Justin awoke to a voice calling out to him. He tried to move but soon realized there was an extra weight on his chest.
"Justin...Please don't leave me too." JC cried. "I need you. Please, please. I'll do anything. Just don't leave me."
"Jayce," Justin whispered. "Jayce wake up."
"No, Justin. I need you. Please don't leave me. I love you, please don't do this to me."
Justin breath catches in his throat. He gently runs a hand down JC's back, "Jayce? Rose, sweetie. I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere. Shhh."
The door creaks open a bit and Karen peeks her head in, with a worried frown on her face.
Justin looks up, "Shhh, he's still asleep."
She walks into the room, "How's he doing?"
"I think he's calming down a bit. Must of been having a nightmare or something."
"How long have you been in love with him?"
Justin opens his mouth then closes is, then opens it again. Finally he asks, "Am I that obvious?"
"No, we just all know you very well, so it is to us."
"I wish he could see it."
"He will," Karen reassures. "It seems he already realizes just how much you mean to him. It may take him a while to get over whatever he had with Joey, but you've always had a special place in his heart Justin. Just don't give up on him."
"I have no intention of it. I love him too much to let him get away now that I know he feels the same way."
"What? When did....How long have you known?"
"Oh," He looks at the alarmclock. "All of about 20 minutes now. He just cried it out in his sleep."
"So....What are you going to do?"
"There is nothing I can do. I'll ask him about his dream when he wakes up. If he wants me to know he'll tell me. I'm not gonna force him into something he's not ready for."
"J?" JC mumbles.
"I'm here sweetie."
"Who else is here?"
"Your mom."
"Hi, mom. I don't wanna get up yet. Do I have to?"
"No sweetheart. You get some rest. You deserve it."
"K. Night mom." JC was asleep before his head returned to Justin's chest.
"Take care of him Justin and you'll have all my support. You hurt him and I'll come after you. I don't think he can handle any more heartbreak."
"Don't worry about it Mrs. C., I have no intention of ever hurting him like Joey did."
"Good," She stands and walks to the door, "Get some rest, you're both gonna need it." She shuts the door quietly.
JC lifts his head a little, "J?"
"Hmmm."
"Who are you really in love with," JC asks with a slight tinge of hope in his voice.
"Go to sleep Jayce. I said I'd tell you tomorrow and I will."
"J?" JC states looking to the clock. "It is tomorrow."
"Oh... well..."
"Please Justin, just tell me."
"I'm in love with...." Justin stumbles.
"What? Come on J. It's just me. You know I'm not gonna tell anyone, I promise."
"That's not the problem Jayce."
"Well, then why don't you want me to know who she is?"
"Jayce," Justin sighs. He meets JC's blue eyes, "Shit. Why'd you have to look at me like that?"
JC smiles, "Like what?"
Justin rolls them over so they are both on their sides, "You really want to know who it is?"
"Yes. I really do."
"Well," Justin leans into JC and places his lips to JC's. It was short and gentle. When he pulls back he states, "You. My heart is yours Jayce."
JC just lays there with his eyes shut. He hadn't moved since Justin kissed him.
"Jayce?" Justin bites his lip nervously.
"Hmmm."
"You ok?"
JC opens his eyes, "Yes."
"Then why are you crying?"
"Cuz."
"Cuz why?"
"Cuz."
"Jayce," Justin sighs. "What's going through that beautiful brain of yours?"
The tears flow freely down JC's cheeks, "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"
"Jayce? You were with Joey. I didn't wanna come between you."
"But I've loved you for so long J. I only started seeing Joey when it looked like I had no hope of ever getting you."
"Why didn't you tell me how you felt?"
"You were with Britney. You two seemed so happy."
Justin pulls JC to him, "I love you Josh."
"I love you too Justin."
"So what do we do now?"
"I don't know. Guess we need to get a hold of Joey."
"You don't need to get ahold of me J." Joey states from the door.
JC jumps away from Justin, "When...How...What..."
"Jayce relax. I'm not mad at you."
"Huh? Why not?"
"After what I did to you, I can't blame you."
JC gets up and walks over to Joey, "Why'd you do it, Joe?"
"I don't know Jayce. I didn't know how to deal with the change and Justin just seemed to know how to make all your hurting stop."
"But I wanted you to be the one that made the hurt go away."
"I know, but you needed Justin more than you've ever needed me. I was just in the way Jayce."
"So you just left. Didn't say a word, just left?"
"Yes, I knew you had J here, and...."
"Don't tell me you could see it too?" Justin asks.
"Yes, J. I could see how much you loved him. I also knew that he had settled for me after he came to the conclusion that you were never gonna love him the way he wanted."
"So you just walked away?" JC asks.
"Yes, it was the only thing I could think of."
"But, there's a small problem with you making a clean break from our relationship." JC states.
"What do you mean?"
"Well..." JC stammers. "Why is this so hard? You better sit down Joe." Joey sits down next to Justin. "Ok, here goes. Joey, I'm pregnant."
"You're what? How? When?"
"Well, I hope you know how. The when was about a month before I changed into Rose."
"So you got pregnant as a guy? How?"
"I have no idea and I wasn't gonna start asking those kind of questions in a public office. I'm pretty sure they would have put me in the nut house."
"That's just...Wow...So what are you gonna do?"
"Well, I'm keeping the baby. I think that's what caused the change, if it is I'll probably change back after the baby is born."
"So...when is the baby due?"
"December."
"So, what do you plan to do with it?"
"I just told you I am going to keep it and raise it. I'll make something up for the press, but I'm keeping the baby."
"So...What...."
"Look Joe. I don't expect anything from you. In fact I don't 'want' anything from you. I plan on raising this baby as mine. If you want to be part of it's life that's your choice. I'm not gonna force you into anything you don't want."
Justin grabs JC's hand, "Jayce."
"What?" JC snaps. "Sorry." He smiles at Justin.
"Joe. I think you should go. We can talk more in the morning."
"Ok." He looks at JC, "For what it's worth I'm sorry for the way I treated you."