Somebody jumped on JC, landing directly on his stomach. He groaned, keeping his eyes closed as he said, "Go away Chris."

"Not Chris. I'm Alice."

Instantly, JC's mind cleared and he opened his eyes to find Alice sitting on top of his stomach as the last twenty-four hours came rushing back. He was reminded that it wasn't a typical morning, and he lifted himself up just enough for him to see the alarm clock that sat on the nightstand. 6:53 a.m. JC mentally groaned. They'd been up most of the night after Alice's nightmare as she'd refused to go to back to sleep and had only finally given in to her tiredness at five. There was no way two hours of sleep was enough for her. It certainly wasn't for him.

"Alice, honey," he began and then stopped to clear his scratchy throat. "Why don't you go back to sleep? It's really early."

Alice shook her head. "The sun's up," she said, pointing a little finger towards one of the windows.

JC turned his head and recognized the light morning hue as the sun slowly began its ascent into the sky. Barely, he thought, the sun is barely up. He looked back at her and saw that she was watching him patiently, like she was waiting for him to realize she was right.

"The sun wasn't up all night though," JC countered at last. "C'mon, let's go back to bed. You've got to be tired."

"Nope," she said, smiling at him brightly. He wondered how she could be so cheerful so early in the morning, especially given how late they'd gone to bed. She bounced a little on his stomach. "I'm hungry."

The whole bed shook, and JC forced himself to hold back another groan. "Okay, okay. I'm up."

Alice cheered, finally moving so he could get up and out of bed. Once he was standing, she jumped off the bed and he walked with her down the stairs, leading her into the kitchen. He told her to take a seat and he'd see what he had. When he opened his fridge, he grimaced.

There was half of a half gallon of milk, two containers of leftover Chinese, a few bottles of water, and a swig of orange juice left. And as bad as his fridge was, he knew his freezer and cupboards were worse. At least as far as breakfast foods were concerned. It also didn't help that on vacation he wasn't normally awake for breakfast so he hadn't bothered stocking the house with the typical fanfare that was often eaten as the first meal of the day.

"Looks like we have to go grocery shopping," he told her as he let the fridge close. He'd planned on going today anyway as he'd known he was about out of food and would need to keep his house stocked since they would be sticking around to work on the album.

Alice made a face. "I'm hungry now," she said, a little bit of whine accompanying her words.

JC sighed, glancing at the clock to the note the time once more and winced. It was quarter after seven - early enough that most places probably hadn't opened for breakfast yet. There was always McDonald's, but breakfast options were kind of limited there. He could try to find a diner nearby that was open as that would ensure a larger selection and a better chance of Alice finding something she liked.

With that thought in mind, JC turned to her and said, "Alright. Let's get dressed and we can go out for breakfast."

Alice jumped down from the chair, her little feet scurrying across the floor as she ran back through the small hallway and upstairs. JC followed at a much slower pace, knowing that regardless where they ended up for breakfast he'd be getting coffee. Lots and lots of coffee.

It took him about a half hour to get himself and Alice ready. Once they were, he loaded Alice into the backseat of his car and drove out onto one of the main highways in Orlando. He kept his eyes peeled as he drove and finally as he was about to give up the search for a good diner breakfast and go to McDonald's, he spotted a small place that looked busy but not overly so. Without a second thought, he pulled into the parking lot.

When they walked into the restaurant they were immediately met by a waitress that'd been walking by and pointed out an empty table to them. JC led Alice over to it, taking her hand to make sure he didn't lose her in the crowded space. He helped her into one side of the booth and sat across from her.

As soon as they were sitting, the same waitress from earlier came over to greet them. She looked to be in her fifties and she was immediately enamored with Alice, smiling at her in an almost grandmotherly way. After she introduced herself she asked, "Can I get you two something to drink?"

The question was directed at both of them, but all of her attention was focused on Alice.

Alice ducked her head, looking down at the paper placemat as she shifted in her seat. JC couldn't help the smile that came across his face, even as he sympathized with her. He'd been the same way as a kid.

"How about we get some...milk?" JC paused, looking away from the waitress to Alice who nodded. "And maybe some juice?"

"I'll bring out some apple juice," the waitress said, jotting notes down on her small pad. When she was finished writing, she looked at him. "And what about you?"

"Coffee," he answered immediately. "Black."

The woman offered him a smile. "It's hard babysitting, huh?"

That grabbed JC's attention. He gave her a confused look. "How do you know I'm babysitting?" He wondered if it was that apparent he didn't know what the hell he was doing.

"I don't live under a rock, dear," she said, laughing lightly. "I know who you are and that you don't have a kid. Plus, I've seen that frazzled look before and most parents don't have it much with a kid her age."

JC was silent for a moment, unable to argue with her. His nerves definitely felt frayed, especially after not getting much sleep. "We had kind of a rough night," he said, feeling like he needed to give some kind of explanation if only to keep her from thinking he was completely incompetent.

"I'll be right out with your drinks then." The waitress turned her attention back on Alice and said, "I'll even bring some crayons out for you. Okay, sweetie?"

Alice looked up and tentatively returned the woman's wide smile with one of her own as she nodded once again. This time though she added a soft, "Thank you". The waitress grinned at her and said she'd be right back before stepping away.

As she left, JC found himself looking around reflexively. It was habit for him to take note of who was around when he was out so he could determine if he had to anticipate fans approaching him. Thankfully, it didn't seem like that was going to be a problem this morning as most of the patrons in the small restaurant were at least in their fifties. It also helped that he was out at a time when most of their fans were either already in school or on their way. He was grateful for it, not just because he wasn't feeling up to greeting their fans but because he could imagine it would make Alice that much more uneasy.

When he returned his attention to their table to talk to Alice, he felt his stomach drop as he saw the other side of the booth was empty. His heart began to race immediately and he felt like he was a second away from launching into full panic mode when he felt something bump into his foot underneath the table. He shifted so he could see under the table and let out a sigh of relief when he saw Alice.

"Honey, what are you doing?" he asked her, doing his best to keep his voice soft and quiet. His heart rate was quickly returning back to normal, but he didn't want to chance his emotions getting the best of him and making him come off harsh. He didn't want to scare her.

"Hiding," she said quietly.

JC frowned. "From who?"

"The obsessed monster. He's here."

JC straightened up and quickly looked around the restaurant. He'd never even met Beth's boyfriend so he had no idea who he was looking for, but there didn't seem to be anyone in the place that looked young enough to have been with Beth. Alice might have just seen someone that'd looked like him from afar - or she could've just imagined things or was playing some kind of a game. It wasn't right to just assume abuse or that she was afraid of her father when he knew nothing about the situation. For all he knew, her nightmare could have just been a typical childhood nightmare that she was still kind of jumpy from.

"Alice, sweetie," JC began, ducking his head further so he could see her face better. "He's not here. I promise." He paused. "You're safe with me."

Alice stared at him for moment like she was debating whether or not she believed him. Nothing on her face told him anything about what she was thinking, but finally after a moment she moved from her crouched position and climbed back up onto the bench seat across from JC. He offered her a small smile and was about to say something when the waitress returned with their drinks.

As soon as the waitress handed over the crayons she'd promised Alice, the five year old immediately dumped them out and began to doodle on her placemat. She gave it all of her attention, seeming to forget about the hunger she'd complained about earlier and leaving JC to guess at what she would want to eat. And when the food came about fifteen minutes later, she still didn't seem interested in eating the breakfast she'd all but dragged him out of bed for. She just colored away.

JC sighed. This was going to be a long day.

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

Justin finished his cereal, tipping the bowl forward so he could drink the remaining milk. Once it was gone, he rinsed his bowl and spoon before placing both of them in the dishwasher. Normally he wasn't so neat and would often leave his dishes in the sink, and he hadn't even quit doing so once Vicki had moved in because she was almost messier than him. Now he found he would almost go out of his way to avoid doing things the way he had when she was around so he wouldn't think about her as much.

Not that he was successful in that at all. How could he be when everything in the house reminded him of her? They'd spent so much time together there and had fallen into such a normal routine when he was home. It'd been especially difficult to sleep last night. He was still getting used to the fact that it was no longer their bed but his, and needless to say, it'd resulted in a very restless night.

Because he'd been unable to sleep in their bed, he'd gotten up to go try to sleep on the couch downstairs thinking that would release him from the memories that haunted him in the bedroom. Of course, it hadn't. They'd spent just as much time downstairs and had on occasion fallen asleep while watching a movie together, the two of them a tangled mess of limbs. After that, he'd gone back upstairs and went into one of the spare bedrooms. That room had had some things that'd reminded him of her, but it hadn't been as overwhelming as the rest of the house and had allowed him to finally get some sleep.

It hadn't been near enough though. Despite his exhaustion, he still hadn't managed to get more than six hours, which did nothing to make up for the sleep he'd missed out on in Vegas. He knew it was his fault and he needed to get some more rest, but he couldn't bring himself to go back upstairs and try again. What he wanted at that moment was to get out of the house, the weight of what'd happened and the memories that surrounded him making it hard for him to breathe. He needed to get out and get his mind off things for a while.

With that thought in mind, Justin went upstairs just long enough for him to put some clothes on and grab his keys off the dresser before heading out. As he pulled out of his driveway, he found he didn't know where he was going. He didn't particularly care though.

He ended up getting off the main highway that took you to downtown Orlando and instead opted to drive some of the back roads. The streets were lined with houses ranging in size from large to small with numerous trees randomly placed throughout. There was some traffic, but not nearly as much as on the main road. It was relatively peaceful, and he found himself second guessing his idea for this drive as the quiet and peacefulness was only propelling his thoughts about his ex-girlfriend to the forefront of his mind.

In an effort to stop his mind from thinking, he reached for the radio and turned it on. He immediately cranked the music, not at all caring what he was listening to but making sure he focused on the lyrics. It gave him something else to focus on. He couldn't think about Vicki if he was listening to the song, picking out the lyrics, and trying to figure out just what the person was thinking about when they wrote the song.

As he crested a small hill, the bright Florida sunshine was at such an angle that it hit him right in the face. He cursed, his eyes closing reflexively but only for a second as he forced himself to open them again and squint against the sun until he was able to lower the visor. The relief was immediate, but his eyes still hurt from the sun's powerful rays. He reached up with one hand to rub at his right eye as it was the one that hurt the most at the moment, but it didn't seem to help at all. In fact, it seemed to make it worse and his vision began to blur.

Justin cursed again, doing his best to blink with just his right eye so he could use his left to keep an eye on the road ahead him. It was a lot harder than it sounded though because the eyes were used to doing everything in sync. One eye didn't blink without the other doing so at the same time. But even blinking didn't do anything to clear his vision, and he brought up his hand to rub at his eye once again.

It was in that moment that things went from bad to worse.

He was putting more energy into trying to clear his fuzzy vision than watching the road in front of him. Several feet ahead was another car slowing for a stop sign, and he didn't see it until the last minute. Immediately, he dropped his hand from his eye and allowed both hands to grip the steering wheel as his right foot quickly hit the brake. Despite his best efforts, it didn't keep his car from ramming into the back of the car in front of him.

Justin sat there for a moment completely stunned, his foot still resting on the brake. His vision was now unaffected like nothing had happened, and didn't that just figure? Ahead of him, the person driving the car did their best to pull the car off the road and he did the same. He quickly threw the car in park and got out, knowing he had to apologize and own up to what'd just happened.

The driver got out of the car as well followed a second later by the passenger door opening. It was a man and a woman, neither of them looking much older than him. And if Justin had to guess, he'd say they were a couple or else brother and sister given they looked around the same age. What he did know was that they knew exactly who he was as he could clearly see the recognition that was reflected in both of their faces, but it was the girl's reaction that had him mentally groaning.

"You-re...you're Justin Timberlake," she said, a bit of awe in her voice as she looked at him with wide eyes.

"Yeah. Look I'm really sorry about hitting you guys-"

"Don't worry about it," she interrupted.

"Leann, let me handle this," the guy said.

But the girl didn't seem at all intimidate by the guy - boyfriend or brother, it didn't seem to matter. She took a step closer to Justin and asked, "Can I have your autograph?"

"Sure," Justin said. He didn't really want to, but he figured it was the least he could do. Of course, this was only making her happy. Her boyfriend or brother or whoever he was frowned at Justin and wanting to show that he wasn't trying to use his fan to let him off the hook Justin added, "But I really feel awful about what happened. We should exchange insurance information so you can get your car fixed."

The back bumper of their car had a good sized dent in it and a couple of scratches. Justin's car actually looked worse - broken pieces of metal and fiberglass littered the ground in between the two cars and represented his broken grill and smashed front bumper. It could've been worse though. At least that was what he kept telling himself in effort to keep him from getting too upset. This car had been his favorite after all.

"No problem," the girl said as she handed him a pen and a pocket calendar from her purse. He flipped to the back where there were blank pages for notes so he could sign his name, which he did so quickly before handing the items back to her. "I can give you our insurance information and we can exchange numbers..."

"Leann, will you let me handle this?" her companion repeated once more, though much firmer this time.

She turned towards him, looking at him with a bit of surprise before it quickly faded and she shook her head in amusement like she was used to this kind of behavior from him. "Fine, Brett. You be the man and take care of this." She rolled her eyes before looking back at Justin. "It was nice to meet you."

"You too," Justin said, doing his best to offer her a fairly genuine smile.

She got back into the car and it was only once the door closed that Brett turned his attention to Justin. The look on his face was hard to read, and Justin felt compelled to apologize once again. "I'm not going to make excuses for what happened, but I'm sorry. I will gladly pay for you to have your car fixed."

"I appreciate that," Brett began, "but I'm not sure it's necessary. The dent isn't too bad. I can pop this out no problem and buff out the scratches."

Justin frowned. "Are you sure? I think we should turn this into our insurance companies."

"That'll just be more trouble than it's worth." The serious lines on Brett's face smoothed as he smiled slightly and added, "Besides, I'm not sure I want my girlfriend to have the ability to call you."

Justin laughed along with Brett, feeling some of the tension and anxiety leave his body. "Still, I want to make up for inconveniencing you." He reached into his back pocket to pull out his wallet and looked inside. He'd spent most of his money in Vegas, but he still had a couple fifties left. Brett tried to refuse the money when Justin offered it to him, but he said, "I insist."

Brett finally took the hundred dollars Justin offered and put it in his own wallet. He then held out his hand for Justin to shake, which he gladly did. It was truly remarkable that no one had been hurt and that they were so cool about what'd happened.

Both of them went back to their respective cars and Justin waited for Brett and Leann to pull back onto the road, watching them go safely through the intersection and continuing on their way. Once they were out of sight, Justin put his car back into drive and altered his route so he was now headed for Chris's house. Driving aimlessly when he had stuff on his mind just seemed to get him in trouble so he figured the best thing he could do was go hang out with Chris, maybe play some basketball or video games to take his mind off things.

When Justin pulled into Chris's driveway, he found his older friend locking his front door and looking like he was getting ready to leave. He couldn't help but wonder where because it was still kind of early as it was only going on eleven, and Chris certainly wasn't an early riser. Though, he could have something to handle with Fuman Skeeto.

"Damn, J. What happened to your car?" Chris said by way of greeting once Justin had parked and gotten out of his vehicle.

Justin sighed. "I got into a bit of a fender bender."

Chris gave him an appraising look like he was looking for any sign that things were serious than he said. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Justin said, dismissively. He really didn't want to explain what'd happened or wonder why his vision kept going screwy when he was driving. It was one more thing he didn't want to think about, so he changed the subject. "Where are you off to?"

Chris continued to stare at him for another few seconds, and Justin wasn't sure he was going to let the car accident go. But he did and answered Justin's question instead. "JC's."

"He doesn't need you checking up on him," Justin said with a frown.

"Are you kidding? Of course he does. He's not exactly equipped to deal with a five year old." Chris twirled his keys around his finger as he added, "Besides, we still haven't gotten the full story as to why he's babysitting in the first place."

"That's because you're nosy," Justin mumbled under his breath. Chris narrowed his eyes in such a way that told Justin he probably heard what'd just said. He refused to apologize for it though and just looked Chris in the eye as he said, "Maybe he doesn't want you to know. Maybe, just maybe, you should mind your own business."

Chris gave him a look. "Are we still talking about JC? Because it sounds to me like you're telling me to butt out of your life. Not that I even said two words about Vicki since you got here..."

"But you're thinking about it, wondering what happened between us."

Chris's mouth twitched as he said in amusement, "Why, J, I had no idea you were a mind reader."

"When it comes to you, it doesn't take much to know what you're thinking," Justin replied. "And maybe I can just relate to what JC's going through."

"We've barely said two words about you and Vicki breaking up-"

"But I know you want to. You're dying to know what happened just like you're dying to know about JC's friend and why she asked him to watch her kid."

"And what's wrong with that? I'm trying to look out for my friends."

"Well, we don't need you to. I don't need you to," Justin said with conviction. "I'm not a little kid anymore. I think I can handle my problems myself and decide whether or not I need to talk to anyone."

Chris was silent for a long moment, and Justin wondered if he'd hit a nerve and Chris was about to go off on him. When Chris was pissed he often lashed out. But when he was truly angry, he got quiet, a silent fury building up within him. A quiet Chris was never a good thing.

Finally, Chris spoke and when he did Justin was surprised that his voice was calm and seemed to have no traces of anger in it. "Have you talked to JC?"

"Huh?" Justin asked, just as thrown by the question as by Chris's behavior.

"You blamed us for not being around before when you needed us," Chris started. "But JC's been here the whole time - he didn't go anywhere. Did you talk to him about what happened with Vicki?"

Justin looked down, unable to take the scrutiny of the heavy gaze Chris had pinned on him. "No," he admitted.

"And why not?"

Justin wanted to provide an answer, but he wasn't sure he could. He wasn't sure why he hadn't gone to JC the night that he and Vicki had split. Between Chris and JC, they knew all of his secrets because if he couldn't talk to the one about something, he would often go to the other. That wasn't to say Joey and Lance weren't good listeners or that he didn't go to them if he had a problem because he did, it was just that JC and Chris seemed to know just when to take him seriously and when not to. Lance and Joey always took him seriously and Justin knew that he could be a diva, which JC and Chris had no problem calling him out on. It'd kept him from dwelling on stuff he would've held onto otherwise.

But none of that explained why he hadn't sought out JC to talk. What Chris said was true - JC hadn't left Orlando for their entire break, and Justin knew all it would've taken was one phone call and he would've made himself available to talk. Though, Justin hadn't exactly been in town since the breakup as it'd been the very next day that Vicki had left to find a new place to stay, which had been the very day he'd gotten the call from Trace. He'd packed his bags and been on a flight to Vegas by dinnertime that day. That had to have been it.

"There was no time," Justin said at last. "I've been in Vegas since the breakup."

It sounded perfectly logical to him, but Chris didn't look convinced in the slightest.

"But now you're back and you still haven't talked about it." Justin opened his mouth to protest and Chris held up a hand. "Don't even try to convince me that Trace and your other Tennessee buddies talked to you about because I think we both know that's not why you went to Vegas with them."

Justin felt a bit of irrational anger rise up within him, hating how well Chris knew him to be able to call bullshit with what he said. Trace and his other friends hadn't really made much of an effort to talk to him; all they'd really done, if it was brought up at all, was bitch about Vicki and blame her for what'd happened even though none of them knew the story behind the breakup. If he was honest with himself, it hadn't been what he'd needed and he would've been pretty pissed about the things they said if the alcohol hadn't been flowing so steadily. Still, he wasn't sure he was ready to talk about it to anyone and have everyone tell him how he'd screwed up the best relationship he'd had.

"You can't be mad at us for doing our own stuff," Chris told him, interrupting his thoughts. "Not when you're the one pulling away from us."

Justin unconsciously took a step back, thrown by the statement Chris made and the matter-of-fact way he said it. He wasn't pulling away from them. That was what JC did - they always knew something was wrong because he'd hole himself up and isolate himself until they cornered him, making him talk about whatever was bothering him. All Justin was doing was deciding not to talk about it, and he didn't see anything wrong with that.

But before he could convince Chris of that fact, Chris switched his keys back to his right hand and said, "So are you coming with me to C's or not?"

Just like that the subject was dropped, and Justin knew Chris wouldn't say another word about it. He seemed to have said all he needed to say...at least for now. Chris wasn't exactly known for his patience, and he might try to beat a confession out of him in a couple of days if he hadn't talked to anyone.

"Sure," Justin said, moving around to the passenger side of Chris's car. There was no point in both of them driving since they were going to the same place. And given what'd happened earlier, he was looking forward to a temporary reprieve from driving.

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

Joey relaxed against the plush cushions of JC's couch, shifting the book in his lap. He looked up when he heard the back door open and numerous footsteps as the guys all came rushing in with Alice leading the way. They were all wet, but not overly so.

"I told you it was going to rain," Joey said as he looked down at the book and flipped the page. He'd gone inside a few minutes ago to go to the bathroom and get a drink, but then he'd found himself in JC's office and easily located his high school yearbook.

"It's Florida in the middle of winter. That's not exactly a hard prediction to make, Joe," Lance said.

As they all came further into the living room, Chris looked at him and his eyes widened in disbelief. "Are you reading?"

"Hey, I'm not illiterate. I can read a book on occasion," Joey objected, feeling slightly offended at what Chris said. When he just continued to stare at him, Joey amended, "But right now I'm looking at JC's high school yearbook."

JC glared at him from where he was just inside the back door, crouched down in front of Alice as he helped her take off her shoes. "Snoop much?" he said.

"It's not snooping when it's out in the open on the bookshelf in your office," Joey replied.

JC huffed and muttered something under his breath. They all exchanged amused looks over his head. Joey and Lance had been the first ones to arrive and find JC in a bad mood. He'd relayed his struggles that morning with breakfast and then the debacle he'd encountered when trying to grocery shop with a five year old - all on just a couple hours of sleep. It was understandable, but Joey kept waiting for the dark mood to lift. Unfortunately there didn't seem to be an end in sight, but he was hopeful.

"Alice, you want to see what your mom looked like when she was in high school?" Joey asked.

The little girl's face lit up as she cried "Yeah!" and quickly made her way over to him, jumping up next to him on the couch. She leaned in close and Joey angled the book so she should could see better.

"That's your mom," he said, pointing to a petite blonde girl. Alice smiled as she looked at the picture, and JC sat down on the other side of her with a quiet sigh. Joey glanced at him before looking back at Alice. "And over here," he pointed to another picture on the opposite page, "is JC."

Alice let out a laugh that, the sound so pure and innocent that Joey couldn't help but smile at her. She turned to look at JC and wrinkled her nose as she said, "Your hair was funny."

Chris and Justin were the first ones to burst out laughing, and Joey quickly joined them. Even Lance looked up from his Palm Pilot long enough to smirk. JC frowned, but didn't protest. He just grabbed the remote for the TV as he asked Alice if she wanted to watch some cartoons.

Alice agreed because what kid would say no to watching TV? She shifted away from Joey's side and moved so she was leaning into JC instead. He managed to find Nickelodeon and almost instantly Alice became enraptured by it. She even moved to the floor, abandoning JC's side to be closer to the TV.

JC ran a hand over his face, looking the absolute picture of misery. He sat there for a second longer before he abruptly got up, moving into the adjoining kitchen. Joey watched him leave and then glanced at the others, wondering if they knew what was going on. But they seemed just as clueless as him as to why JC was in such a bad mood.

"What's up with him?" Lance asked.

"There's only one way to find out," Chris said, getting to his feet.

Joey set the yearbook aside and stood up as well with Lance following suit. The three of them began to walk into the kitchen, and Joey paused just long enough to give Justin a look asking if he was coming. Justin rolled his eyes, but he did rise from his spot on the loveseat and walk into the kitchen with them.

They found JC leaning on the island with his head in his hands. Joey's steps faltered at the sight, his worry that something was really wrong rising up. "Are you okay?" he asked, approaching tentatively.

JC jumped slightly like they'd startled him. He sighed and raised his head, straightening his back so he was only slightly leaning against the island. "Yeah. I'm just exhausted," he said, and he really did look it. He rubbed his eyes and added, "I thought kids took naps."

"That usually stops when they start school fulltime," Chris said. "Though, she's probably just in kindergarten so she likely does still nap. Being here and out of her element just throws her off."

"Great," JC muttered, running a hand through his hair.

"Have you heard from Beth?" Justin asked. "Do you know if she's picking up Alice tonight?"

JC shook his head. "She hasn't called. I'm thinking if she doesn't tonight, it'll probably be tomorrow morning."

"Don't forget we have to be over at the studio by ten to meet one of the producers for the album," Lance reminded.

JC nodded, and Joey said, "Why don't you just call her? That way you'll know for sure when to expect her."

"I don't want to bug her..."

"What's up with you two?" Chris asked. "From what Joey says, it sounds like you have a thing going on."

JC glared briefly at Joey before he looked back at Chris. "We're just friends," he said, his tone leaving no room for argument. "And that's it."

"But you want to be more." Joey was on the receiving end of another dirty look, but he wasn't deterred. "C'mon, man, you know it's true. You had something for her back in high school and it's obvious you still do. What I don't get is why you don't do something about it - why you never did."

JC let out another sigh. "It's complicated."

"Well, explain it to us," Chris said. His tone and the look in his eye told them all that he wouldn't drop it until he got some kind of answer that consisted of more than "I don't want to talk about it".

Justin elbowed Chris in the side. "You don't have to," he told JC.

"It's fine," JC replied. He paused and then mumbled, "Maybe if I explain everyone will leave me alone."

They were all quiet as they let JC gather his thoughts. He shifted so he was standing up straight, but that only lasted for a second before he leaned back against the counter behind him. Another couple seconds of silence passed before he crossed his arms over his chest and began to talk.

"Between classes and the MMC, I didn't really have much time for dating. Besides, I was happier at that point being friends and I didn't want to do anything to mess that up." He paused. "It was right before graduation that she hooked up with Billy Harris."

Joey couldn't stop himself from interrupting. "Billy Harris? That kid that got expelled for beating up that sophomore?" Without waiting for JC's confirmation, he said, "That guy was a jerk."

"I tried telling Beth that, but she said I didn't know him, that he wasn't so bad. But of course, he showed his true colors in the end." JC bit his lip, like he did when he was worrying about something. Joey realized he must be feeling bad about telling Beth's story without her permission, and he felt guilty for letting Chris push him into talking about it. Before he could give JC the opportunity to stop, he began to speak again. "She was just about finished with her first semester of college when she found out she was pregnant, and..."

"He bailed on her?" Lance asked, a sympathetic expression on his face.

JC nodded. "She still wanted to have the baby though. Her parents wanted her to get rid of it, but she said she couldn't do that. She felt like she could handle it and school, but her parents didn't agree and told her to get out." He paused again, lowering his eyes. "It all ended up being moot because she miscarried a couple months later."

Joey couldn't help but feel surprised even though he'd kind of expected as much. When JC had mentioned last night that Beth's parents had thrown her out after the first time she'd gotten pregnant, that had been a scenario that'd come to mind. That or she had the baby and had to give it up for some reason - or had even elected to put it up for adoption. Regardless, it was a sad situation and it sounded like it was only the beginning of her troubles.

"She dropped out of school so she could deal, and it was shortly after that she met Gabe. Then she had Alice about a year later," JC finished.

"And now you can step in and show her how a man is supposed to treat a woman," Chris said.

JC shook his head. "That's not a good idea."

"Why not?" Justin asked. Joey looked at Justin, a little surprised he was the one asking because he was the one yesterday that'd been advocating that no one push JC to talk. Though, he was already talking about it so maybe that meant Justin figured he wasn't forcing JC to open up about anything.

JC didn't answer, choosing instead to look out into the adjoining living room. There was no doubt in Joey's mind he was checking on Alice, and he turned himself to see if the five year old was still wrapped up in the cartoon she'd been watching. He nearly chuckled when he saw that instead of sitting up like she'd been when they'd first left the room, she was lying on the floor.

"Looks like she's ready for a nap now," Joey said, looking back at JC.

"Well, we should go wake her up." Chris started to move towards the living room, but JC's voice halted him.

"Leave her go," he said, sounding very relieved that she was sleeping.

"Jace, it's nearly time for dinner. It's too late for her to take a nap. If she sleeps now, she'll be up half the night."

JC seemed to consider this for a moment before he waved his hand, dismissing it. "I don't think so. Not after the night we had."

Chris raised his eyebrows, not at all convinced. "Okay," he said, "but don't say I didn't warn you."

There were some light chuckles, and Lance looked like he agreed with Chris. Seeing how exhausted JC was, Joey hoped what he said was true and that Alice would sleep for him tonight. Though, maybe Beth would be by to pick up Alice and he wouldn't even have Alice sleeping over again. For JC's sake, he could only hope that was the case because he wasn't sure he could take another sleepless night.