The five of them sat in a conference room, waiting quietly as the lawyer read over Beth's will and letter. Lance glanced at JC, noticing that he was biting at his thumbnail. It was something he only really did when he was anxious, and the stiffness in his posture told Lance he was trying to prepare himself for the worst.

Lance looked back at the lawyer and saw that he was nearly finished reading Beth's letter. He was curious what it said because JC had gone straight to his room once they'd returned to his house from meeting Monica. They'd respected his privacy, despite their worry when he hadn't emerged from the bedroom all night. Just before they'd gone to bed, Chris had peeked his head in and informed them that JC was asleep. Likely he'd given into his exhaustion after reading the letter.

When he'd woken up, he'd immediately sought Lance out to ask what the lawyer had said when he'd called last night. Lance had been tempted to lie, knowing that JC would want to go, but at the same time he was aware it would be nearly impossible to get him to stay. And sure enough as soon as Lance had told him that Phil asked if they could come in to give him the documents, JC had said he'd go get dressed.

He hadn't been surprised because he knew there was no way JC would let them take care of stuff he felt he should be involved in. But they were all concerned that he was pushing himself too hard. Every time they tried to tell him though, he always got defensive and upset. Lance hoped they could come up with some way to get through to him before he managed to put himself in the hospital.

"This is just what we needed," Phil said, looking up at last as he laid the letter down on top of the will that sat on the table in front of him.

JC practically sagged with relief. He still looked kind of on edge, but he didn't look like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders anymore. But Lance sensed there was more, and he wasn't the only one.

Chris leaned forward, his eyes fixed on the lawyer. "But..." he said, prompting him to continue.

"But this is just the beginning," Phil said. "Beth's will gives us the legal authority to make a claim for Alice, but we still have to prove that Gabe is unfit to have custody."

"Isn't that what her letter does?" Justin asked, gesturing to the folded sheet of notebook paper.

JC nodded, shooting the lawyer a look before turning his gaze to Justin. "It does."

"That's true," Phil began cautiously, looking at JC, "but it won't be enough. There will have to be more substantial evidence to back up what she said."

"In case she's lying you mean." JC's eyes were narrowed, clearly pissed at the insinuation that Beth may have exaggerated what Gabe had done to Alice.

Phil shook his head. "No, I don't think she's lying. But it doesn't change the fact that we're going to need more in order to really prove that he should have his custody revoked. I'm confident we can do it though. The things Beth wrote are things Gabe will have to answer for."

"Like what?" Joey asked.

Phil's eyes immediately went to JC in a clear sign that he should be the one to tell them. JC, for his part, refused to look at any of them. "Do you really need to know all the gory details?" JC asked.

"We don't need to know all the details, but the more we know the more we'll be able to help," Lance said.

JC sighed, reluctantly raising his eyes to look at him. "This isn't something you guys can help with."

"Why don't you give us a chance before you write us off," Chris said. He was giving JC the no nonsense look that told them that he wasn't going to take no for an answer. Lance recognized it because they had all been on the receiving end of it before, and he waited with baited breath to see if JC would continue to fight him on it. Out of all of them, JC had been the only one to really be successful at getting Chris to back down.

JC and Chris were staring at each, their gazes locked and it seemed like neither was willing to be the first to break. Finally, with a heavy sigh, JC looked away. His attention was on his hands that were running along the edge of the envelope that had originally contained Beth's letter.

"You remember how I said Gabe was the leader of the cult?" he asked, glancing up at them only for a brief second to watch them nod before quickly lower his eyes again. "Well, he was apparently doing experiments on Alice."

Lance felt his eyes go wide, and he could tell that the others were as shocked as him. They all looked at each other, all of them thinking the same question. But it was Joey who gave voice to it. "What kind of experiments?"

JC hesitated for so long that Lance thought for sure he wasn't going to tell them. Finally, he said, "Psychic experiments."

Lance wasn't sure what he was expecting JC to say, but he could say that certainly wasn't it. He didn't know if he entirely believed what he said - perhaps he'd misunderstood the situation. Psychics weren't real, and it didn't make sense that Gabe would focus his attention on that.

"Are you saying Alice is psychic?" Justin asked, his brow furrowed.

It wasn't possible. Lance had never once heard of anything that definitely proved psychics existed, and he doubted the ability resided in a five year old girl. As far as he was concerned, there wasn't enough evidence to support such a claim.

JC sighed yet again, nodding. "Yeah, I think so."

"How do you know?" Lance immediately asked.

"Because Beth told me...before she died and in that letter," JC said, gesturing to the letter that still sat across from him in front of Phil.

Lance looked over at the lawyer. "You believe that Alice is psychic?"

"It doesn't matter what I believe. All that matters is that Gabe thinks she is and that he's doing experiments to bring it out more," Phil said. "If we can prove to the judge the kinds of things he's been doing to Alice, there's no chance he'll retain custody."

"But shouldn't that mean that JC needs to act like it's not true?" Lance pressed. "To show that he's not as delusional as Gabe."

"Just because you don't believe in it doesn't mean it's not possible," Chris replied.

Lance quickly moved his gaze to his oldest friend, his eyebrow raising. "You believe this?"

"It makes sense." They all looked at him with confused expressions, except JC who looked like he'd known all along which Lance supposed he probably had. Chris continued so as to explain, but his gaze was fixed on JC. "An hour or so before you showed up after meeting Beth, she started screaming and crying for her mom. At the time I couldn't see any reason for it, but now..."

"She knew about Beth," JC finished. He let out a shaky sigh, rubbing a hand over his face. "Yeah, I didn't really have to tell her. She came to me after being woken from a nightmare and just knew."

"Some people have intuition when their loved ones are hurt, right?" Joey asked. "Couldn't that be it?"

Chris leaned forward so he could look past Justin to see Joey. "That's part of it actually. And kids are usually much more susceptible to psychic abilities."

"Say she does actually have those abilities," Lance started, looking over at JC, "are you prepared to handle that?"

JC's eyes narrowed, like he knew what Lance was thinking. "Nothing is going to keep me from adopting her." His voice was firm, the gritty quality from his cold making him sound rougher than normal.

"I didn't think it would," Lance said, and he truly didn't. He knew that the only thing that would keep him away from Alice was if Gabe somehow got sole custody. "I just want to make sure you know what you're getting yourself into."

"I know." JC's voice was short and clipped, and Lance sensed maybe he'd pushed him too far. "In my eyes it changes nothing. It might just go away once it's not being forced to the surface from Gabe's freaky experiments. And if it doesn't...I'll help her deal with it the best I can."

"And us," Justin added, leaning in slightly so he could put a comforting hand on JC's shoulder. "We'll help too. Whatever you need."

There were nods all around, and Lance sat back in his chair. He'd spoken his piece and if JC was okay with it, then he had nothing further to say about it. Without a doubt he would give JC his full support and do whatever he could to help.

Phil cleared his throat, at once bringing their attention back to him. He shuffled the papers in front of him as he said, "Now, we're going to have to talk about next steps."

Lance sat up straighter, preparing to do what he always did and listen intently so he could fill in the others later if they missed anything. Though, a quick glance around the table showed that their postures were much more alert and their gazes focused on the lawyer. JC in particular had a look in his eyes that Lance had only seen a handful of times, and he knew that JC would do whatever necessary to get Alice back.

He could only hope it worked out in their favor.

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

Justin cursed as some lo mein noodles slipped through his chopsticks, landing in his lap. He immediately grabbed another napkin from the center of the coffee table to pick them up and clean his jeans.

"That's the third time that's happened," Joey said, the amusement apparent in his voice.

"You obviously don't know how to use chopsticks as well as you boasted," Chris added. He then used his foot to gently nudge JC, who was sitting on the floor with his back against the couch. "Maybe you need to teach him how again."

JC made a noncommittal noise that had the rest of them frowning over his head.

After the meeting with the lawyer, Lance had suggested they pick up some lunch on their way back to the house. It was obvious he was suggesting more for JC than for himself, especially when he ordered from JC's favorite Chinese place. But when Justin had thought back to when he had last seen JC eat and came up empty, he'd understood and shared in Lance's concern. Apparently Joey had gotten him to eat half a bowl of soup the day Alice was taken, but that was two days ago. JC had been sleeping at least, but it was no wonder he still looked exhausted and like he was running on empty. So they were doing their best to get him to eat, and JC was currently humoring them even though it was clearly the last thing on his mind.

"Here, finish the last egg roll," Lance said, placing it in the takeout container JC was currently eating out of.

He shot Lance a dirty look, but after a moment's hesitation he picked it up and slowly began to eat it. Obviously he was just doing it to keep them from getting on his case. Though, Justin had to figure that he felt better now that he'd finally eaten because even if he hadn't wanted to, it was something his body clearly needed. Hopefully now he'd at least have more energy to help him recover fully from both his lingering cold and his gunshot wound.

Their lunch was interrupted by a phone ringing. Lance immediately started to reach for his, but the distinctive jazz ringtone signaled that it wasn't his phone that was going off. As he sat back, JC set his chopsticks back in the container and put down his container so that he could grab the phone that sat on the coffee table in front of him.

JC answered the call, and they all watched curiously, wondering who was on the phone. There seemed to be a short moment of pleasantries exchanged before JC asked, "What did you find?"

Justin set aside his container of noodles, leaning in slightly. They all could guess who was on the phone. There were only a couple of people that were looking into things for them: the lawyer and the cop. Considering they had just left Phil's office a little over an hour ago, Justin was counting on it being the cop that had been working with JC.

Whatever it was that had been said clearly wasn't good, if the way JC paled was any indication. Justin could almost physically see the moment that JC withdrew into himself, obviously not listening to the caller anymore. Chris seemed to pick up on this as well, even with JC's back to him, and he yanked the phone out of his hand.

"Strickland?" he asked. "What's going on?"

They all looked at Chris, anxiously waiting to hear what happened. Chris nodded as he listened to whatever was being said, his expression becoming grim. "One of us will be down shortly," he said at last.

When Chris finally hung up the phone, he sighed heavily. Justin and Lance exchanged a look while Joey asked, "What did he say?"

Chris raised his eyes to look at each of them. "They found Beth's body."

Justin sucked in a breath, his eyes immediately going to JC as he understood now why he'd reacted the way he did. He still looked almost in a daze, and Justin knew he couldn't even begin to relate.

"And they want JC to go down and identify her?" Lance guessed.

"Yeah," Chris said, nodding. "But I think one of us can do that. He doesn't need to see her like that."

JC took Justin by surprise by demonstrating then that he wasn't as out of it as he looked. "No," he said firmly, using his hand to try to push himself to his feet. Joey leaned forward to help, but JC batted his hand away and shifted his hand to the coffee table to give himself more leverage. When he was finally on his feet, he glared down at Chris. "I'm going."

"JC..."

JC shook his head, seeming angry at the tone Chris took with him. It was one that said he knew best whether he was right or wrong. "You can't stop me. This is my responsibility. I have to do this."

Chris got to his feet, looking JC in the eyes. "No, you don't. One of us can go down to Orlando Regional and do it."

"You don't even know what she looks like!"

"I do," Joey said. "I can do it."

JC gave him a disbelieving look. "The last time you saw her was in high school. She looks nothing like she did then." He turned to look at the rest of them, leveling them with a serious gaze. "I'm the only one that can do this, and if I have to drive myself down there I will."

Justin could see the stubborn look on JC's face and knew he wasn't going to back down on this. But Chris also had a similar expression. He could appreciate what Chris was trying to do, that he was trying to protect JC from seeing Beth like that and further intensify his grief. Still, it didn't change that JC was right - none of them were really in the position to be able to identify her as the only one that had even met her before was Joey which had been several years ago.

"I'll take you," Justin said, standing up.

JC gave him a look of appreciation, but Chris turned his disapproving expression on him. "I don't think that's a good idea," Chris said.

"Why not?"

"Because your eyes are still healing," Chris replied. "What if something happens while you're driving?"

Justin sighed, feeling a bit annoyed even though he understood Chris's concern. He'd nearly wrecked his car a couple of times before he'd gone blind from his vision blurring and being obscured by dots that'd seemed to dance before his eyes. But he was confident that wouldn't happen now. Ever since his doctor's appointment, he had been resting his eyes more and they didn't even hurt anymore. The remaining blurriness he'd experienced with his vision was now gone and had been since late yesterday. He wanted the chance to at least try, to allow himself an opportunity to get things back to normal.

"Nothing will," Justin said at last. "But if I feel like I can't handle it, I'll pull over and let JC drive."

Chris looked over at JC. "You're okay with this?"

Justin looked at JC, unsure for once what he would say. It was no secret that JC was overprotective, especially when it came to him. It was something that never failed to annoy him, but considering JC had been looking out for him since the MMC days, he couldn't exactly fault him for it. And there was no doubt Chris was trying to exploit that.

"If he says he can handle it, I trust him," JC said, looking Chris in the eye.

They looked at each other for a long moment before Chris finally sighed and nodded, relenting and backing down from the argument. Justin looked at Chris with a bit of surprise, not having expected that at all. It usually took a lot more to get him to back down from anything. He wasn't going to argue it though.

"I'm going to go get ready," JC said, breaking the brief silence that had fallen over them. He didn't wait for a response as he turned and walked out of the room.

Once he was gone, Lance looked at Justin. "Are you sure this is a good idea? Maybe we should go with you."

Justin shook his head. "This is going to be hard enough. He doesn't need all of us crowding him."

"I think he'll need us because of how hard it will be," Chris replied.

"He will," Justin agreed. "But not right away." He saw that Chris was going to argue further and he quickly added, "Besides, we're easier to spot if we're all together. This isn't something we really want the press to know about."

The guys were silent, and Justin knew they realized he had a point. As much as they all wanted to be there for JC, all of them going to the morgue allowed for a greater chance of them being spotted by someone. The story of course would spread like wildfire, and Justin was convinced it was the absolute last thing JC needed right then. He had enough to deal with already.

"Should we at least call Lonnie and have him go with you guys?" Joey asked. They had sent their bodyguards home after they'd left the lawyer's office as they felt it was unlikely they would see Gabe or the people he'd sent to grab Alice. It'd been two days since that'd happened and it seemed that if anything was going to happen it would've happened already.

"No, I think we'll be okay," Justin said. "We'll just go there and come right back."

Chris sighed again, looking more stressed and worried than Justin could ever remember him being. "Well, just call if you have any problems, okay?"

Justin agreed, and he went out to the hallway to get his shoes. That was where JC was, sitting on the bottom step of the stairs as he stared at the wall opposite him with an almost vacant expression.

"JC?" Justin wasn't entirely sure JC had heard him and was prepared to repeat himself, but it wasn't necessary as JC turned to look at him. "You ready?"

JC nodded, slowly getting to his feet. Justin wanted to ask him if he was okay, second guessing now that he was truly able to handle this. But he knew it would be pointless to ask. JC would tell him he was fine and refuse to let anyone else do what he felt he needed to do. So he just said nothing and led the way to the driveway where JC's car sat.

Once they were on the road, Justin began to rethink not letting the others come. The silence in the car was nearly overwhelming, and he struggled desperately to find something to say. Everything he came up with though sounded so weak in his head. It was frustrating because he felt like if the roles were reversed JC would know exactly what to say, and he especially wanted to offer him some kind of comfort like JC had done for him when he was blind.

The fear of saying the wrong thing kept him from vocalizing any of the things that ran through his mind. Still, he had to say something because the silence was practically painful. He glanced at JC and decided that if he couldn't come up with the right thing to say about Beth and the whole situation then he'd try to take his mind off of it. Even if it was only for a brief moment.

"Thanks for what you said to Chris back there."

JC blinked, Justin's voice seeming to startle him out of his thoughts. He looked over at him. "What?"

"What you said to Chris about trusting me. I appreciate you having my back."

JC continued to look at him weird. "Okay..." he said in a voice that clearly said that what Justin was thanking him for was ridiculous.

But Justin knew different. It wasn't ridiculous to just assume that JC would always have his back. That wasn't to say the others never did because of course they did, but JC was always the first to do so...within reason of course. He didn't let anything else going on between them affect the constant support he gave him - gave all of them. Justin was pretty sure he was a better man than him.

"I'm serious," Justin said, glancing at him once more but being sure to keep his eyes on the road ahead of him. "You always support us without question, and I'm gonna do the same for you. We all will. Whatever you need from us to get through this, we're here for you."

JC looked away, his gaze going out the side window. Justin wasn't sure he was going to respond, but after a second he said quietly, "Thank you."

Justin wanted to press the issue further and apologize for how he'd treated JC over the last few weeks, but he spotted the sign for the hospital and turned as directed. He knew now wasn't the time to get into it. JC had enough on his mind without worrying about clearing the guilty conscience Justin had.

He pulled around the back of the building to where the entrance to the morgue was, and he let JC set the pace as he parked and turned the car off. They sat in the car for a few seconds before JC took a deep breath and opened his car door. Justin took that as the signal that he was ready and got out of the car too.

Once they were in the building, there was a cop standing against the wall. He straightened as they entered and moved right for them. "Mr. Chasez," he greeted, sticking his hand out to JC as he approached.

JC shook his hand, looking like he was trying to swallow back nerves. Justin stepped forward from his place beside him. "You're Officer Strickland?" he asked. The older man nodded and Justin introduced himself.

Once that was out of the way, Strickland said, "I'm sorry to had to come down here and do this, but it's procedure."

"It's okay," JC replied, his voice quiet. Justin knew it was anything but okay and JC was just doing his best to downplay it in hopes that his emotions wouldn't completely overtake him.

"It'll only take a second and then you can go back home."

"Have you found those guys yet?" Justin asked as the three of them moved down the hall, Strickland leading the way.

The cop shook his head. "Not yet. We've got a couple of leads we're following up on though. Having their last names has certainly made it much easier because now we know what to look for."

They approached a metal door then, and Strickland opened it and motioned for them to go in. JC hesitated for a moment, and Justin knew that right then he was regretting having eaten lunch. Honestly, he was kind of regretting it himself. He'd never seen a dead person before. His father's parents had died years ago, but his mom had thought he was too young to attend the funeral. Still, he was going to be strong because he knew it was what JC needed from him.

JC took a shaky breath before he stepped inside the room, Justin and Strickland following closely behind him. There was a woman in there that had on a white lab coat and Justin could only assume that she was the one in charge. She was standing beside a metal table that clearly had a body on it but was currently covered by a white sheet. Strickland joined her on the one side of the table while JC and Justin stepped up to the other side.

Justin glanced at JC and saw that he was looking a little green. He reached out to put a hand on his shoulder, trying to offer some comfort and support. It was with the physical contact that he realized how much he was shaking, and not for the first time, he was beginning to second guess JC's insistence that he do this. He even thought about telling JC that he could still back out, but JC spoke before he could even get a word out.

"Go ahead," he said.

Justin moved his hand down to JC's, loosely grasping it and allowing him to decide if he needed the support or not. JC clutched his hand tighter, swallowing nervously as he watched the woman carefully pull back the sheet so the face was revealed. At once Justin himself felt his stomach churn violently and he wished he'd let Chris be the one to come and do this with JC after all.

The body on the table below them was bloated, the facial features almost nonexistent from the swelling. There was still enough that you could tell the person had been a woman, even if the short red hair hadn't been a clear indicator. He found it hard to believe that this was Beth, even though he'd only seen a single picture of her from JC's high school yearbook.

Strickland looked over at JC, who had yet to say anything. "Is this Beth Carlson?"

JC's eyes didn't move from where they were fixed on her face. He didn't acknowledge in any way that he'd even heard the cop, but after a second, he gave a slow nod. "Yeah," he croaked. He cleared his throat. "Yeah, that's her."

Justin saw the tears shimmering in JC's eyes, threatening to fall at any second. He wanted to suggest that they leave now that JC had identified her, but it didn't look like he was prepared to leave her yet. It broke his heart that JC had to see her like this. This wasn't the way he was supposed to remember her. Hell, she wasn't even supposed to be dead.

"Where did you find her?" Justin asked, his voice quiet. It seemed wrong to speak louder than a whisper in such a setting.

"In the river about fifteen miles from the train station," Strickland said. "That's why her body is swollen like this."

That seemed to be all JC could take because without any warning he released Justin's hand and turned on his heel, all but running out of the room. Justin glanced at the cop and saw he was offering him a sympathetic expression, but he didn't stop to offer an apology. He had to get to JC, find where he went.

Justin glanced quickly up and down the hall, looking for any sign of his friend. He didn't seem to be anywhere in sight, but he couldn't have gotten far. That was when he spotted the sign for the bathroom a couple doors down, and he immediately headed towards it remembering how green JC had looked.

Sure enough when he walked into the bathroom he was met with the sounds of retching. Justin sighed quietly as he leaned against the wall across from the sinks. So much for them getting food into him. It hadn't even had any time to do any good as his body had probably just started to digest the large lunch they'd all had. He doubted they'd have much luck getting him to eat later either.

He thought about waiting outside for JC because the sound was kind of making the nausea he'd experienced in the morgue return, but he wanted to be there for him when he finished. JC had somehow managed to lock the door to the stall before throwing up contents of his full stomach, so Justin really couldn't do anything more than wait. Though, he wasn't sure he'd do much else even if he could because he knew how much he hated being crowded when he was sick, and JC was no different.

The retching had turned to dry heaves and finally about a minute later, Justin finally heard the toilet flush. He could tell from shuffling and rustling of clothes that JC was having a hard time getting to his feet, but somehow he managed because the door opened after another moment. Even though Justin had known JC would exhibit all the typical signs of illness, he was taken aback by just how terrible he looked.

JC's flushed face made the dark circles under his eyes that much more apparent, and his hair was slick with sweat making it look greasy and stringy. And somehow Justin only realized just then how much weight JC had lost the last few days, seeing the way the t-shirt hung loosely over his thin frame. His face even looked gaunt. And while his cold did seem to be slowly dwindling, it still left him with a raw, red nose and bloodshot eyes.

As soon as JC stepped out of the stall and let go of the door, his knees buckled. Justin dove and managed to catch him, wrapping a gentle but supportive arm around his waist. He started to walk them over to the sink, but JC pushed him away. Justin was almost convinced that he would just collapse if he let go, but he recognized the look on JC's face and knew he had to at least let him try. JC usually made himself suffer more than was necessary as he often pushed his body further than it could withstand, but in the end he did end up realizing he needed help and would ask for it.

JC somehow made it to the sink, albeit a bit wobbly, and carefully bent over it to cup some water for him to wash his mouth out. It took longer considering he only had one hand free to cup the water with, but he managed to get it. When he was finished, he left the water running and his right hand gripped the edge of the sink tightly. He raised his eyes to the mirror and Justin saw him wince, like he couldn't believe how terrible he looked. And then without any warning, tears filled his eyes and immediately ran down his cheeks as a strangled sob left his lips.

"I don't think I can do this." He lowered his eyes so he was looking into the sink, his body practically shaking from head to toe as he tried to hold back his sobs. Though, it was a battle he was currently losing.

Justin wasn't sure if JC was talking about the inevitable funeral for Beth and the planning he would likely do for it or if he was talking about Alice. He decided it didn't matter; it didn't change his answer.

Finally Justin felt like he was able to do what he'd wanted to do since they'd entered the morgue. He pulled JC away from the sink and into a tight hug, though he was careful not to put too much pressure on the injured shoulder. "You can," he told JC, his voice quiet as he tried to sound soothing, "and we'll help you through it all."

He felt JC shake his head against his shoulder, his tears soaking his t-shirt. "How am I supposed to protect Alice when I couldn't even protect Beth?"

This just seemed to make JC cry even harder, and Justin could swear he felt his heart breaking into pieces. Never had he heard him sound so broken and hopeless. Not since this whole situation had started anyway. But he was determined to do what he could to get him to shake that feeling - to have some hope that things would turn out. He pulled away so he could look JC in the eye, needing to get through to him.

"It's not the same. There was nothing you could do to help Beth," Justin said, trying be reassuring. "But now you're in the perfect position to help Alice."

"He could be doing anything to her right now!" JC cried, his voice rising and cracking. He wiped at the tears on his face even as more continued to fall. His eyes went to the floor and he whispered, "She must be so scared."

"We're going to get her back." Justin gripped JC's uninjured shoulder, speaking with as much conviction as he could muster. "No way is Gabe going to pass the Social Services inspection. You're so much better for her and they'll see that."

JC finally looked at him, sniffling and wiping at his nose. "What if they don't?"

"We'll just make sure they do," Justin said. JC too would have to undergo an inspection from Social Services to assess his house and what his relationship was like with Alice, but he didn't need to be worrying about that now. What he really needed was to go home and get some rest. It had been an extremely rough day, and he needed some time to deal with it before worrying about what he had to do to prepare for the impending visit.

JC said nothing, but his crying seemed to have slowed. At least, his chest was no longer heaving with the effort of taking in ragged breaths through his sobs. For as exhausted as he looked earlier, he now looked like he could truly collapse at any second.

"C'mon," Justin threw an arm around JC's back, purposely going lower than his shoulder so as not to aggravate the injury that was still wrapped, "let's go home."

JC didn't push him away this time and actually allowed him to lead them out of the bathroom. Strickland was in the hallway, but Justin didn't bother stopping he just nodded at him briefly before walking out of the hospital's morgue. Anything else that the cop needed, he could just call later. Right now all that mattered was taking care of JC, whether he felt he needed it or not.