Justin sat in one of the hard plastic chairs that resided in the waiting room of the doctor's office, his leg bouncing. He was much too anxious to sit, but he knew he couldn't get up and pace around the office. For one thing he would surely annoy the receptionist behind the desk and for another, he was trying to keep a low profile. As well as he could with Lance and Chris with him along with two of their burly security guards.

It'd been at JC's insistence that they took Mike and Dre with them, while Lonnie and Tiny stayed at the house. Justin had initially protested because he'd wanted to keep him going to the doctor as quiet as possible. No one had seen him the other day when he'd first gone in and he wanted to keep it that, which would be much harder with their bodyguards. But JC had expressed his concern that Gabe had people watching them and that they would try to do something to them as a way to get to him. That had been all it took for Chris to agree, and the look on JC's face was enough to keep Justin from protesting.

Suddenly a hand was pressed against his leg, effectively stilling the movement. He looked over and wasn't at all surprised to find that the hand belonged to Chris. "What?"

"Stop jiggling your leg. It looks like you have to pee," Chris said, removing his hand and sitting back in his seat.

Justin could hear Lance sigh from the other side of Chris before he leaned forward so he could look past Chris. "You nervous?" Lance asked.

He thought about downplaying it, but he nodded. "Yeah, kind of."

"Why? Your vision is getting better," Chris said.

"I know." Justin shifted in the uncomfortable chair, sighing a little. "I think I'm just afraid this is temporary. That this is like a big tease before I'm pitched into a world of darkness again. Permanently."

Lance offered him a sympathetic expression. "The odds of that happening are probably pretty slim. I think it's pretty encouraging you can see, even if it's not perfect."

Justin knew that Lance was right and that he was just being crazy for thinking that he might lose his sight again. But considering how suddenly he'd lost it in the first place, he didn't think it was out of the question to consider it as a possibility. Though, if his vision wasn't in jeopardy of disappearing again he would make damn sure that he would never touch drugs again. Even though there was no solid proof that his recreational drug use at the parties in Vegas was the cause, he wouldn't risk it again. Not now that he knew just how much he'd really taken his eyesight for granted and how hard things were without it.

Finally, a nurse came out to take him back. She called a name that Lance had set up as an alias for him because saying "Justin Timberlake" in a semi-crowded waiting room would completely destroy the low profile he was trying to keep. He followed her back with Chris and Lance coming up behind him while the bodyguards remained in the waiting room.

Justin hopped in the exam chair as instructed and was told that the doctor would be in shortly. He sat there, trying not to fidget too much as he made his best effort to wait patiently. Thankfully he didn't have to wait more than a couple of minutes before the doctor came in, quickly introducing himself as Eric Kline.

"Alright, I was briefed about your situation," the doctor said as he took a seat on a stool that he rolled over so he was next to Justin. "Can you tell me in detail what you've been experiencing?"

Justin nodded, taking a breath to try to calm his nerves and get his thoughts together. He explained to the doctor the sudden blindness and the rationale the doctor in the ER had used to try to reason why it'd happened. Then he told him about how it'd seemed to return just as suddenly, albeit a bit blurry.

The doctor listened, jotting notes down on his clipboard. When Justin was finished, Doctor Kline set aside his notes and said, "Okay, let's take a look at those eyes, huh?"

He stood up to grab some eye drops, which Justin realized were the same ones that the ER doctor had used to dilate his pupils so the eye was more visible. The lights were turned down to a low light before the doctor carefully placed the drops in Justin's eyes. After giving his eyes a couple seconds to adjust, Doctor Kline began the examination.

Justin did his best to stay still and, most importantly, not to move his head much unless the doctor specifically asked him to. It was easier said than done though, and several times he found himself gripping the arms of the chair he was sitting in as his anxiety coursed through him. Finally, after what felt like an hour but surely wasn't more than fifteen minutes, Doctor Kline straightened his back and got up to turn on a dim light across the room.

"Just lie there for a minute to let your eyes adjust to the light as I tell you what I saw, okay?"

Justin didn't say anything, but he nodded ever so slightly. He wanted to turn his head to look at Chris and Lance, but it wasn't really necessary. It was obvious they were just as anxious as he was to hear what the doctor had found.

"The good news is that your eyesight is definitely improving. Whatever had caused the problem has seemed to be corrected."

"And the bad news?" Chris asked, and Justin didn't need to look at him to know he was frowning. He could hear the concern in his voice.

"No bad news," the doctor said, shaking his head. "His eyesight will continue to improve and I have no reason to believe it won't be back to normal soon. The only thing I will caution is to not overwork the eyes while they're still healing."

The tone he said that in made it sound like he believed that was exactly what Justin was doing. "I'm not," Justin said, feeling a bit defensive.

"When was the last time you rested?" Doctor Kline asked.

Justin paused, having to think about it. His sense of time had been all screwed up since he'd gone blind, and it was hard to remember how much time had actually passed versus what he'd thought. But apparently his hesitation was enough to prove the point, and the doctor continued.

"I would advise that you go home and at least try to sleep for a few hours. Given how sensitive your eyes still are, eyestrain could potentially reverse the progress you've made."

"What about the blurriness? That'll go away with time?" Lance asked.

The doctor nodded. "You might as well continue using the eye drops until they're gone as they can only help strengthen his eyes. It's really just dependent on getting rest and allowing time for them to finish healing."

"And that's it? His vision will be back to normal just like that?" Chris asked.

"All signs point to that, yes."

Justin couldn't help the relief that washed over him at hearing it confirmed once more. He'd been so terrified that he would be blind for the rest of his life, but now all he felt was immense relief...and elation. All he wanted was to shout his joy from rooftops, but he managed to pushed down the feeling and settled for smiling at the doctor.

"Thanks, Doc," he said as he all but jumped up from the chair.

Doctor Kline watched him, and Justin could see the amusement in his eyes. "I would suggest you take it easy, and you might want to grab some sunglasses on your way out. Your eyes are still dilated and can be easily damaged if they're not protected."

"We got it covered," Chris said. He stuck his hand out and the doctor grasped it, shaking it briefly. "Thank you."

Justin said his thanks too, and he followed Lance back out to the waiting room where the bodyguards were. Lance stepped forward to sign him out. It had to have been the only good thing about his eyes not being one hundred percent - he hadn't had to fill out any paperwork. And as nice as that was, he found a part of him couldn't wait until the next time he had to fill out some monotonous form. It was odd the things you took for granted when you were unable to do them for yourself, even for such a short time.

Once Lance got Justin checked out and confirmed there was nothing else the receptionist needed, they headed for the door. Just before they stepped outside Chris reached into his pocket and pulled out his pair of sunglasses, handing them to Justin. He sighed thinking it was unfortunate he hadn't had the foresight to bring his own, but he thanked Chris all the same. After everything he'd gone through the last few days, he certainly didn't want to do anything that would risk setting back the progress his eyesight had made.

They were about halfway to the car when a sudden voice calling Justin's name made them stop. He wasn't able to see her well as the sun was forcing him to squint even with the sunglasses and the distance didn't help either. But he would recognize her voice anywhere, and once she got close enough he was able to make out enough features to confirm it.

"Vicki," Justin said, suddenly feeling awkward and not quite sure what to say to his ex-girlfriend.

"Justin." He might not be able to see every detail clearly, but he knew her well enough that he didn't really need to see her to know what she was doing. Her head turned just slightly and he could tell the instant that she frowned. It was just seconds before she greeted his entourage.

Out of all of them Lance was the only one to speak. "Hey, Vicki." He glanced at Justin and back at her before he said to Justin, "We'll be over by the car."

Justin nodded, vaguely watching the four semi-blurry forms of his friends and bodyguards walk away. They didn't go all the way to the car as Lance had indicated, but they were far enough that it gave the semblance of privacy while still allowing them to keep an eye on him. He wanted to argue it and demand they wait in the car, but he knew it wasn't really them trying to be nosy. They'd all sworn to JC that they would be careful while they were out and they had to ensure that no one was around to potentially take advantage of this distraction in the form of Vicki.

"Is everything okay?" she asked. A part of Justin hated that was her first question, that she didn't lash out in anger. It almost would've been easier if she had.

"Yeah," Justin said. "I was just getting a checkup." He was suddenly glad the building behind him was a large medical professional building that had several different doctors in it so no one could truly know the real reason he'd been there.

But Vicki didn't appear convinced with his lie. "A checkup?" she repeated, an eyebrow raising in suspicion. "You always take Chris and Lance and a couple of your bodyguards with you for just a physical?"

Justin didn't know what to say in response to that. He certainly couldn't tell her the truth. Not because he didn't trust her, but because she was no longer was in his inner circle and needed to know. So he ignored her question and instead asked one of his own.

"Is there a reason you stopped me?"

If she was hurt by his clear brush off, she didn't show it. "I just wanted to say hi." Justin gave her a look, knowing there had to be more to it than that. After a moment, she amended, "And I wanted to see if you wanted to talk."

"About what? There's nothing to talk about."

"I thought you might've changed your mind."

Justin gave her a disbelieving look. "And that's why you moved all your stuff out?"

"I was trying to give you space," Vicki started. "But yeah, I figured we'd talk again and I'd move back in."

He shook his head. "That's not going to happen. I didn't change my mind," he reiterated.

"Justin..." Vicki stepped forward with a hand out, and he took a step back so he was out of her reach. He could almost see the hurt look on her face as she pulled back her hand, but she didn't attempt to reach for him again. "I know that article freaked you out, but you can't let them ruin what we have."

"What we had was nice," Justin said, being sure to use past tense. He didn't want to give her any illusions that he hadn't meant what he said earlier and let her think they weren't over. "And this has nothing to do with the article. We're not right for each other. We don't want the same things."

"That's not true!" she objected. "You want the same things as me. I know you do. You're the person I'm supposed to marry and have kids with."

Without even knowing it, she'd proven his point right there. She might be able to picture having kids with him, but he couldn't. "We're too young to get married," he said, trying to voice his thoughts without coming off too harsh or mean.

"But if it's right, what does it matter?" she demanded. "We've been together for a year, and up until last week I thought you were working up to proposing."

Justin was well aware that she'd been waiting for him to ask her to marry him. He'd be lying if he said he hadn't entertained the idea of being married to her, but he'd never considered it seriously. He couldn't with how hectic his life and career was right now. But that hadn't stopped one of the many tabloids from considering it and putting out a story saying they had a source that'd informed them of his impending wedding nuptials, like he'd already proposed.

Vicki was right in that the article was the thing to set the events of the last week into motion, but that was where it stopped. He hadn't let it affect his decision to break up with her. It'd just been the push that'd forced him to put the thoughts he'd been having for the last couple months into action.

He loved Vicki, but he'd begun to feel pressured as she started putting out hints that she wanted a proposal. It'd made him question if they were meant to be together because he seemed unable to picture things as clearly as she could. In the end, he'd realized they weren't on the same page - she was ready to settle down and have kids while he wanted to enjoy his twenties first. He hadn't wanted to hurt her, but he knew stringing her along would've hurt her a lot more.

"I loved you, Vicki," Justin said at last. "I still love you, but I'm not in love with you."

It was an important distinction. He didn't know when he'd fallen out of love with her, but it wasn't fair to let her go on thinking nothing had changed. Maybe they did want the same things, but he didn't want marriage or kids within the next few years. If he had to put a number to it, he'd say he probably wouldn't want any of it until he was at least twenty-five. Vicki didn't want to wait, and he knew he couldn't ask her to wait that long. Timing was everything and they would never be in sync.

"What did I do? Whatever it is I can fix it," she said.

"You didn't do anything. It's all me."

Vicki was silent for a long minute as she stared at him. He did his best not to fidget under her gaze. Finally, she said, "You're really serious, aren't you?"

Justin held her gaze, forcing himself not to look away. "I am."

There was a bit more hesitation before she asked, "Can't we be friends?"

"I'm sorry," he said, shaking his head. "I think that'll just make it harder."

He could sense that his words hurt, like a knife to her heart. But she did her best to hide it as she cleared her throat and looked at him once more. "Good bye, Justin," she said and quickly leaned in to peck his cheek.

And just like that, she stepped away and continued on into the building. He watched her go for a second, feeling remorseful. The last year with her had been great and she'd been a close friend that he'd been able to share just about everything with. And if the last few days was any indication, it was going to take a while for him to get used to being on his own again.

Justin turned back to his friends and found they were still waiting with Mike and Dre. He walked over to them and said, "C'mon, the sooner we get to Johnny's, the sooner we can go home and relax."

He pretended not to see the looks that Chris and Lance exchanged with each other as he got in the car. His elation over the great news from the doctor had waned with the unexpected appearance of Vicki, and now he was just anxious to get back to JC's. Taking a nap didn't sound half bad now.

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

Joey sat at the kitchen table next to Alice as he watched JC moved about the room, preparing lunch for Alice. It was just after noon and he wasn't expecting the others back for at least another hour or so. He was anxious to know how the doctor went and what Johnny had to say, but he knew he'd find out in a couple hours. For now he just had to try to be patient and get his mind on something else.

"Are you sure you don't want me to do that?" Joey asked JC, frowning as he watched him give into a coughing fit after stooping down to retrieve a pot from one of the lower cabinets. He'd offered when JC had first mentioned he was going to make lunch, but he'd been turned down.

And so it wasn't any surprise to him when JC refused yet again. In fact, JC seemed quite annoyed at the question as he turned his head to glare at him. "I think I can handle heating up some soup and chicken nuggets."

Joey raised his hands as a sign of defeat. Once JC turned his back to what he was doing, he glanced across the table at Lonnie and the bodyguard looked back at him with an arched eyebrow. They'd very briefly filled in Lonnie as to what'd been going on, and he'd told the rest of their bodyguards before they'd even arrived. When they did show up, Lonnie's concern had been apparent - something that seemed to have grown the last couple hours as he got to see how JC was handling everything.

Well, really it was JC's refusal to deal with everything that had them concerned. Joey wanted nothing more than to talk to him about it, but he knew JC wouldn't say anything. Definitely not in front of Alice anyway, and he seemed determined to stay by her side, to be there to help her through her mother's death. All the while he pushed off his own feelings about Beth. It was a classic JC move and one Joey was very familiar with, but unfortunately most days you had to just wait it out. JC couldn't avoid his feelings forever and they would be there to help him when they finally spilled over the walls he'd built to delay his grief.

So Joey just continued to sit by, watching JC finish making lunch. He grimaced every time JC would sniff and wipe the dripping snot running out of his nose onto his shirt sleeve near his shoulder. The large oversized sweatshirt he was wearing made his skinny frame look even smaller and more frail. His red rimmed eyes and haggard expression didn't help any either. If any of their mothers were there, they would send him to bed immediately. But of course, they weren't and Joey felt like he didn't have the right to tell JC what to do especially since they were in his house.

JC turned the burner off and spooned some soup into a bowl before carrying it over to the table to sit it down in front of Alice. "Be careful, sweetie. It's hot," he cautioned her before quickly turning to retrieve the chicken nuggets from the oven.

The sudden movement caused him to stumble and Joey was immediately on his feet even though he knew he wouldn't be able to move nearly fast enough to catch him. Lonnie rose as well and while he was closer, he was still at least a foot away from JC. But thankfully JC was next to the island and was able to use that as leverage to keep himself upright and on his feet. Still, it didn't nothing to quell the worry Joey had, and if anything it made him determined to force JC to do something that would at least somewhat help with his cold.

"Here, Jace. I got it," Joey said, stepping away from the table completely and reaching JC in a couple of quick strides. He gently grabbed onto an arm and steered him away from the stove, pushing him to a seat at the table near Alice.

"Joey..." JC tried to protest as he worked to shake off Joey's hold. But JC wasn't near strong enough to really exert any kind of force that would remove Joey's hand - not with how weak the cold and his already previous exhaustion had made him anyway.

"I said I got it," Joey repeated. "Some chicken nuggets for Alice, and some soup for you."

He winked at the little girl as he said her name, causing her to giggle just slightly. It only lasted for a second, and he wished it would've lasted longer. He may not know her as well as JC seemed to, but he could tell that the demeanor she'd had since she'd woken up was much too serious for her.

JC sighed heavily. "Joey, I don't want any soup. I'm not hungry."

"You should be," Joey retorted, though he tried to keep his voice light. He didn't want to pick a fight with JC. Mostly because he didn't want to potentially upset Alice, but also because it didn't seem worth it. He couldn't remember the last time he'd seen JC eat, and he had a feeling that maybe part of the reason this cold was kicking his ass so bad was because he was literally running on empty.

"But-" JC continued to try to object only to be cut off by Lonnie.

"You should just let it go. You're not going to win this," the bodyguard said, barely glancing in JC's direction before he went back to reading that morning's paper.

JC let out a sound of annoyance, and Joey barely managed to keep himself from laughing at the look on his face. He looked more like a petulant five year old than the little girl sitting next to him. Normally Justin was the one who regressed greatly in maturity when he was sick or didn't get his way, but given everything that'd happened the last couple days, it was more than understandable.

"How about we all have lunch?" Joey suggested. He thought if they all ate that it would make JC feel less like the attention was on him and making sure he ate. But at the same time, he also knew that JC would have a much harder time refusing to eat when everyone else was eating.

"I didn't make enough for everyone," JC said.

Joey couldn't help but laugh at that, knowing JC said that to try to deter him from getting them all to sit down and eat. "Which is quite rude of you," he replied. "But I think I can handle heating up another can of soup."

He grabbed a plate and threw a few chicken nuggets on it before setting it in front of Alice. Then he went rooting through the cabinets looking for another can of soup for several seconds, but then JC sighed and pointed out which one held all of his non-perishable foods. Joey smile a little to himself knowing that JC had given in and resigned himself to having lunch with them. And that was all that mattered to Joey.

They invited Tiny in for lunch and the five of them spent the next half hour eating lunch, carrying on light conversation. Though, it was mostly Joey and the bodyguards talking. They tried to get Alice and JC to join in, but Alice seemed to have clammed up more since their bodyguards had arrived. And JC had eaten maybe half of his soup before he looked like he could fall asleep right there at the table at any moment.

"Why don't you go upstairs and take a nap?" Joey suggested when it was clear that JC wasn't going to be making any more effort to eat. "I can clean up lunch."

JC was silent for a moment, and Joey thought for sure that he was going to object and insist that he was fine. But after a long pause, he did a slow blink before nodding. "Yeah, okay."

Joey was almost surprised at how easily he'd agreed, but he knew not to look a gift horse in the mouth. It was obvious JC needed rest and if he was going to do that then that was great. Though, he knew he wouldn't really allow himself unless he could knew that Alice would be looked after.

Just as he opened his mouth to say that he would hang with Alice, she said, "I'll go with you."

"Alice, I thought me and you could hang out. Watch a movie and color maybe," Joey told her.

The little girl shook her head as she jumped down from her chair, immediately going to JC's side. "I stay with JC."

She was clinging to JC's right arm, looking more uneasy than Joey had seen her since they were first introduced to her. Not that he could blame her. She'd just lost her mom - it was a lot for a kid to deal with, especially her age, and she was probably just trying to stick close to the person that she felt closest to. And that was JC.

"Alice..." Joey began, prepared to try to entice her to stay with him instead. As much as he understood why she wanted to stick by JC, it didn't change that he needed rest. Something that he wouldn't get much of if he was watching her.

"It's okay," JC interrupted. "She can lay in bed with me."

Joey gave him a look. "JC," he said in a tone that belayed what a bad idea he thought that was. When JC didn't respond to it, he sighed and tried a different tactic. "You don't want her to get sick, do you?"

"I won't!" Alice objected. She then looked at Joey and said with a solemn expression and a sweet voice, "Promise."

JC gave Joey a look, one that said he understood what he was saying and that he didn't want her to get sick but he didn't want to refuse her either given what'd happened. Joey could practically see the struggle in his eyes and he realized then how deeply he really cared for her. It wasn't just out of a feeling of obligation to Beth that JC was watching Alice - he truly loved her and wanted to do whatever he could to help her. He was going to put aside his needs to do what he felt was best for her, and Joey knew at that moment that he'd lost.

Without another word between them, JC slowly rose from his seat and bent over slightly to pick up Alice. He groaned a bit as he lifted her up and settled her against his side, jostling her just slightly. Joey watched him with critical eyes, looking for any sign that he wasn't able to carry Alice because it hadn't been long since a wave of dizziness had nearly taken him down. But he seemed okay...at least for now.

"C'mon, Alice," JC said. "Let's go watch a movie in bed."

Joey watched them leave the kitchen, not feeling any less concerned. Though, he couldn't help feeling proud of JC. He was handling everything pretty well considering how much had happened in just a couple short days.

"Makes you feel like he'll be a pretty good dad someday, doesn't it?"

Joey turned in his chair to look at Tiny and couldn't help smiling slightly as he nodded. "There was never a doubt in my mind," he said. After all, there was a reason they called him the "daddy" of the group.

"You still look worried though," Lonnie pointed out.

Joey couldn't help the small sigh that escaped. "It's been a rough couple of days for him."

"He'll handle it," Lonnie replied. "Just like he always does."

Joey agreed, but he couldn't help thinking that it wasn't that simple. Their bodyguards had often seen all of them at their worst and likely knew that JC would struggle with his attempt at dealing with what'd happened, but they didn't see it firsthand. He wasn't sure JC was handling it much at all currently, and he worried what would happen when JC finally let himself deal with Beth's death. Though, he knew there was no sense in worrying about it now. They'd be there to help him through it and that was all that mattered.

Doing his best to keep his mind off it, Joey grabbed his soup bowl and stood up. He collected a couple other dishes before carrying them all over to the sink. It took another trip to the table to collect the rest and put them in the sink. He turned on the tap water and briefly rinsed off the dishes. Even though he told JC he'd do the dishes, all that meant to him was that he'd clear them off the table and move them to the dishwasher.

Joey had just finished stacking the dishes into the already full dishwasher when the doorbell rang. He shut the door to the appliance with a frown, wondering who was at the door. He was expecting the guys to return pretty soon, but there was no reason they would need to ring the doorbell as they all had keys to each other's houses.

Lonnie and Tiny both looked at him. "You guys expecting anyone?" Tiny asked.

Joey shook his head. "It's probably just one of JC's neighbors complaining that we're taking up all the street parking again," he said.

It happened a lot when they had parties at JC's house and while his driveway was fairly large, it was never big enough to accommodate everyone's cars. Lance's car might have been missing, but they had a couple of their bodyguards' cars too. Some of JC's neighbors could be really kind of bitchy.

Joey headed for the front door and knew without looking that Lonnie and Tiny were following. When he reached the door, he glanced out through the peep hole. He didn't recognize the people on the other side, but that wasn't unusual considering he didn't know many of JC's neighbors. He opened the door and almost immediately he was sprayed in the face with something.

Gagging and rubbing at his eyes, he stumbled backwards. His eyes burned, there was an odd taste in his mouth, and he could smell something sweet. He didn't know what he face full of, but he knew now that these people obviously weren't JC's neighbors.

"JC!" he managed to yell even in between gagging coughs.

Suddenly, Joey's felt weak and his legs collapsed beneath him, sending him crashing to the floor. At that moment, he heard a soft thump just before the foyer filled with smoke. Not that he'd been able to see much anyway given how much his eyes were watering from whatever had been in the spray. He could hear other coughing joining his, and he felt his fear for JC and Alice spike.

As everything grew hazy and he felt the pull of unconsciousness, he hoped that they were okay.

Upstairs, JC had fallen asleep, not lasting long in the movie that Alice had picked to watch as his exhausted body had begged for some relief. He had just woken up but unsure why given that it hadn't been very long since he'd fallen asleep. Glancing to his left, he saw that Alice was awake and actually looked fearful, her small arms wrapped around his middle as she clung to him. This immediately put him on alert.

"What's wrong, sweetie?" he asked her. But no sooner had the words left his mouth did he understand why she was scared.

Two guys came rushing into the room, and JC felt his stomach drop immediately as he recognized them. They were the same men that showed up at the train station, the same two that killed Beth.

Hurriedly, he worked to push himself up so he could grab Alice and try to run. There wasn't really anywhere for them to go, but he could lock them in the bathroom or something to buy them some time for help to arrive. The fact that no one had chased these guys up the stairs was very unsettling and told JC that it was up to him to protect Alice.

But his body was slow to respond, much more sluggish from his short nap than he wanted it to be. The men were much quicker than him too, and they were over to his bed in a matter of seconds, grabbing Alice and roughly ripping her away from JC.

"JC!"

"Alice!" he yelled.

The men had already turned to run out of his bedroom and he somehow found the energy to jump up from his bed, launching himself towards the door. He stumbled a bit upon landing and before he could even react, the guy that wasn't carrying Alice turned on his heel. JC didn't even see the gun, but he heard the loud bang and the sharp pain that tore through his shoulder a second later.

Instantly, he dropped to his knees, gasping in pain as he clutched at his shoulder. And that was all they needed to get away - the man carrying Alice already halfway down the stairs and the guy that shot JC right behind him. Several seconds later, JC heard a car take off down the street, tires squealing as it left in a hurry.

JC crumpled as the sobs rose up in his throat, wracking his thin frame and making him fall back against the door jamb. The pain in his shoulder was nothing compared to the pain in his heart. He'd just failed Alice - and by extension Beth - and that was something he could never forgive himself for.