"That took forever," Justin complained from the backseat. They had just pulled into JC's neighborhood and he'd been whining about how long they'd been at the compound talking to Johnny since they left. Much to Chris's annoyance.

Lance glanced at him through the rearview mirror, not taking his eyes off the road for more than a second. "It wasn't that bad."

"I thought he handled it pretty well considering," Chris added.

"Yeah, sure. Of course, you weren't the one he was asking a ton of questions to." Chris could see Justin cross his arms over his chest through the side mirror. "You'd think having gone blind would give me a free pass from an interrogation."

"He wasn't on your case, he was concerned," Lance corrected.

Justin waved him off, but he did fall silent. Chris exchanged an amused look with Lance, knowing that Justin wasn't as put off about Johnny's questions as he acted. Considering he'd been terrified of being blind the rest of his life, it was obvious he was happy that it was now just a story - something that'd happened to him briefly. As long as he didn't do anything that would reverse the progress he'd made anyway, and Chris didn't expect Justin to do anything like that in the slightest.

Lance turned to pull into JC's driveway and almost immediately Chris got a feeling in his stomach, a strange one that told him something was wrong. It was something that was further heightened after they parked and headed up the drive, now able to see that the front door stood wide open. His stomach dropped at the sight and the three of them went to rush forward to go inside, but they were stopped by their bodyguards.

"Let us go in first," Dre said.

Dre and Mike didn't wait for their consent before they pushed past, cautiously but quickly entering the house. Chris glanced at Lance and Justin before he rushed inside with them right behind him. They knew Dre and Mike were just doing their job, but Chris got the feeling that whatever happened had been a while ago. And the sight that greeted him in the foyer seemed to confirm that.

Lonnie and Tiny were on the floor just a couple feet away from Joey, though they were both awake. Joey seemed to be unconscious, and Chris quickly scanned his body, looking for any blood or sign of major injury. There was nothing as far as he could see, but it sounded like he was about to find out what'd happened.

Mike had asked Lonnie, who looked to be the most coherent of the two bodyguards, what'd happened and Lonnie frowned a little like he was trying to recall exactly what had happened. "The doorbell rang, and Joey went to answer it. He was sprayed in the face with something. We were only a few feet behind him and I was able to make out two guys before they sprayed me too. And then they threw a smoke bomb, which made it impossible to see anything."

That was all Chris needed to hear. He ran upstairs, afraid of what'd happened to JC and Alice if that had happened to their bodyguards and Joey. As he climbed the stairs, he was already figuring he would find no one - that whoever those guys were had gotten to JC and Alice and had taken them. It turned out he was only half right.

Leaning heavily against the doorframe was JC's slumped form. His chin was resting on his chest and his eyes were closed. Chris knelt down beside him and shakily reached out for his neck to check for a pulse. He let out a relieved sigh when he felt a slow but steady rhythm under his fingers. But that was when he noticed the blood on JC's shoulder and on his right hand. It took him only a second to figure out that the shoulder was what was actually injured and that the hand just had the transfer of blood, likely from JC grasping his arm in pain.

Without thinking, Chris took off the coat he was wearing and balled it up before pressing it firmly against the still bleeding shoulder. It elicited a grimace and a quiet groan from JC, which was music to his ears. He kept his right hand holding the makeshift bandage in place while his left reached up and rested against the side of JC's face. "That's it. C'mon, C."

At that moment Chris heard footsteps coming up behind him, and he glanced over his shoulder to see Justin, who looked to be a little shell shocked at the sight of JC, bleeding and barely gaining consciousness. He understood the fear because he was feeling it too, but they didn't have time for it.

"Get the blanket off his bed," he instructed Justin.

Justin only hesitated for a second before he quickly but carefully made his way past the two of them to get into the bedroom. As he did that, Chris removed his hand from JC's face and pulled out his cell phone to call for an ambulance. He took a shaky breath to calm himself as he listened to it ring and a second later a female dispatcher answered. He answered all of her questions to the best of his ability and told her JC's address as Justin returned and draped the large comforter from the bed over JC as best he could considering Chris was a permanent fixture to his side to keep pressure on the wound. She asked him to stay on the line, but he didn't listen to her as he saw that JC was showing more signs of fully regaining consciousness.

Chris shifted, pressing a little harder against JC's shoulder and almost wincing himself as JC let out a painful cry. He felt bad for causing him more pain, but he couldn't help the relief he felt at seeing blue eyes staring back at him. It didn't seem like he was completely with it, but that might be a good thing at the moment.

"It's okay, JC. We're here," Justin said, kneeling on JC's other side and taking his hand. He didn't seem to care at all that it was covered in blood.

JC looked at Justin before looking back at Chris, his eyes filling with tears. It was hard to say if it was from the pain in his shoulder or what'd happened. He felt it was obvious what'd happened, but he also felt like he still needed to ask.

"JC, where's Alice?"

JC was quiet longer than Chris was comfortable with, and he began to worry that maybe he was in shock and hadn't even heard him. But JC's face crumpled and tears fell from his eyes as he said quietly, "Gone." He paused and tried to take a breath but ended up choking on a sob. "They took her!"

Justin and Chris shared a brief worried look before they both began to do their best to reassure him. Chris didn't know much about first aid - at least not the kind that involved gunshot wounds - but he knew no matter the injury you were supposed to try to keep the person calm. It didn't seem possible given what'd happened and how upset JC had already been over Beth prior to any of this happening, but he'd certainly try.

"Shh, it's alright," Chris soothed. "We'll get her back, but right now we need to focus on you."

"No," JC protested, shaking his head. It barely moved side to side, and how weak he seemed to be worried Chris. Though, he had to remind himself that JC hadn't exactly been feeling one hundred percent since he'd agreed to watch Alice what with the lack of sleep and then the ever present cold.

Justin leaned forward just slightly so he was more in JC's line of sight and could make eye contact with him. "C'mon, Jace. You know you can't do anything until we get your shoulder looked at."

JC didn't respond, but that was fine because there were loud footsteps behind them. Chris turned and saw, like he expected, that the paramedics had arrived. There were two of them - a man and a woman - and the female asked him to step back so they could work on JC.

He had no problem with that, knowing he was in good hands. So he took several steps backward, taking the now stained coat with him as there was no longer a need for it. Justin seemed much more reluctant to remove himself from JC's side, still clutching his hand tightly. Chris would've gone around the paramedics to gently pull him away, but because they were basically at the top of the stairs on the edge of the landing there wasn't really any room to do so. So he settled for giving Justin a look, and even then it was still with great reluctance that Justin moved back so the male paramedic could work alongside his partner.

In a matter of just minutes, the paramedics had placed some gauze over JC's wounded shoulder as a temporary bandage and had him hook up to an IV. Chris had almost expected JC to freak when he saw the needle, but his eyes were half open and he was convinced that JC must've been on the verge of unconsciousness again. When the paramedics carefully moved him to the small stretcher they brought in with them, the female looked at Chris and Justin.

"Are one of you riding to the hospital with him?" she asked.

"I am," Chris said before Justin even had the chance to.

She nodded once. "Meet us outside," she instructed.

Then she and the other paramedic lifted the stretcher and carefully lifted JC into the air, carrying him down the stairs. As soon as they were out the door, Chris looked at Justin and could see he was about to protest. He quickly cut him off and said something that was going to garner an even stronger objection.

"I'm going," he said firmly. "And you're going to stay here."

Justin reacted pretty much exactly how Chris had thought he would. His eyes widened and his jaw dropped as he let out an incredulous, "What?".

"You need to rest."

Justin gave him a look. "It's not like I'm going to be able to sleep. I might as well go to the hospital."

Chris sighed heavily, knowing how freaked Justin was seeing JC like that and that he wanted to make sure he was okay. He got it, but he wanted to make sure that Justin was going to be okay too. "I want you to stay here and at least try to sleep. Or lay down with your eyes closed. The doctor said you need to rest them and what could happen if you overdo it. I don't want you to set yourself back."

"But JC-"

"Is going to be fine," Chris interrupted. He leveled him with a serious gaze. "I promise. If I didn't think so, I wouldn't be telling you not to come to the hospital. And someone should be here for Joey when he wakes up."

Justin was silent for a long moment and Chris thought he was going to fight more, but finally he sighed. "Fine."

Chris reached out and gave his shoulder a reassuring squeeze before turning to hustle down the stairs. Justin was right behind him, and when they got to the bottom they found that Lance was waiting for them. Their bodyguards and Joey were no longer laying in the foyer, and Chris suspected Mike and Dre had moved them when the paramedics arrived to clear a path.

"Dre called for a doctor to come check out Joey along with Lonnie and Tiny. I think I'm going to stay to make sure Joey's okay."

Chris nodded. "Good. Justin's staying too. I'm going to the hospital and I'll let you guys know as soon as I hear something."

"You're not taking anyone with you?" Lance asked, frowning. It was clear he was referring to their security team.

Chris opened his mouth to say that no he wasn't because they were kind of down a couple of bodyguards currently and he was more worried about them, that whoever had done this would come back. But before he could, a deep voice spoke and cut him off.

"Yes he is."

Chris sighed. "Mike," he began, but he didn't get a chance to say more.

"Save it, kid," Mike instructed, holding up a hand. "Given what happened, it would be stupid to let you go off anywhere alone. I'll follow you to the hospital in the car."

"He's right, Chris," Justin said. "Just like you want me to stay to make sure I'm okay, we want to know that you're going to be okay."

Chris knew Justin had a point, and he couldn't really object without being a major hypocrite. So he relented and told them to call with any updates on Joey while promising he would do the same about JC. He then quickly dashed out the door, knowing the paramedics were waiting on him. He just prayed that the hospital would have good news concerning JC and his injured shoulder. They certainly couldn't take any more bad news right now.

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

Chris leaned forward, locking his fingers behind his neck as he looked down at the tiled floor of the ER waiting room. Mike was sitting next to him, his eyes turned out as he watched the room, no doubt so he could be on alert for anything that may be suspicious. Not that he expected anything to happen Chris was sure. Being that Gabe had gotten what he'd wanted there was no need for him to continue to go after them. Though, he understood that Mike was just doing his job. God knew the last thing they needed was something else to happen.

With a heavy sigh, Chris unlocked his fingers and shifted so he was sitting back, slumped in the seat. They had been waiting there for nearly two hours now, and with each second that passed his worry intensified. Why was it taking so long? Did that mean the damage to JC's shoulder had been bad? There were so many questions and no one around to answer them. He'd tried to weasel information out of the nurse stationed at the nearby desk, but all she told him was that he had to wait for the doctor to come out.

"Here."

Chris blinked, snapping out of his thoughts at Johnny's voice and took the proffered coffee cup. Johnny had arrived within the first half hour of Chris arriving at the hospital with JC as Lance had called him, telling him what was happening. When Johnny had first got there, he'd fired off questions at Chris. How was JC? How did this happen? Does this have something to do with JC's friend and her daughter? Does anyone else know about this?

There was no doubt that Johnny was concerned for JC as he saw them all as almost like his own children, but he also knew that that wasn't the only thing he had to worry about. Johnny had to know exactly what was going on so that he could work with their PR guy to smooth anything over should any information about the situation get out to the press. So far things had been quiet, and Chris prayed they stayed that way. Dealing with the press was the last thing any of them needed.

Chris took the cup of coffee from Johnny, muttering his thanks. Johnny remained standing in front of him, a frown on his face.

"Are you sure we shouldn't call his parents?"

It was a question Johnny had asked about an hour ago, saying that it was probably a good idea to get his parents down here. Chris had told him no, explaining that they should at least wait and see what the doctor said before they decided if that was necessary. And he stood by that.

Chris shook his head. "It should be up to him, don't you think? I don't want to call them in if he doesn't want them here."

"Why wouldn't he?" Johnny asked.

Chris shrugged and was about to offer up a reason why JC might not want his parents around, but he spotted a doctor come out from the double doors that led back to the examination rooms. He stood up, sensing the doctor was looking for them and finally had news on JC. And sure enough, the doctor was heading right for them.

"Are you here for Joshua Chasez?" he asked as he approached.

"JC," Chris corrected automatically, nodding. Johnny turned around to face the doctor, and Mike stood as well. "How is he?"

"He's stable, and he's being moved to a recovery room now," the doctor said. "We got the bullet out and luckily there wasn't much damage. It didn't go as far in as it could've and it missed any nerves there completely. He's very lucky."

Chris wasn't sure that was the word he would use to describe JC given how much he'd suffered from this whole situation, but he couldn't deny he felt grateful that he seemed to have caught a break. It was about time.

"So he'll make a full recovery?" Johnny asked.

The doctor nodded. "His shoulder has been bandaged and is currently in a sling. It will have to remain that way for a few days, but there is no lasting damage to the tissue or muscles. He'll just have to take it easy for a while as it heals."

"Can we see him?" Chris asked, feeling a bit impatient. He was obviously glad to hear the doctor say that he would recover and that he was okay, but it was something he needed to see for himself.

"Of course. I'll show you to the recovery room he's been placed in," the doctor said and motioned for them to follow.

As they walked down the hall, Chris had more questions for the doctor. "And how long will he have to be in there? Can he go home today?"

The doctor nodded once again. "I see no reason why not. We just want to monitor him for a couple hours to make sure he remains stable and that there's no infection with the wound."

They walked further down the hall and at the end of the hall Chris saw a couple of police officers standing outside of a door. He felt his gut twist slightly, knowing that they were there because of what'd happened to JC.

"Is it really necessary for the cops to be here?"

"I'm afraid it's protocol whenever a gunshot wound in involved. However, I wouldn't allow them in to see your friend if I didn't think that he could handle it," the doctor explained. "He was coming around when he was being moved to this room."

Chris was glad to hear that JC was awake, but he didn't like that he was almost being bombarded to talk to the police so soon after his surgery. Even though he wanted the police involved and thought their help was necessary, he didn't want to do anything to further upset JC. Something that would surely happen if they just walked in there, demanding answers to their questions.

"I can go in first, right?" Chris asked the doctor, purposely ignoring the two cops. He wanted them to know who was truly in charge here.

"Yes, I feel that would be best. Mr. Chasez may be a bit disoriented at first." The doctor looked him in the eye and continued, "I should warn you though, he may be in a bit of pain. Because of the amount of cold medicine he'd taken, we can't put him on a morphine drip or any other pain medication without risking some severe side effects."

Chris nodded to show he understood, and he opened the door to JC's room. He stepped inside and just before the door closed, he could hear Johnny asking the doctor some more of his own questions. When the door clicked back into the frame, JC turned his head and met his gaze.

"Hey, Jace," Chris greeted as he moved closer, taking a seat next to the bed. "How are you feeling?"

JC attempted to say something, but all that came out was a rough sounding croak. He cleared his throat before trying again. "Like hell," he rasped.

Chris nearly winced at the harsh quality to his voice. He knew that it was partly because of the cold he'd been suffering from the last couple days but also likely from the surgery. And he looked just as bad as he sounded. His skin was so pale, and his eyes were red and sunken. His bandaged shoulder and the sling were easy to see as he was shirtless. Something that just seemed to make him cold as Chris noticed the goose bumps that ran up and down his arms.

JC looked like he was going to say something else, but Chris quickly shushed him and poured a cup of water from the pitcher that was sitting next to the bed. He put a straw in it and held the cup close to his face, the straw positioned so he could easily drink.

As began taking slow sips from the straw, Chris said, "The cops are here."

JC released the straw from his lips and gently used his right hand to push away the cup, signaling that he was done for now. He licked his lips and looked away as he said, "I don't want to talk to them."

"JC..." Chris began. Maybe this wasn't the best thing to start with, but he knew the cops wouldn't allow them to have too much time to themselves. And he really kind of wanted JC to talk to them. This situation had gone on long enough and it definitely had gotten to the point where they needed help if they wanted to get Alice back, which Chris was sure JC did.

"What good will it do?" JC asked, grimacing in pain as he shifted slightly.

"You can get Alice back for one," Chris said, giving him a look. He couldn't believe JC refused to see that. "And not to mention you can get Gabe thrown in jail."

JC looked at him, looking more helpless than challenging that Chris had expected him to be. "How?" he asked. "It's not like we have any proof that he killed Beth or stole Alice back. They aren't going to arrest him just because I tell them I know he did it."

"They can find the guys that did Gabe's dirty work, tie them back to him."

JC shook his head. "Not if they're working for Gabe."

Chris couldn't help but sigh in aggravation. It was the same excuse JC had given him last time when he'd first pushed for them to call the police, and he didn't understand it. JC was letting Beth's fears dictate what he did, just like they had surely done for her. Even if Gabe knew someone in the police department, there was no way he knew everyone.

"JC, you have to stop giving him so much power. It's exactly what Beth did and look where she ended up."

JC's eyes filled with tears and his body began to quake slightly like he was trying to hold back sobs. "Stop it! Don't you talk about her like that."

"Did you ever think this is what he wants?" Chris challenged, determined to make JC see how ridiculous this was. "That he could be lying? That he just said that so it scares people into staying with him?"

"Beth didn't do that," he objected, his voice quiet and sounding thick from the built up mucus in his sinuses.

"No," Chris agreed. She had left, but JC was missing the point. "But she was scared of him. Scared of what he would do if she went to the police, which just made it that much easier for him to get to her."

JC didn't say anything, tears falling from his eyes. He bit his lip, like he was still fighting to keep some semblance of control. Part of Chris wanted to pull JC in for a hug and tell him to just let out everything that he was feeling, but he knew this wasn't the time for it. As much as he needed to grieve, they could do a lot more with his help. He knew the most about Gabe and Beth's situation, and that would be critical to finding Alice.

"C'mon, C. You know this is the right thing to do." Chris leaned forward, putting himself in JC's line of vision so he would look at him. "Alice is counting on you. You can still save her."

The door opened then, and Chris nearly groaned at the poor timing. He supposed he should be grateful they'd given him as much time as they had because he'd known they'd be impatient to get their job done. But he felt like he was on the verge to getting through to JC. Johnny walked in behind the cops and he stood near the door as the cops moved to the foot of the bed so they were in JC's line of sight.

"Mr. Chasez, I'm Ed Strickland," the taller and older one said. He gestured to his partner. "And this is Vince Wise. We're here to ask you a few questions about what'd happened."

JC said nothing. He was looking down at his sheet covered legs, like he was trying to avoid their gazes. Chris jumped in and said, "Do either of you know a Gabe?" He wanted to say his last name, but he didn't even know his last name. But he still wanted to at least see how they reacted to his question.

There were confused looks on their faces and even Johnny seemed unsure why Chris was asking this, but Chris kept his gaze locked on the two men. He wanted an answer to his question. And finally, after they exchanged a glance, the two men finally spoke.

"What does that have to do with anything?" the younger cop said with a bit of an attitude. Chris narrowed his eyes at him, feeling the man wasn't being all that professional.

"I don't know any Gabes," the older cop that'd introduced himself as Strickland said. He glanced briefly at JC before looking back at Chris. "Does this have anything to do with what happened?"

"Send your partner out of the room, and I'll tell you," Chris said.

"What?" the other cop replied. He looked angry. "This isn't how this works."

He seemed like he would've gone on, prepared to rant, but his partner held up a hand. "Why don't you let me handle this, okay Vince?"

The younger cop shot daggers at Chris, but he listened to his partner and walked out the door. Once they were gone, Chris felt immensely better. For some reason he had a feeling that guy wouldn't be much help, even before he opened his mouth and proved what a douche bag he was.

"Will you tell me what happened now?" Strickland asked.

Chris shifted in his seat, sitting back. "Well, it's not really my story to tell."

He looked over at JC, who had yet to say a word or look up from his blankets since the cops had come in. Finally, he took a shaky breath and raised his head so he was looking Strickland head on.

"I'll tell you if you promise to help," JC said.

Strickland offered him a firm nod. "That's my job."

With another deep breath, JC finally launched into what'd happened, starting at the beginning. Chris couldn't help but feel relieved and immensely proud. It seemed like he'd said just the right things to JC for once.

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

Justin opened his eyes, feeling a bit cautious. But he immediately relaxed when he realized he still had his sight and it did seem to continue to get better and better. He was still kind of afraid he would wake up and be blind again. Maybe after a couple more times of him waking up with nothing changing he would truly relax and accept that his blindness did seem to be behind him.

He'd forced himself to go up to bed and lay down like Chris had instructed after the doctor had examined Joey and given him the all clear. Surprisingly it hadn't taken him all that long to fall asleep. It still took about an hour, but given that JC was at the hospital and they'd been still waiting to hear how he was from Chris, it didn't seem long at all. And he had to admit that his eyes did feel better - they didn't hurt as much as they had.

A glance at the alarm clock on the bedside night table told him he'd been asleep for about four hours. Surely, JC and Chris had to be back from the hospital by now. Unless of course JC was hurt more than they'd originally thought. He did his best to push that thought away, but he knew he wouldn't truly believe it until he saw for himself.

Justin stood up, not having bothered with covers at all when he'd gone to bed. He walked out into the hall and towards JC room, peeking in. A sigh of relief escaped his lips when he saw JC laying in bed, sleeping with the covers pulled up almost to his neck. It felt so much better knowing he was home and back with them where they could keep an eye on him. And of course that he wasn't injured badly enough for a long-term hospital stay.

He walked down the stairs and towards the living room thinking that was where the guys probably were. But as he got closer to the living room, he could hear voices and knew that they weren't coming from there. So he altered his path just slightly and turned left instead of right so he ended up in the kitchen where indeed the guys were sitting around the table.

"That cop was such an asshole," Chris was saying as Justin stepped further into the kitchen.

"What cop?" he asked, moving around the table and taking an open seat near Joey who was sitting across from Chris.

"One of the cops that showed up to talk to JC at the hospital," Lance said.

"Yeah, but I got rid of him. The other guy that JC talked to was much nicer and more understanding."

Justin blinked, surprised by that. The last time it'd been brought up that JC should talk to the police, he'd practically freaked at the idea. "JC talked to the police?"

Chris looked at him and nodded. He likely understood his surprise given that he'd been the one to witness JC's strong objections to getting the police involved too. "Yeah. He realized that they have more power to help find Alice and arrest Gabe for everything he did."

"What all are they doing?" Joey asked.

"Well for starters, they're going to look for Beth's body."

Justin leaned forward. "You think they'll find her?"

Chris shrugged. "As long as those guys didn't take her body back to Gabe. Like for proof or something that they'd killed her."

Justin sat back a little at that, the thought of it disturbing. It was bad enough those two guys had just murdered her in cold blood, but it was really twisted to think they might've taken her body back to Gabe as almost like a trophy. He sincerely hoped that wasn't the case and that the cops did find her. Not only so she could be found and her death publicly recognized but so JC could deal. He'd about flipped out when they'd told him that no one had found her and nothing about her death had been on the news; he felt she deserved a funeral and for people to know what'd happened to her. And maybe by giving those things to her, it would allow JC to deal with his grief more.

"Are they going to look for Gabe?" Lance asked.

"Well," Chris started and then sighed. "It's a little tricky because JC has never met him so he didn't exactly have a description to give to the cops. But he did tell them what those two guys looked like, and so Strickland is going to be on the lookout for them."

Justin figured that was the name of the cop Chris kept referring to. It was clear he'd missed a lot, but he didn't want to interrupt and demand that they fill him in everything they'd talked about before. Well, he did, but it could wait.

"And they're going to use them to find Alice?" Justin asked.

"Yeah, that's the plan."

"And if they do find her, what happens then?" he pressed. He may not know Alice very well, but he was concerned for the little girl. Though, he couldn't deny part of it was he was worried about her because he knew that if anything happened to her JC would be devastated.

"Well, assuming that they find Gabe too and throw his ass in jail, they'll probably look for any other family she can go to. If there is none, she'll be put into the system," Chris explained.

"And given what JC has told us about Beth's family, they probably won't find anyone," Lance pointed out.

Justin frowned. "Being thrown into orphanages and foster homes doesn't sound good."

"It sucks," Chris agreed, "and they usually try to avoid it at all costs. But it will be better for her than being with her father, especially if he's abusing her."

"That's not going to happen." Their attention was immediately drawn to the doorway of the kitchen and they saw JC standing there. "I'm going to adopt her."

They were all surprised at the declaration, but Justin found he was more taken aback at his friend's haggard appearance. His clothes were wrinkled from sleep and his hair was mussed. He had more color than he had when they'd first found him before the ambulance had arrived, but he was still really pale. Justin couldn't see the bandage on his shoulder given that the t-shirt JC was wearing covered it, but his arm was in a sling. It was obvious that he was exhausted and in pain, but his expression was firm.

"JC, do you even know what you're saying?" Chris asked.

JC glared, seeming to take offense to that. "Of course I do. I have to do this. It's the right thing to do."

They all glanced at each other, and Lance cleared his throat. He stood up and went over to JC, putting a hand on his uninjured right arm. "I know you're attached to her and want to do this for Beth, but you have to know this isn't a good idea."

JC jerked his arm away from Lance, coughing and grimacing in pain as he did so. "I'm doing this for Alice. She needs someone that loves her and can take care of her. I can do that."

"C'mon, C. You know this just isn't feasible. How are you supposed to take care of her when we're constantly traveling? Kids need stability."

JC just seemed to intensify his glare aimed at Chris. "She needs to be with someone she trusts. I can take her with us. She's so well behaved it won't be a problem."

"What about school?" Joey asked. "She's about that age, isn't she?"

"I'll get her a tutor. Like we did for Justin and Lance."

Lance shook his head. "That was different, JC. Chris is right. She needs stability - to go to the same school and see the same friends day after day. She needs routine and our lives are anything but."

JC's eyes narrowed further and he looked like he was two seconds away from losing his cool. Justin could understand why the guys were concerned about JC's decision, but all they were doing was getting him more worked up and just pissing him off. He surely felt like they were all ganging up on him, trying to tell him how stupid he was for trying to help a little girl that he was clearly attached to.

"If this is what you want, we'll make it work," Justin told JC. When JC looked over at him, he nodded and almost instantly he could see some of the tension leave JC's body now that he knew he had at least someone on his side.

It was silent in the kitchen for a long moment before Chris broke it. "Do you even want kids?" he asked.

JC shrugged, looking exhausted as he let go of his anger once he realized they weren't attacking him anymore. "I never thought about it before. It wasn't like any of my girlfriends ever gave me the opportunity to really consider it. But it just feels right."

Chris sighed. "I just want to make sure this is really what you want. That you're not doing this because you feel like you have to. Beth would understand."

"That isn't why he's doing this," Joey said. Justin turned to look at him, a little taken by surprise. He didn't know that JC had talked to Joey about why he was looking after Alice, but clearly he had. "He's doing it because he loves her. Any of us can see that."

Justin realized that it wasn't so much that JC had talked to Joey but that Joey had just seen what was so obvious. JC was painfully attached to Alice and doted on her, acting probably more like a father to her than Gabe ever had. And Justin knew without a doubt that JC would do a fantastic job raising Alice. Maybe this wasn't the way any of them had ever expected a kid to come into their lives, but he couldn't help but agree with JC. It felt right watching him with her.

"Joey's right," Justin said. "Alice needs JC. After everything she's been through, she deserves to have someone be there for her now that her mother can't."

JC gave him a watery smile, and Justin smiled back at him. They might have fought a lot recently, but when it came to the things that truly mattered, they always had each other's backs. And Justin vowed to make sure that never changed as he was sure that JC would probably need all of their help to get him through this.

"Okay," Chris said at last. "I'll help you; we all will. You know that."

JC nodded. "Thank you," he said quietly.

"I'll call a lawyer," Lance said, already reaching into his pocket for his cell phone. He glanced up at JC. "And I'll let Johnny know."

JC shifted, and Justin could tell that he felt bad about adding more to Johnny's plate. But it wasn't enough to deter him from what he felt was the right decision. It was something Justin was actually glad for. Too often JC worried about what the press or other people would think and would let it keep him from doing something he wanted. This was too important for that, and it wasn't like it was a sure thing the press would even find out about it. Maybe eventually, but hopefully by that point Alice would be officially in JC's custody and comfortable with the five of them so it wouldn't be that big of a deal.

Justin stood up and moved to JC. "C'mon, Jace. Let's get you back to bed. You look dead on your feet."

JC shook his head weakly. "I wanna shower."

Justin looked at him and the exhaustion was so easy to see. He was hesitant to let JC shower by himself, afraid that his legs would give out on him and that he'd hurt himself or injure his shoulder even more. "How about a bath?" he suggested.

"Fine," JC relented, his cold making him sound even more miserable than he looked. But he allowed Justin to gently steer him towards the stairs. The sooner JC got his bath, the sooner he could get back to bed.

Justin had a feeling he was going to need to regain as much of his strength as he could because it seemed unlikely things would be as easy as the cops arresting Gabe, leaving JC to adopt Alice. He hoped it happened like that, but he was quickly learning that things concerning Gabe were much more complicated than they appeared.