person without breaking down, so she told him that she'd leave her spare key with the super and he could come pick up Moo sometime after she'd already left.  It seemed safer that way.

The car service arrived at her apartment early the next morning, and Caroline handed her suitcase off to the driver gratefully before getting in the back of the SUV.  JC was already inside, slouching in the backseat as he sipped from a Starbucks cup.

"You wear glasses?" was the first thing out of his mouth, and Caroline reached up to adjust them self-consciously. 

"I don't like to."  She closed the car door and put her seatbelt on with a sigh.  "They make my face look fat."

"I disagree," JC said, not missing a beat.  "Why are you wearing them now?"

Caroline didn't want to say that it was because putting her contacts in had been too painful on her eyes that morning, still swollen from crying herself to sleep the night before.  "Allergies, I think."

"Hm."  JC didn't look convinced, but he didn't pester her anymore. 

The flight to DC was a bit longer than the quick jaunt to Vegas they'd done the previous month, and Caroline found out quickly that JC was potentially the most annoying person to travel cross-country with.  She was feeling too passive to fuss with trying to restrict his caffeine intake, so he quickly downed almost an entire pot all on his own.  He tried his best to bother her, but Caroline plugged in her airline-issue headphones and turned the volume on the in-flight movie all the way up.  Thankfully, that seemed to do the trick, and he eventually tapped every limb of his body on every flat surface until he'd exhausted himself to sleep.

In fact, he was so out, that when the plane landed, Caroline had to shake him awake.

"JC.  JC." 

With the rest of the first-class passengers disembarking around them, Caroline stared down at her boss, frustrated.  He was dead to the world, and she turned his face towards her, ready to slap him back to consciousness.  However, something stopped her, and she found herself pausing to study his peaceful face.

He had decided to let his beard grow somewhat, and it was the first time that Caroline had actually seen him looking his age.  JC was thirty-three, but there was something about him that was ageless.  He had yet to sport any gray hairs, anyway, and no matter how much Caroline ribbed him about being old, she had to admit that he was a handsome guy, whether he was in his thirties or not.  Acknowledging the revelation made Caroline uncomfortable, and she pinched his arm, hard.

"Ow."  JC's eyes fluttered open and met hers.  "What?"

"We're here," she said, reaching for her bag.  "In DC," she clarified when JC kept staring at her blankly.

"Excuse me."  The flight attendant leaned against the seat in front of them, crossing her arms over her waist.  "We need to de-board every first class passenger before the coach passengers.  Is there a problem?"

"No," Caroline assured her, nudging JC out of his seat.  "Some of us are just slow movers today."

As it was a longer trip than before, both of them had checked bags.  The wait in the airport was a bit longer than normal, and more than one person approached JC for a picture or an autograph.  He was still barely awake, but at least he managed a smile, for the most part.  Once they had their bags, JC led the way to the rental car kiosk.

"Car services are more expensive here," he explained to Caroline as they waited in line.  "Plus, the drive to my parents place is like thirty minutes.  It's just easier this way."

To her surprise, he didn't even try to request a fancy car, and no one offered any kind of free upgrade.  They ended up in a red Ford Focus, JC behind the wheel.

"My dad was gonna pick us up," he said, "but he had to work."

"Your dad works?" Caroline asked, then realized her rudeness.  "I mean..."

"No, I know what you mean."  JC just shrugged.  "Don't get me wrong, I've done everything they'd let me do.  I paid off their house and cars years ago.  My mom just retired last year and my dad likes his job too much to just quit."

"Oh."  Caroline glanced out the window at the busy city around them as JC navigated towards a freeway. 

For the rest of the drive, Caroline mostly just looked around at the sights as JC drove.  Every so often, he would point out some landmark or supply her with various information on the area.  The furthest east Caroline had ever been was Arizona, so it was all new to her. 

JC's hometown was a mid-size suburban city, halfway in between DC and Baltimore.  Outwardly, there was nothing too special about the way it looked, but Caroline could tell that JC had a special place for the town in his heart. 

"That's my school!" he announced, pointing at a red brick building they passed.  "Until 8th grade, anyway.  Oh, and here's the park where I learned to ride a bike.  I crashed into that tree, right there."

Thankfully, the streets weren't too busy, because JC took his time driving her slowly through the grand tour of Bowie.  She learned that, even though it was spelled like David Bowie's last name, it was pronounced like an ocean bouy.  She also saw where JC got his first speeding ticket, where the post office was, and where his mom used to work.  In fact, it was safe to say she knew most everything about the city before they arrived at a light blue, two story house on a quiet cul-de-sac.

"And this is my house."  JC shifted the car into park and climbed out.  Caroline followed suit, taking in the normal looking house and the well-manicured lawn.  "It's awesome!"

She couldn't help but smile as JC bounded up the walk to the front steps.  She followed, only slightly nervous, hanging back when he flung the front door open.

"Mama!" he called out, disappearing inside the house.  Caroline hesitated at the welcome mat, making sure her shoes were clean before she stepped in.  The entryway of the house led to a flight of hardwood stairs straight ahead, and what looked like a formal living room off to the right.  JC's voice seemed to trail off to the left, however, so Caroline shut the door carefully behind her and made her way through the house.

The dining room was on the opposite side of the entryway, and an open door seemed to lead into the kitchen.  Caroline could hear noise inside, so she cautiously stepped up to the doorway, hands in her pockets.  It was indeed a kitchen, and a homey one at that.  It wasn't quite as large as JC's back in LA, but what it lacked in size, it made up for in heart.  The walls were painted a warm, sunny yellow, and the room itself was filled with the smell of freshly baked cookies.  A breakfast nook in the corner held a round oak table with a fresh vase of flowers sitting the middle, and a bay window over the sink housed a collection of small potted plants.

"Did you wash your hands?"  A familiar voice caught her attention, and Caroline looked to her right to see JC hovering over the stove.  A small woman, who Caroline could only assume was JC's mother, was pulling a pan of cookies out of the oven and trying to smack her son's reach away.

"I'll wash ‘em right now.  I gotta pee, anyway," JC announced, whirling around towards the doorway.  He spotted Caroline looking awkward in the doorway.  "Oh, Mom, this is Caroline."  He went over and took her hand in his, pulling her inside the room. 

Karen Chasez wiped her hands on a dishtowel and smiled warmly at Caroline.  "Of course!  It's so wonderful to finally meet you, Caroline."

"You, too."  She started to hold out her hand to shake Karen's, but the woman moved right in for a hug.  Caroline was startled but returned the embrace.

"Thank you for keeping this hooligan in line when I'm not around," she said, nodding towards JC, who was now bouncing up and down slightly.  "I thought you had to use the restroom?  Go!"

JC flitted out of the room, and Caroline was left alone with his mother, a woman who she'd spoken with countless times on the phone but never actually met in person.  Caroline cleared her throat and smiled.

"You have a beautiful home," she said as Karen began to pile the hot cookies onto a plate.

"Thank you.  We've thought about moving many times, but," She paused to sigh wistfully, "there's just too many memories here.  Although teenage girls showing up at all hours of the night will change your mind quick."

"That still happens?" Caroline asked, and Karen chuckled.

"Oh, not as much anymore," she said.  "Things are pretty quiet around here now, actually.  I guess it's a good thing we stayed put."

"So, JC grew up here?" Caroline asked, glancing around the room and trying to imagine a little boy version of JC running around the kitchen.

"For the most part."  Karen carried the plate of cookies to the table in the breakfast nook.  "And what will you have to drink, Caroline?"

JC returned once Caroline was seated at the table, a tall glass of lemonade in front of her and one bite already out of the oatmeal raisin cookie in her hand (which JC's mother had assured her was completely safe for her to eat). 

"Did she have to wash her hands?" JC asked, immediately scooping up two cookies from the pile on the plate.  "I want lemonade!"

"Get it yourself, you have legs."  Karen sat down across the table from Caroline.  "And don't spoil your dinner, your father will be home in an hour."

JC joined them at the table with the pitcher of lemonade and his own glass.  "What about Tyler?"

"He'll be here tomorrow," Karen replied.  "Caroline, I hear you've met Josh's brother already."

"Just once," Caroline said.  JC rolled his eyes. 

"Yeah, they get along great.  Tyler thought Caroline was a hooker."

Karen gasped and Caroline shot JC a death glare.  "He did not.  It's your fault for not introducing us, anyway."

"Joshua!"

JC raised his eyebrows at his mother.  "What?  Seriously, you're ganging up on me already?  I just got here," he grumbled. 

"Don't get whiney," Karen said.  "Eat your cookies.  Now Caroline, tell me about your family.  Surely it's not as crazy as this one."

For the next hour, Caroline sat with JC and his mom at the table, eating cookies and talking.  Karen was just as kind and polite in person as she was on the phone, and save for JC's humorous inserts here and there, the conversation was pleasant.  Caroline slowly began to feel comfortable in the Chasez home, and an hour passed by easily.

Around 4:00, Karen got up to start on dinner, and someone opened the front door. 

"That's my dad," JC said as Karen went out to the entryway to greet her husband.  "Just FYI, he calls everyone ‘kiddo'.  So don't get offended.  It's just his thing."

JC's dad was broad shouldered and tall, and he dwarfed Karen considerably as he followed her into the kitchen.  "Who is this lovely lady?" he asked, more or less ignoring JC as he crossed the room towards Caroline.  She stood to accept his handshake politely. 

"Dad, this is Caroline," JC said.  "My assistant."

"Too bad," Mr. Chasez replied.  "I was hoping you'd finally settled down."

JC groaned and Caroline blushed.  "It's nice to meet you, Mr. Chasez."

"Call me Roy, kiddo."  Shrugging off his suit jacket, he tossed it over a chair and squeezed JC's shoulders as he passed by.  JC mouthed "told you" to Caroline as she sat back down.

For the rest of the night, Caroline was content to observe the Chasez family dynamics.  Karen clearly played the peacemaker while JC and his dad worked hard to stir stuff up.  At the same time, Caroline could see where JC had inherited his serious side from - it was clear from the way that he talked about his own job that Roy valued hard work.  It was also obvious to Caroline that both of JC's parents were incredibly proud of all that he had accomplished.  In addition, they spoke of their other two children in the same noble manner.

Dinner was pot roast, but Karen had been diligent to prepare a completely separate vegan dish for Caroline. 

"I printed out the recipe so you could make sure everything was okay for you," Karen told her, handing over the index card.  "JC's told us how careful you are about your diet."

"For now," JC added, slicing off a giant bite of pot roast and dangling it towards Caroline.  "I'm working to lure her over to the dark side."

Karen slapped her son's shoulder.  "You're horrible.  Who raised you?"

As it turned out, the vegetable casserole that Karen had made was both safe for Caroline to eat and completely delicious.  She felt almost overwhelmed by the hospitality that JC's parents were so eagerly showing her, as if she were a member of their family.  The relationship that JC had with his parents was easy and warm, it was comfortable.  Caroline couldn't help but look at what he had and want it for herself.  She forced herself to push the thought out of her mind.

After the meal, Roy headed upstairs and Caroline stayed behind to help Karen with the dishes.  JC loitered in the kitchen as well, but he did more chatting than helping.  When the dishes were all clean and dried, JC went to get their bags out of the car and showed Caroline to her room.  It seemed all of the bedrooms except for one (Tyler's) were upstairs, and the guest bed was in a large corner room next to JC's sister's bedroom, who apparently was named Heather and wouldn't be able to make it home for the mini-family reunion of sorts.

JC left her alone, and Caroline took a few moments to change her travel-weary clothes and relax.  She'd brought her laptop with her from home in order to get some work done during the trip, and she couldn't resist the temptation to pull it out and check her email.  She checked her work account first, scanning over a few new messages, before switching to her personal account.  Only one new message greeted her, a short one from Seth letting her know that he'd picked up Moo for the week.  At the end, he'd tacked on a reminder: Call me if you need to talk.

Caroline didn't want to talk, but she would have been lying to herself if she didn't admit that she'd wanted to see an email from Brandon.  Disheartened, she closed the laptop and pushed it off to the side of the bed before glancing around the room.  JC's mom had apparently redecorated at some point in the amount of time they'd occupied the house, because the room looked fairly modern and cozy.  There were a few framed pictures on the antique dresser in the corner, and Caroline got up to analyze them more carefully. 

They were old family photos, the posed kind that you went to Sears or Olan Mills for.  One was taken when JC looked about six, with an amusing flowery late-seventies style background.  The next one had just a plan blue background, and JC and his siblings looked a little older.  Caroline rested her chin in her hand as she leaned on the dresser and studied the photos, realizing that JC looked virtually nothing like the rest of his family. 

Caroline heard some laughter floating up from downstairs, so she left the room and made her way back down.  On the way, she slowed to examine more family photos hanging on the wall of the stairwell.  Here, she was treated to basically a visual play-by-play of the lives of JC and his siblings.  Every school picture of every year was represented, and on JC's end, there were shots of NSYNC as well.  Caroline took a brief moment to appreciate the fact that millions of women would kill to be in her shoes, getting an inside look at the life of a pre-famous JC Chasez.

"What are you doing?"  The man himself appeared at the bottom of the stairs, and Caroline glanced down towards him.  He'd changed as well, into a pair of sweatpants and a plain white t-shirt.  It was the first time Caroline could ever remember seeing him look so...unfashionable.  "I was just coming to look for you."

"Just looking at pictures."  She stood back from the frames and tapped her chin.  JC climbed the stairs to stand next to her. 

"What?"  He reached over as if to cover up a picture of himself wearing MC Hammer pants.  "Don't judge my style choices."

"I always judge your style choices," Caroline replied.  "I was going to say that...you look nothing like your family."

JC shrugged.  "Probably because I'm adopted."

Caroline rolled her eyes and pushed on his shoulder.  "Ha ha."

He just stared at her.  "No, I really am."

"What?"  Caroline looked back at the pictures, focusing in on one with JC and his siblings.  Indeed, she couldn't find a single attribute to connect him to either of them, from hair color to bone structure.  "I didn't know that."

"I don't really think about it until people bring it up," JC admitted, shoving his hands in the pockets of his sweats.  "It's not really a big deal."

"No, it's not."  Caroline, wrapped her arms around herself, thinking about how lucky JC was to have such an amazing family, to have grown up in such a supportive environment, with parents who were still together and still loved each other.  She was thankful for her own family, but couldn't help be envious of the normalcy he had.

"Hey."  JC waved his hand in front of her face.  "Where'd you go?"

"Nothing.  Just, um...you have a really nice family," she said softly, and JC frowned.

"Are you gonna cry?"

Caroline sighed in disgust and pushed past him on her way down the stairs.  "I was trying to be genuine, but okay."

JC cackled behind her as they made their way downstairs.  "I know.  Sorry.  I think they're nice, too."  He motioned for her to follow him down a hallway.  "Family room's back here."

The backside of the house was home to a large, even cozier room with a plush couch, a couple armchairs, and a leather recliner.  JC's dad was already stretched out in the recliner, a newspaper unfolded in his lap.  Karen was setting a big bowl of popcorn on the coffee table as they entered, and a set of French doors opened up onto a spacious back deck that overlooked a sizeable backyard. 

JC made a beeline for the couch, instantly delving his hand into the popcorn bowl.  Caroline hovered near the door, stopping to inspect a few more framed photos on a bookshelf against the wall. 

It didn't take Karen long to notice Caroline lingering on the photographs, and she quickly jumped at the opportunity to pull out a vast collection of picture albums.  She sat Caroline down and went through them thoroughly, with a plethora of anecdotes about JC and his siblings along the way.  Present-day JC slouched in the corner of the couch, hogging the popcorn and zoning out at whatever was on TV, more or less completely oblivious.

It was safe to say that, as the evening wound down, Caroline had learned more about JC than she had ever cared to know. 

"My, it's late," Karen noted as she returned the heavy photo albums to their rightful places.  Whatever TV movie JC had been watching was apparently ending, and the popcorn bowl was completely empty.   Caroline leaned back on the couch with a yawn and a glance at her watch - it was just barely past 10, but she was beat. 

"You two must be exhausted, with all that travelling today," Karen added, and JC shrugged, picking up the remote to flip channels. 

"I feel fine.  Is there more popcorn?"

"Not for you, fatty," JC's dad teased as he stood from his easy chair.  "You downed the entire bowl."

JC frowned but didn't argue.  Roy and Karen bid them both a goodnight as they made to head upstairs, but not before Karen fussed about making sure Caroline knew where the bathroom was and the spare towels were kept.

The family room fell into comfortable silence after JC's parents went upstairs.  Caroline tried her best to stay on the television screen, even as JC changed channels every two seconds, but her eyelids felt heavy and her vision was beginning to blur. 

"Are you asleep?"  Suddenly, JC was leaning across the couch, studying her face.  Caroline pushed him away.

"No, but I need to be."  She got to her feet, only slightly unsteadily.  "I'm going to bed.  Goodnight."

"Okay."  She was halfway to the door before JC said her name.  "Caroline?"

She turned, to survey her boss, now leaning forward, knees on his elbows.  "Yes?"

"Are you alright?" he questioned, sounding completely sincere and holding one hand out carefully, almost as a peace offering.  "Like, really alright?"

For a moment, Caroline panicked, afraid that JC had somehow penetrated the emotional wall she'd erected over the last couple of weeks.  She felt the wall itself begin to crumble slightly as she envisioned sitting back down next to JC and pouring out all of the heartache and hurt she'd been keeping bottled up for too long already.

Instead, she cleared her throat and straightened her shoulders.  "I'm fine.  Just tired.  Not all of us downed seventeen cups of coffee on the flight in."

The quip seemed to muffle the serious atmosphere somewhat, and JC leaned back on the couch, raising the remote again.  "Whatever. ‘Night."

Caroline got ready for bed in the nautical-themed hall bathroom.  The dark blue towel that she used was soft and smelled like a freshly laundered mixture of fabric softener and, oddly enough, JC himself.  Caroline couldn't pinpoint it exactly, but it was as if the house he'd grown up in had left his mark on him and became a part of his natural scent somehow.  She re-hung the towel with slightly trembling hands, blaming it on lack of sleep.

However, once she was in bed, tucked comfortably between cool sheets, her head on a plump pillow, Caroline could not bring herself to fall asleep.  She tossed and turned for what felt like hours, trying not to look at the clock and make sure how long it had actually been since she'd laid down.

At some point, Caroline heard JC making his way upstairs.  She listened as he padded into his own room across the hall, and then to the bathroom.  She waited until she heard his bedroom door close before closing her eyes and finally drifting off.