TTMABchapter12

'Cause I wanted to fly
So you gave me your wings
And time held its breath
So I could see, yeah
And you set me free

Justin wasn�t the only one getting better. Over the following week, Lance opened up to Jc more than Jc had hoped. Lance could talk openly about himself. The only things he still had trouble talking about were his parents and what happened the night he was raped. Jc knew that those things would never be easy to talk about, so he was very pleased that Lance was doing so well.

He was so excited that Lance was letting him in, letting him get to know more about him. After they had talked a week ago, Lance had tried so hard not to be scared about talking about his life. He learned to trust Jc again, and Jc learned a lot about Lance.

Lance also learned about Jc. Lance wasn�t the only one sharing his life. During their �sessions� Jc would start out by sharing something about himself, maybe something about his childhood. Then, that would spark a memory in Lance�s mind, and he would share it. Their conversations often went longer than the �sessions� were supposed to, but usually neither of them noticed.

When the day came for Justin to leave the hospital, Lance was very distressed. He knew that he had both Jc and Chris, but they were both doctors. Once Justin left, he�d have no friends that were patients. And even though he trusted Jc and Chris again, he felt alone. And Justin hadn�t even left yet.

The morning of the day that Justin left, Lance woke up very early, unable to sleep any more. He got out of bed and walked down the hall to Justin�s room. Joey saw him and waved. The patients weren�t supposed to wander the halls at night or early in the morning, but he knew that Lance was going to see Justin.

Lance entered Justin�s room and climbed into the bed next to him. He didn�t want Justin to leave. Justin was his best friend. They�d become friends almost as soon as they�d met, and Lance didn�t want to lose Justin. Before he knew it, he was sobbing quietly next to Justin.

Lance�s shaking sobs woke Justin up, and he pulled Lance to his chest, whispering promises. Justin knew that his leaving would hurt Lance, and he�d almost refused to leave because of it. But Chris had convinced him that Lance would feel bad if Justin stayed because of him. Justin knew that that was true, so he decided to leave. He wasn�t happy about it though.

Sure, he didn�t want to be there anymore, but he really didn�t want to leave Lance. And now that Lance was a sobbing mess in his arms, he felt bad. But he was better, and he shouldn�t have to stay there any longer.

Chris had told him that he could come and visit often, at least until Lance got used to the idea that Justin wasn�t going to be there any more. Chris also told him that Lance was doing a lot better, and he might even be released within a few months. Justin was happy when he heard that because then they could be together, but not at the stupid hospital.

*Flashback*

Justin asked Chris if they would ever see each other, and Chris laughed. �Of course we will, Curly,� he said, �When you go back with your parents, I�ll call you all the time. And you can call me if you need anything. Even if it�s just to talk.�

�But, Chris, what if they still don�t want me?� Justin asked. He hadn�t exactly seen his parents since he�d been there. He wasn�t sure they wanted him back, even if he was better.

�If they don�t want you? Justin, how could anyone not want you?� Chris asked lovingly.

�I � I just, I�m going to miss you so much, Chris,� Justin whispered, tears filling his eyes.

�If your parents don�t want you to stay there, than you can come live with me. And if they do, than you will see me every time you visit Lance, ok?� Chris suggested.

�I can live with you?� Justin asked, hope filling his sad eyes.

�Yes,� Chris replied, pulling a very emotional Justin into his arms.

*End Flashback*

When Lance stopped sobbing enough to talk, his voice broke Justin out of his thoughts. �I�m sorry, Justin, I didn�t mean to cry all over you. I�m just going to miss you so much,� Lance whispered against Justin�s chest.

�I�m going to miss you too, Lance,� Justin replied quietly. �But guess what?�

�What?� Lance asked, lifting his head to look into Justin�s eyes.

�I�m gonna come visit at least once a week,� Justin promised. �My parents don�t live far from here, so it�s not hard to get here. And if they don�t want me, Chris said I can live with him.�

�You sounds like you�d rather then not want you so you can live with Chris,� Lance commented with a small smile.

�Yeah, kinda. Chris loves me, they don�t. Why would I want to live with them?� Justin asked.

�Well, maybe they really do love you,� Lance replied.

�Yeah, maybe. But anyway, I�m going to come visit you until you can leave, ok?� Justin asked.

�You don�t have to you know. If you have better things to do,� Lance said quietly.

�Not want to?� Justin questioned. �Lance, you�re my best friend! Why wouldn�t I want to?�

�I don�t know. You don�t have to be here anymore, so why should you come?� Lance asked.

�No, it�s not like that. I want to see you. You�re my best friend and I love you so much. And you�re going to get better. Promise me that you�ll keep trying to get better,� Justin said, rubbing Lance�s back.

�I promise, Justin,� Lance replied.

�Good. And when you get out we�re going to hang out all the time, you hear?� Justin told Lance with a big smile.

�Ok,� Lance agreed, feeling much better. But then again, Justin could always make him feel better.

****

Later that day, after Justin had left, Lance was sitting in his room bored. He looked up when there was a knock on his door, and smiled when he saw Jc when he opened it.

�Hey Lance,� Jc said, entering the room and pulling Lance into a hug.

�Hey Josh,� Lance said quietly.

�How are you feeling?� Jc asked carefully.

�Well, I�m feeling kind of lonely. I mean, I like talking to you, but it�s hard to know I can�t just go into the other room and talk to Justin,� Lance explained.

�Yeah, I know what you mean. Everyone�s going to miss him around here. Especially Chris,� Jc replied.

�How is he?� Lance asked.

�He�s doing all right. He actually went with Justin to his home. He wanted to talk to Justin�s parents. He really wanted Justin to stay with him, but he wanted to do what was best for Justin,� Josh told Lance.

�Justin wanted to stay with Chris more than his parents too,� Lance said, laughing a little.

�They really love each other,� Jc stated happily.

�Yeah,� Lance replied.

�You know I love you, right?� Jc asked, sitting down on the bed next to Lance.

�Yeah, Josh, I know,� Lance responded. �I wish I knew how to say it back.�

�It�s ok. All I need is you here with me. I don�t need to hear the words,� Jc assured him.

Lance wondered how he had been blessed to have such a wonderful man in his life. Especially after all the shit he�d been through. He wasn�t sure why he deserved to have Jc as a friend, but he was happy he did.

With Jc by his side, he knew he could get better, and be better. He could be himself when Jc was around. He thought about Jc a lot. It didn�t matter what he was doing, he was usually thinking about Jc. Because Jc made him whole.

And then he realized something. �I love Jc,� Lance thought to himself. He couldn�t keep the grin from forming on his face. He thought it again. �I love Jc.�

Jc watched as Lance�s face broke out into a huge grin. He wondered why Lance was so happy all of the sudden. But he knew that with Lance, if he just sat and waited, he would find out.

It was seconds later when Lance whispered the three words that Jc had been wanted to hear for so long. �I love Jc.�

And Jc�s face carried a larger grin than Lance�s � if that was even possible.