I woke up the next morning to the smell of coffee and an unidentifiable aroma coming from my kitchen. As I enter the kitchen rubbing one eye, my eyes land on the finest ass I’ve ever had the privilege of setting eyes on, the rest of the body being bent over pulling something out of my oven.

JC stands up and jumps a bit as he realizes he’s not alone any more. He recovers quickly and smiles, “Hey. I um…Hope you don’t mind I uh…”

I smile and head for the fridge, “It’s cool. What are you still doing here? You know you didn’t….”

“I know, but I’m like…Well…Ask the guys they’ll explain it better than me. I’m just a worrier I guess. It’s in my nature.” He blushes.

“Yeah, I remember seeing that somewhere. What’s that nickname they call you Dad or something?” I smirk as I take a seat at the counter.

“Yeah. Big Daddy. I’m not sure I like it but it’s better than Poofu anyday.” He hands me a plate stacked high with bacon, pancakes and what looks to be scrambled eggs.

“What is this?” I ask as I poke the egg looking stuff with my fork.

“Um…Well…It’s something my mom showed me how to make a long time ago. Just try it. If you don’t like it you don’t have to eat it. I won’t be offended.”

I take a bite and chew on it for a couple seconds, raising my eyebrows in surprise and a smile growing across my face, “Damn. These are pretty good.”

“Thanks. Now…I hate to be nosy but what was that last night with Joey? Why’d he show up here like that? Is there something going on with you two?” He fired off the questions quietly but in a tone that meant business.

“Um…We used to have something going on…but it’s not anymore.” I stammer, keeping my gaze averted.

“So…Is this gonna cause a problem? With the…”

“It’s not for me. I can’t say how he will act but I can promise you I will remain professional no matter what happens.”

“I hope so…cuz you know he comes first. He’s part of the group. It’s not like we can just kick him out for his behavior.”

“I wouldn’t expect you to.” I state standing up and placing my plate in the sink. “I need to get a shower, then we can head to the gym. If you still…”

“Oh no you don’t…You’re not getting out of this that easily.” He smiles. “We’re just gonna have to stop at my place before we hit the studio.”

“Fine with me. Be back in a few minutes.”

***

We get to the studio where JC sits down in the corner, notebook in hand, and begins writing. I turn the stereo on and start working on dance moves, first in my head, then slowly moving my body as the ideas begin to take form. When the song ends and the next song begins I stop dead in my tracks as I hear the quirkiest music start up. It finally dawns on me that I’m not the only one in the room and turn to face my companion.

He’s sitting there staring off into space with a smile on his face. He must have felt me watching him or something because he lifted his gaze to my face and asked, “What?”

“Nothing. Just trying to figure out what the deal is with that last song. Who wrote that?”

“Which one?”

“The one before this one.”

He cocks his head to the side and listens to the song playing. He smiles as he hears the mantra of ‘Money, money, money’. “That would have been ‘Space Cowboy’, and I was the one that wrote it.” He looks a bit nervous as he states that last part.

I watch him for a couple minutes then turn back to the stereo, reset it to ‘It’s Gonna Be Me’, “Well…For what it’s worth, I like it. Definitely has a hook to it.”

“Really? You like it?” He jumps up and joins me in the middle of the dance floor. “You’re not…”

“I don’t mess around when it comes to music man. Music and Dancing…the only two things that have kept me sane in my short, crazy life.” I state quietly as I slowly step away from him

“Hey. You ok?” He steps towards me.

My eyes are focused over his shoulder at the form that had just walked in the door and I’m pretty sure the fear was evident in my eyes or at least on my face.

“So…Here you are. I was wondering where you were. Why didn’t you answer the door this morning, baby.”

JC spun around to face the intruder, “Joe? What are you…”

“Shut up Jayce. You made me leave last night, but you had J there to help you. Now that it’s just you and me…” Joey rolled his sleeves up and moved towards JC.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing Joe?” JC looked around the room, seeing nothing he could defend himself with he brought his hands up to defend himself.

“What you doing with him Jayce? He’s mine and I ain’t sharing with you or anyone else.” Joey growled, taking a swing at JC.

Luckily JC was much quicker on his feet than Joey and managed to dodge the first few attempts. He even managed to get a couple of solid punches in before Joey finally landed a hard right to his jaw, sending JC sprawling across the floor.

JC bounced up just before Joey reached him. It only took two more swings before JC had Joey pinned on the floor under him. Although JC was lighter he was a lot tougher than he looked and could definitely hold his own in a fight, which Joey had known before but was getting solid proof of now.

Finally JC backs off and moves away from Joey a bit, “Man…I don’t know what your problem is but you better get over it quick.” He storms over to the corner where he had placed his stuff and started throwing things into his bag. He looks up and back just in time to duck out of the way as Joey’s fist flew by, just missing his lower back by a few centimeters.

“Damn it Joey. What the fuck is your problem?” JC pinned the bigger man to the wall, one arm twisted behind his back.

“Fuck you Jayce. I told you…He’s mine.”

“Who? What the fuck are you talking about?”

“Wade. He’s mine. You’re not getting your hands on him. I’ll kill him first.” Joey growled. He stepped back with one foot heavily on JC’s foot but the smaller man held his ground.

“What the hell is going on in here?” Chris bellows from the doorway.

My head flies up and I cower even further into the corner behind JC. JC glances at me quickly before moving his body between mine and Joey’s and shoving Joey in Chris’ direction. “Hold him Chris. What ever you do, don’t let him any where near Wade.”

Chris grabs Joey, “Lonnie, get your ass in here.”

Lonnie steps into the room, “What was that little man?”

“Just hold him till I figure out what the hell is going on.”

Lonnie takes one look at the enraged Italian and wraps a large, restraining arm around him. “What the hell is going on in here Chasez and what happened to your face?”

“Joey happened and that’s what I’ve been trying to figure out ever since I got jumped by that crazy Italian.”

Chris approaches JC and lifts his chin, looking at the bruise slowly forming. “Dude, he got you good.”

“Yeah, well…He’ll be paying for it in the morning.”

Chris turned to take a good look at Joey, “Damn C. What happened?”

“I have no clue. Why don’t you ask him? All I keep getting is ‘He’s mine.’”

“What? Who?” Chris stammers.

“Wade. Shit…” JC spins around and looks down at me.

He steps towards me and I quickly scoot away. For each step he takes I scoot that much further away.

“Jayce, you guys in….” Justin slides to a halt when enters the room, the scene unfolding before him. He immediately joins JC after casting a deadly glare in Joey’s direction and spitting, “Get his ass out of here.”

“You got it.” Lonnie states and drags Joey out of the room. He returns a few minutes later with a first aid kit, “Just in case.”

JC attempts to approach me again only this time he squats down so that his face is closer to my level. It might have actually worked, had I been looking at something other than his feet. I finally run out of room, my back hitting the corner and I finally realize that Justin had been slowly making his way towards me from the other direction.

“You think he’s gonna be ok, Jayce?”

“Don’t know Curly.”

“Did he…” Justin trails off, reaching a tentative hand out to me.

“Don’t…Just let him get used to us being within reach of him. Just talk calmly.”

“Did Joey touch him?” Justin asks quietly.

“No. But I’m pretty sure it was because I got in his way. He wasn’t too happy about me being here with him (he gestures towards me).”

“Hmmm. How long you think this has been going on?”

“Don’t know.” JC whispers.

Chris steps into my line of sight and I could feel the tears flowing now.

“What’s going on around here Jayce? Why are you and Joey fighting and why is Wade cowering over here in the corner? Will someone please tell me what the fuck is going on?” Chris yells.

I jump and curl into a ball on my side.

JC looks up into Justin’s eyes, “Baby. Could you please…”

“Sure. Just…you know…What ever we gotta do.”

“Thanks.”

Justin rises gracefully to his full height and grabs Chris by the arm, dragging him across the room, “You mind not yelling? It’s not helping a whole hell of a lot here.”

“Well. Would you care to explain to me why JC and Joey were just beating the piss out of each other? Then when you’re done with that you can explain to me why our new choreographer is cowering in the corner like someone just beat the crap out of him?” Chris states, placing his hands on his hips.

“I’m not sure but I think Joey’s been…Well…I don’t know and I don’t wanna jump to conclusions.” Justin exclaims. He turns and watches as JC extends his hand out and lays it gently on my shoulder. “Jayce probably knows a bit more. He spent the night with him last night.”

“He what? Why? I thought…” Chris puts a hand to his forehead. “Damn, I think I just aged 10 years. I think we need to call it a day. Meet you at C’s in 1 hour. I’ll gather Lance and make sure Lonnie takes care of Joey. I want his ass there. This is ridiculous.” Chris storms out of the room.

Justin returns to JC’s side, lays a supportive hand on his shoulder and leans in to whisper, “How’s it going?”

JC places his other hand on top of Justin’s, “Slowly.”

I slowly raise my head, but keep my eyes on JC’s shoes, “I’m sorry. I didn’t….”

“Don’t.” JC calmly states. “Don’t apologize. You didn’t do anything wrong.” He slides his arm over my shoulder and sits next to me. “You mind if J’s here?”

I shake my head no.

Justin lowers himself on the other side of me but doesn’t touch me.

We sit that way for a while until Justin whispers, “Josh?”

“Hmmm?”

“We gotta get back to the house. Chris is kinda pissed. Can we just take him with us? It’s not like we don’t have the room.”

“Yeah, but didn’t Chris say he wanted Joey…” JC pulls me tighter as I start shaking at the mention of Joey’s name. “Did he say everyone was supposed to be there? I don’t want…”

“We’ll put him in one of the guest rooms before Joe shows up. He’ll be safe and we’ll all be there to protect him. I just don’t understand though.”

“I don’t either, but believe me…We will find out.” JC states, the venom evident in his voice.

~*~*~ At the House

We pull into the driveway, “Shit!” Justin exclaims. “I didn’t think they’d beat us here. I’ll go in first. Ok?”

“K. Get him out back and I’ll bring Wade in. Have Lance wave out the window when the coast is clear. We don’t need any more of what happened at the studio.” JC states, keeping his arms wrapped around me.

Strange thing was I was starting to feel safe in those arms. I knew he and Justin had been together for a while, not exactly how long though. He was strong but very gentle. I could feel the muscles in his chest as he moved his arms around me or tightened his hold. It just seemed natural for him, almost like he was used to protecting and comforting me.

A couple minutes later JC whispers, “Wade? I need a little help here. Time to go inside. You can stay here as long as you need to. Ok?”

I just nod and begin to move away from his body. He climbs out of the vehicle, waits til I get out and then wraps that warm, comforting arm around me again. He leads me into the house, down the hall and into a room.

He waits a few minutes until I turn to look at his feet. I’m still not brave enough to look him in the eyes. Once I do he states, “This is your room for as long as you’d like it. The house is alarmed and in the morning we’ll have the codes changed so that Joey (I visibly flinch) doesn’t have it anymore. Are you ok with staying here?”

I nod my head yes. I walk over to the bed and curl into a ball on top of it. JC moves quietly to the base of it and picks up the blanket lying there. He places the blanket over me and heads for the door.

I whisper a thank you, but I’m not all that sure he heard it as the door silently shut.

I lay there with tears streaming down my face as I listened to the argument that ensued in the living room.

**Author’s POV**

JC stormed down the hallway and immediately began, “What the hell is wrong with you Joseph? What were you thinking back there? Why is Wade scared shitless of you? And what the fuck did you mean by that comment about killing him first?”

“Whoa. Hold up.” Lance’s deep voice breaks in. “What the fuck happened to your face?”

“Joey happened to it,” Justin states moving to JC’s side.

All four members turn to the accused, “What?” He asks, as if he has no clue what they’re talking about.

“Don’t you dare! Don’t you even think about denying what you’ve done to that man! How long has this been going on? How long have you been beating him?” JC’s tirade begins anew.

“I never…” Joey starts, “Oh hell…Yeah I beat him. He’s a slut. He needed someone to put him in his place. He needed it. Hell the little bitch deserved it.” Joey stood, rising to his full height and steps right into JC’s face. “You don’t like it, maybe you should just stay away from him. Like I told you before, he’s mine. You can’t have him so leave him be.”

“Again with all this, ‘He’s mine, you can’t have him shit.’ What is that? Why do you keep saying that?” JC asked. “From what I gathered from him, you two only dated for a couple months. He ended it. He doesn’t belong to you. He doesn’t belong to anyone Joey.”

“Oh, so that’s what he told you.” Joey gets a dark gleam in his eye. “Well, well, well. That boy’s gonna need another whoopin when I get ahold of him.”

“No Joe,” Chris states from his place on the couch. He stands and approaches the four others. “YOU are going to counseling. I’ve heard enough of your shit in the last hour to know that this has been going on way too long. You need help, now. You can either go on your own or we, as a group, will admit you. We’ve got 3 months til the tour starts. Wade is no good to us right now because of you so…You get help, we learn the moves, then when you get done we’ll teach you the moves.” He raises his hand as Joey begins to protest. “Nope, not gonna listen. You ought to know that once I’ve said my peace I mean it. You brought this on yourself. What the fuck were you thinking? You shoulda known C would kick your ass. He’s a skinny fuck, but you and I have both seen him in action.”

That being said Justin pulls JC into the kitchen to get more ice for his jaw. Lance plops down on the couch. Chris sits next to him, pulling the younger man into a hug. Joey remains standing, glaring from the kitchen to the two men on the couch.

Suddenly Joey makes a move for the door, “You can’t make me do shit Kirkpatrick. I’m outta here.” He swings the door open as he states this, taking a step out the door.

As he turns around he steps right into Lonnie, “Where you going boy? Get your ass back in there.” Lonnie shoves him back in the house and follows him back inside.

“Damn it Lonnie. What the fuck?”

“Shut up. I’m not stupid. I’ve probably been witness to more of these incidents than I care to admit to and now I’m gonna help put a stop to it.” Lonnie growls.

Chris leans down and whispers into Lance’s ear, “Sweetie, you should probably get a hold of Johnny.”

“K.” Lance whispers. A few minutes later he snaps his phone shut and places his head back into Chris’ lap, “Done. He’ll be here in 10.”

“Great.”

**With JC & Justin**

“You ok Josh?”

“Yeah. I’m fine. A little surprised and severely pissed, but I’m ok.”

Justin grabs an ice pack from the freezer and the towel hanging on the front of the fridge, “Here. Put this on it for a while.”

“Thanks baby. God, I am so glad you guys showed up when you did. I don’t know if I could have kept…”

“Shhh….Have I told you how amazing you are?”

“Wha…Why? Cuz I got in a fight and the other guy doesn’t even look like he’s been touched?”

“No…Because you defended someone who really needed it and didn’t even think twice about what might happen to you.”

Justin leaned in and placed his lips on JC’s opposite cheek.

JC smiles at him, “What was that for?”

“Because I love you and am so glad YOU are my boyfriend. I’m so thankful that I found you instead of someone like Joey. I don’t think I could handle a relationship like that.”

“Well…baby. From what I’ve gathered so far, it’s been a one sided relationship for quite a while now. Just that Joey didn’t wanna believe that it was over.” JC closes his eyes and leans his head back. “We got any Tylenol around here?”

Justin pulls open a drawer, pulls out a bottle and hands JC three of the small pills inside. “Here.” He hands over a bottle of water and carefully watches as JC swallows the small pills.

“Thanks.” JC wraps his arms around Justin and pulls him close. “Love you J.”

Their lips meet in a sweet kiss, just long enough to reaffirm their love then they break apart and Justin whispers, “We should probably get back in there.”

JC takes a deep breath, “Yeah, I guess.”

The two men return to the living room just as Lonnie finishes his admonishment of Joey. Lonnie shoves Joey down on the couch and stands next to the end of the couch to ensure he doesn’t move again.

Johnny walks in as JC and Justin return from the kitchen. “Ok. I’m here. What the hell is going on and what is this about Joey needing to go into therapy? Someone better start talking and they better do it now.” He stops his tirade as he steps in front of Joey. “What the fuck did you do this time Fatone?”

“Me? I didn’t do anything. It’s that little fucker in the bedroom they’re trying to hide from me.” He looks from one bandmate to the other, “Yeah, I know he’s here. What were ya’ll thinking bringin him here? You knew I’d be here and yet you bring him here anyway. It’s your fault he’s all freaked out now, not mine.”

Chris rises from the couch, gently removing Lance’s head from his lap first, “It is not our fault that you are a heartless bastard. I don’t know when or where this happened but by God Joseph Anthony Fatone, I will not stand by and let one of my best friends be an abusive son of a bitch.” With that he grabs one of Joey’s arms, Lonnie grabs the other. “Lets go. Either you go willingly or we call the cops and they make sure you go. Your choice.”

Joey shakes his arm, trying to dislodge the smaller man, to no avail. “I’ll go but it’s not gonna do any good. He’s mine and I’ll treat him however I want.” He follows Chris towards the door, stopping in front of JC. “He’ll never be yours. You got your own boy, leave mine alone or you’ll wish you had.” Lonnie gives him a shove out the front door.

JC and Justin watch from the doorway as Lonnie shoves Joey into the car.

Justin wraps his arms around JC's waist from behind, “Why does he keep saying that C? Why’s he keep thinking you and Wade got something going on?”

JC leans his head back on Justin’s shoulder, “No clue baby. No clue.”

“Because he stayed outside the house last night. He knows you spent the night.” Wade states from the hallway entrance.

“Wade? Why are you…” JC started, spinning and stepping out of Justin’s strong arms.

“He’s gone right? It is safe for me to come out here now right?” Wade asks, just a tad bit nervous.

“Yeah. Chris and Lonnie have taken to the clinic.” Lance states from the couch.

“How are you feeling?” Johnny asks. “How long has this been going on?”

“It started a year ago. When he hit me for the first time I was surprised. I didn’t think he had it in him. Everything I’d ever seen or heard about him was that he was sweet, kind and loving so…I thought maybe I had provoked him. Maybe pushed too hard. The second time, I got scarred because he got pissed about something really stupid. After a while I lost track of what would cause it. I just tried to make sure that when he was home…everything was perfect. Since you guys were on tour so much last year that wasn’t too hard but when he came home the last time he almost killed me. That’s when I moved out of the house and got the restraining order. If I’d have known that you guys were the group Darren wanted me to choreograph for I would have said no, there is no way I could have been convinced to change my mind. I’m still trying to come up with a good reason why I should stick with it. I’m not coming up with much.” Wade looks JC in the eyes and sees the unshed tears. He also noticed the clenched fists and the reassuring hand on his arm and drops his eyes to the floor. He didn’t see the same exact expression JC had mirrored in Justin’s eyes and face.

JC and Justin both move at the same time, one to either side of Wade.

Lance gets up from the couch and heads for the kitchen, snagging Johnny on the way. “What’s say we let the two of them work their magic on him?”

Johnny just smiles and the two men disappear into the kitchen.

JC quietly reaches out and brushes the tear from Wade’s cheek, “Shhh. He’s gone now. He can’t hurt you.”

Justin takes Wade’s shaking hand in his, “Come with us?”

When Wade doesn’t say anything Justin leads him down the hallway to the room that JC and Justin share. When they enter the room JC shuts the door and gently assists Wade in sitting on the bed.

“We wanna help you Wade. What can we do?”

Wade is unsure which of the two men had spoken. He was so confused at the moment that he was starting to think that maybe, just maybe he was dreaming.

JC looked to Justin and then back to Wade. He got up off the bed and pulled Justin off to a corner of the room. “Baby, I like the boy. Really I do, but don’t you think we could be doing more harm than good here? He looks like he’s about to bolt.”

Justin leaned in and pressed his lips to JC’s in a quick kiss, “Not sure sexy. Only one way to find out.” Both heads turn to look at the poor unsuspecting boy on the bed. “Maybe we should take it slow with him. I mean…”

JC reaches up and places a finger on Justin’s lips, effectively quieting the young man. “I think he’s interested.”

Wade was sitting there starring at the two men, eyes about to fall right out of their sockets. “Um…maybe I should just…” He begins to stand.

“No,” both men state.

“Please…stay.” Justin whispers as he approaches Wade. “We’d like to show you how it’s supposed to be.”

JC moves to Wade’s other side, “If you’ll let us?” His blue eyes meeting those of the younger man, then up to those of Justin’s.

Wade looks from one man to the other, “Ummm….”