*Disclaimer -I do not own any of the members of 'N Sync (nor would I ever really want to) they belong to their respective owners. I do, however, own all fictional characters such as Mike, Devon, Ashley, Carli and Rachel. Plagiarism is as always against the law. Thank you.

JC lay back in his bed after a long physical therapy session with Tracy, the hospital's best. It had been a grueling workout and something that he didn't look forward to on a daily basis, but if he were to ever perform again, he had to do it. He closed his eyes with a sigh and thought about the time he and Mike had a run in over the therapy. He had been listless, not really wanting to do anything let alone go through the painful process of toning his muscles all over again. She had gotten angry with him and started yelling and finally, crying. She told him that she couldn't stand seeing him in a wheelchair when there was a possibility he could move around on his legs again. All he had to do was work at it.

After that episode, he had become determined to walk again. He also became determined to get Mike to go back to school. After arguing with her for hours, she finally relented and flew back to Orlando so she could finish her classes and go back to work. The guys had stayed though, to help him regain what he once had taken for granted. He was now walking on his own, though the pain in his legs were still constant but that was something that would lessen with time. The doctors had reassured him that he would be able to perform again if he kept with the physical therapy sessions and working on strengthening his muscles. It would take a while, but JC was willing to do the work.

"How goes the battle, Highlander?" Chris inquired walking into the room with a huge brown paper bag.

"Painful, but getting there. I can take more than ten steps without it being too much for me." JC nodded as he settled back, arms folded behind his head.

"That's cool. I brought Chinese. Thought you might want some MSG boosting for the road ahead." Chris snorted as Justin walked in with his cellular phone glued to his ear, talking to Carli.

"Oh, how sweet of you." JC laughed opening the back that Chris had set down on the bedside table.

"When are you being discharged, anyway?" Joe questioned as he pulled up a chair and took out a deck of cards.

"In a couple of weeks." JC shrugged as he dug into the combination platter that the guys had ordered for him.

"That sucks. Management is worried that you won't be able to do the normal stuff anymore." Chris mumbled with a shake of his head.

"Like what?" JC raised an eyebrow, fork paused halfway to his mouth.

"Like the back flips and various other moves that we perform with." Chris shrugged with a sigh.

"I'll be back to 100 percent in a while, so tell them not to worry." JC shook his head, beginning to worry about his career for the first time. Everyone fell silent as they were drawn into their own thoughts. JC sighed pushing his plate away. He had lost his appetite when Chris had told him that management was worried that he may not be able to continue with the group. Singing was all he wanted for a career and that was being jeopardized because he had done something 'incredibly stupid' as Mike had berated him. His mind thundered through all the possibilities. What will I do if I can't perform again? Can I live without being on stage? Will I be happy without that constant love in my life? He sighed with a shake of his head. He would be back to normal soon, he would make sure of that.

Mike sat in front of her desk with a sigh, the computer in front of her humming softly as she typed up a academic paper that had been assigned to her the day before. She had writer's block and though she had all the material before her, spread out on the desk next to the keyboard, she didn't know where she wanted to go with it. Her mind was on other things. JC had seemed distant the last few times they had talked on the phone, and as much as she hated to admit it, she was becoming paranoid. She knew in her heart that he didn't blame her for what had happened, but her mind loved playing tricks on her and did so frequently. She shook her head to clear her thoughts and concentrated on the papers in front of her on Multiple Personality Disorder, or what the professionals called DID these days. A knock sounded on her door and she sighed, closing her eyes for a moment before she called out a reply. The door opened and Chris strolled in with a yawn.

"How come you're still here?" he inquired as he glanced around the room.

"I work here, and since break started today, it kind of made sense to stay here to work." Mike shrugged as she took off her glasses to tiredly rub her eyes.

"You ready to take a break?" Chris grinned grabbing her lightweight sweater from the chair she had tossed it on.

"Yeah, I guess." she shrugged climbing to her feet. "How's Josh doing?"

"He's doing alright. Getting better with each passing day." Chris nodded as he helped her into the sweater.

"Has he become distant to you guys?" Mike turned to look at Chris.

"No, not really. Why?" he inquired with a raised eyebrow.

"He just doesn't talk to me much anymore. I was beginning to wonder if it was me, or if he blamed me, or whatever else my mind has been lingering on." she shrugged with a sigh. "I'm beginning to think that he's fallen out of love with me."

"Hey now, that's not true. He does love you, he's just working through something really difficult, that's all." Chris shrugged as he took her hand and pulled her down the hallway to the back door. His car was parked on the street and the pair climbed in.

"Where are we heading?" Mike yawned as she leaned back in the seat, folding her arms across her chest comfortably.

"A dance club." Chris answered as he navigated through the late night traffic of Orlando.

"Why a dance club?" she muttered, JC popping into her mind.

"Because you need to unwind, like the rest of us. It's been a stressful couple of months." he answered as he drove down one of the main streets.

"The rest of us?" Mike glanced over at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah. Justin, Lance and Joe are going to meet us there." he nodded taking a left turn.

"Oh." she stated softly. "I don't know about this. I mean, JC and all."

"Don't worry about JC. He wants you to go out and have some fun. He thinks you deserve it." Chris waved a hand in the air before turning into the parking lot of a small dance club. They climbed out of the car and walked over to the front door. Loud music spilled out onto the street as the bouncer opened the door for a couple of people before them in line.

"Hey Jose, what's up?" Chris smiled as he ushered Mike inside.

"Same ol same ol', Chris. Your friends are already here." the bear of a man replied as they stepped inside. Colored lights bounced off of everything, causing Mike to squint slightly so her eyes could adjust to everything.

"Come on." Chris yelled next to her ear, taking her hand again. She followed him to a table and motioned for her to have a seat. Justin walked over to them and smiled.

"Glad to see you finally made it." he yelled over the music as Joe and Ashley made their way over to them from the dance floor. Mike nodded silently as she scanned the room, her heart weighing heavily in her chest. She climbed to her feet and headed toward the bathroom. Once inside, she pulled out her cellular phone and dialed the number she knew so well. He answered on the fourth ring.

"Hello?"

"Hi."

"Hey little bird."

"I missed you, so I thought I'd call."

"I miss you too, but I thought you were going to a club with the guys."

"I am, I snuck off to the bathroom. Wanted to talk to you, make sure you were okay."

"I'm fine, baby. Go and have some fun."

"Are you falling out of love with me?"

"What?"

"You heard me, Josh."

"No, I'm not 'falling out of love with you'. Why would you ask something like that?"

"Because you don't talk to me the way you used to. Since before that whole....thing."

"I'm sorry if it seemed that way to you, but I still love you with my whole heart. And I still plan on marrying you. So, you have nothing to worry about."

"Okay. I just needed to hear you say it."

"I've said it, now please, go have fun."

"Are you trying to get rid of me?"

"For heaven's sake, no. Yeesh." his voice laughed, causing her to smile.

"Okay. Fine. I will go have fun. And me and Chris are gonna put the rest of 'em to shame. So there." she stuck her tongue out even though she knew he couldn't see her.

"Stop sticking your tongue out and have at it."

"Okay. I'll talk to you later."

"Fine, I love you."

"Love you too, Josh. Bye." she hung up the phone smiling, then stuck it into her pocket before walking back out into the crowded, noisy dance club. She made her way back toward the table everyone was now lounging at but was cut short when a man stood before her.

"Care to dance?" he inquired with an inviting smile.

"No, thanks. My friends are waiting for me." Mike returned the smile and tried to step around him.

"I'm sure your friends can get along without you." he shook his head, smile still plastered on his face.

"I'm sure they can too, but that's not the point. If you'll excuse me." Mike began to get impatient to be on her way.

"There a problem?" a familiar voice inquired from behind Mike.

"No, there's no problem. Thanks though, Justin." Mike linked her arm through Justin's and gave him a wink as they headed back to the table together.

"Where'd you disappear to?" Ashley inquired.

"Bathroom." Mike answered with a roll of her eyes as a slower song came through the speakers. Carli walked over to the table looked frazzled and a bit tired.

"Hey, you just get off work?" Justin inquired pulling out a chair for her.

"Yeah. Just got home when I heard the message on my machine. What's going on?" Carli nodded with a sigh as she sat down.

"Not a whole lot. Thought we could all do with a night out on the town." Chris answered with a shrug. Carli gave Chris a scathing look and he gave her a reassuring wink. Mike folded her arms across her chest and rested back in the seat, to tired to move. A song blared from the speakers, making her heart jump into her throat.

Mike climbed to her feet and grabbed the sweater she had tossed on the back of her chair. Chris looked over at her with a raised an brow and she shook her head.

Chris climbed to his feet and followed Mike to the front door of the club, worry etched in his features.

Chris grabbed Mike's arm before she was able to leave the dance club. "You're going to leave me here with all of these strangers?"

"I just need some fresh air, Chris. And these people aren't strangers. You've been here a hundred times." Mike shook her head.

"Okay, then I'm going with you." Chris shrugged letting go of her arm. Mike nodded with a shrug of her shoulders.

The night air seemed chilly compared with that of the interior of the club. Mike and Chris walked over to Chris's car and sat on the hood, neither saying a word.

"You want to tell me what's bothering you?" Chris inquired glancing over at Mike. She shook her head, looking up at the stars.

"There's really nothing to tell." she sighed, leaning back against the windshield as she folded her arms across her chest.

"I know it has to do with JC, so why don't you spill it." Chris pressed, shifting to face her.

"Chris, it's really not all that important. Don't worry about it." Mike smiled, patting her older friend's hand.

"I know. But you, my dear, are a friend and I worry about you whether you like it or not." he shrugged with a smile.

"Thanks Chris. You really are sweet, no matter what anyone else says about you." Mike teased, bumping his shoulder lightly with hers.

"Shh, don't let it get out. I have to uphold my funny man image." Chris snorted with a shake of his head.

"Heaven forbid the fans finding out that you're something other than funny." Mike shook her head teasingly.

She paced the hotel room, wringing her hands nervously. Nothing had turned out the way she had so carefully planned. His fiancé was still alive and he was still in the hospital. She shook her head as she flopped down on the bed. Things had to be rectified, but how to do it. She would need some help this time. She couldn't afford to screw it up again. She sighed picking up the phone, then dialed the number to her best friend's home.

"Hello?"

"Andrew, how are you?"

"Trinity, long time no hear."

"I know. What's going on?"

"Not a whole lot, just waiting for something to happen."

"What would you say if I told you I was planning something huge and needed your help?"

"I'd say tell me what you have in mind first, then I'll see if it's something I want to be in on."

"Oh, come on Drew. This is me we're talking about. When have I not planned something that will shock the hell out of a bunch of poor, innocent saps?"

"You have a point. Tell me where you are, and I'm on my way."

"I'm in Orlando. Staying at the........"

"I'm terrified." Mike stated suddenly, closing her eyes.

"Terrified? Over what?" Chris replied as he sprawled out beside her on the hood of his car.

"Getting married." she answered simply with a shrug.

"Okay. Why?" he pressed.

"I don't know. Relationships change when you exchange vows. It's happened to my sisters and a couple of my brothers. Things seem to get old and tarnished quickly." Mike sighed gazing up at the stars again. "And before you go jumping to conclusions, I know that things between me and JC will be good for a while. All newlyweds are like that, but...I just don't want things to get old for him. Sounds weird."

"Nah, it doesn't sound weird. I think it sounds perfectly normal to tell you the truth. Marriages have a 35 percent chance of making it these days. Sad, but true. In all honesty, I think you and JC will last longer than most. You both know what you want, work for what you want, and never give up. That's a good thing and will work in your favor." Chris replied with a soft laugh.

"I hope so." Mike mumbled as Chris sat up, a sudden grin on his face. Mike gave him a confused look. "What?"

Chris said nothing, just pointed to the other end of the parking lot as a painfully familiar song filtered outside from the dance club.

A cab had pulled up and a lone figure climbed out after handing the driver some money, then turned to face the club. Mike's breath hitched in her throat when she saw his face.

"Josh." she whispered in shock as she climbed down from the hood of the car. Chris stood beside her, arms folded over his chest and a satisfactory smile on his face.

"In case you couldn't tell, we planned this whole thing." he told her with a laugh as her hand flew to her mouth. She took a step forward when she saw that JC was just standing there, looking at her. Chris took her arm in his hand, silently asking her to stay put.

Slowly, JC started walking toward the two standing motionless. His gaze locked on Mike's and his heart thundered in his chest. He still wasn't as strong as he'd like to be, but he was walking without any pain at all anymore and that was what counted. He smiled when he heard the song playing, the one she had wanted to be their wedding song. He knew Chris had something to do with that part of this whole plan coming into affect. He stopped a foot in front of Mike and held out his hand to her.

"Dance with me." he stated softly. Without caring that they were in a parking lot, without caring that it was a little too chilly to spend too long outside, without caring that they would attract the stares of people passing by, she stepped into his arms.

JC wrapped an arm around her waist as her hands crept up his arms to rest on his shoulders. Her eyes fluttered shut as his head bowed. He rested his forehead against her shoulder, eyes closed trying to remind himself to breathe. Mike's hand slipped to the nape of his neck and rested there.

They swayed slowly to the music filtering out into the parking lot, lost in their own little world, oblivious to what was happening around them. He sang the words softly into her ear and she smiled, telling herself not to cry.

JC's free arm slipped around her waist, bringing her closer, his lips brushing her ear causing tingles to shoot through her entire body. In that instant she knew that they would last until death. She couldn't explain how she knew, she just had a feeling that everything would be alright between them.

"I'm sorry I've been so distant." he whispered into her ear as the music died down, still dancing with her in the glow of the street lamp on the corner.

"Its alright. I was just worried about you." she countered softly, tightening her arms around his neck. JC pressed a kiss to her neck with a smile.

"I don't deserve you." he stated brushing his lips against her jaw line.

"That's the biggest load of turd I've ever heard." she giggled as he lifted her off her feet in a hug.

"I still feel butterflies, how about you?" JC questioned pulling away just enough to gaze down at her.

"You bet your ass I still feel butterflies." Mike nodded resting her hands on his cheeks. She stood up on tiptoe and pressed a kiss to his lips.

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