TTMABchapter8

Daddy never loved him much
and momma never keeps in touch

Jc was very happy with the way Lance had opened up to him. Lance had asked for help. He had looked very nervous, so Jc was sure that Lance had never done that before. Jc was very proud. And excited.

He was in Chris� office, explaining every detail of his session with Lance. They weren�t supposed to talk about their patients, but Jc and Chris did anyway. But their information never left Chris� office or where ever they talked. Jc�s story was interrupted when there was a knock on the door.

�Come in,� Chris yelled, sending an apologetic look towards Jc. Chris was happy for Jc and happy that he wasn�t going to leave.

The person who�d knocked timidly pushed the door open and started to go into the room. But he stopped when he saw Jc and he started to turn around, ready to leave.

�Justin!� Chris exclaimed, his voice sounding different to Jc, but he wasn�t sure how. It sort of sounded softer. �Hey! Come in!�

�Um, I didn�t mean to interrupt. I can go now,� Justin said, looking very uncomfortable.

�It�s ok, Justin. We weren�t doing anything important. Plus, I want you to meet my friend,� Chris replied, standing and walking over to Justin. With a hand on Justin�s back, Chris led him to where JC was sitting.

�Justin, meet Dr. Josh Chasez. Josh, meet Justin,� Chris said.

When Jc extended a hand, Justin took it shyly and said, �nice to meet you, Dr. Chasez.�

�Please,� Jc started, �call me Jc.�

�Ok� Jc,� Justin replied.

�Jc is Lance�s doctor,� Chris explained.

�Oh, cool,� was all Justin said.

Jc left the office soon after that, noticing that Justin was still a little uncomfortable around him. He decided to figure out why later on.

****

�I met your doctor today,� Justin told Lance as they walked around the yard of the building that they now considered their home.

�Really?� Lance asked.

�Yeah, he was in Chris� office when I went there,� Justin explained, taking out an apple from his bag.

�Oh, weird. You don�t think they were talking about us, do you?� Lance asked, a little worried.

�Probably not. Well, they aren�t supposed to anyway,� Justin answered, munching on the apple.

�Woah, you�re eating voluntarily,� Lance observed, �that�s great.�

�Yeah, Chris is great, too. Is Jc a good doctor?� Justin asked, changing the subject.

�Yeah, he�s so patient with me. I really think he�ll be able to help me, Justin,� Lance admitted, happy tears forming in his eyes.

�Awww, don�t cry, Lance,� Justin said, pulling Lance into a hug.

�I�m just so happy. I think he�d the one I�ve been waiting for,� Lance said, hoping that he was right. He wanted to be right with all of his broken heart.

****

Later that day, Jc visited Lance, hoping to get more information out of him. He needed a little more information as to why Lance even needed a doctor, besides the obvious, before Jc could fix him.

When Jc arrived at Lance�s room, he was confused to see that Lance wasn�t there. He saw something on the bed and went to see if it was a note.

Jc,

Meet me at the big tree that you can see from my window. I feel like talking
outside today.

~Lance

Jc smiled before heading outside. He walked over to the tree that Lance had mentioned in the note and grinned when he saw that Lance was sleeping. Jc decided to let him get a little more rest. So he just sat and watched Lance sleep.

A few minutes later, Jc almost jumped out of his skin when Lance yelled out. It was a painful scream. Jc realized that Lance must be dreaming about his past.

�No! Dad, please. No, stop!� Lance yelled in his sleep, his body thrashing around.

Jc knew that he needed to wake Lance up. He climbed onto Lance, pinning down his body to stop Lance�s body from moving around so much. He left go of Lance�s hands, and shook his shoulders, trying to wake him up.

Lance woke up, sweaty and shaking, with Jc on top of him. He surprised Jc completely by throwing Jc off of his body. Jc landed on his back, next to Lance, with a thump.

Lance, who was still breathing heavily, was silent.

Jc was very confused. Why had Lance thrown him on the ground? Had he felt trapped? Threatened? Jc put his hand on Lance�s arm.

Lance�s head whipped around and he stared at Jc. When he realized that he�d thrown Jc instead of the person in his dream, he began to cry.

�I-I�m so s-sorry, Jc. I c-can�t believe that I did that,� Lance rambled, feeling really bad.

�It�s ok, Lance, calm down,� Jc soothed, putting his arms around Lance in a hug. And Lance held tightly to him. It was their first real hug, Jc realized.

When Lance had calmed down and stopped crying, he felt like he should explain his dream to Jc.

�Remember the other day when I was daydreaming and I told you what the dream was about?� Lance asked.

�Yeah,� Jc answered, wondering what Lance would say next.

�Well, I was dreaming it again. It was that night again, the night I ended up in the hospital, and I could see everything and everyone so clearly. I felt all the pain again. My dad-� Lance explained, but he cut himself off, �no, I can�t talk about him yet.�

�He�s involved in your dreams?� Jc asked cautiously.

�Yes, but can we not talk about him yet? I�m not ready for that,� Lance asked before adding, �I don�t think he ever loved me.�

�Why�s that?� Jc asked, hoping he wasn�t pushing too much.

�Well, he wasn�t around much and I used to hear him yelling at my mom. He blamed her for me. He didn�t want me,� Lance explained, his voice surprisingly bitter. Jc wondered just what this man had done to Lance to cause the bitterness in his voice.

�What about your mom?� Jc pressed for more information, trying to make sense out of the whole thing.

�She was great, until they put me here. She was one of those people with too much pride. She couldn�t have her reputation tarnished by her son being in a mental place. So she pretty much disowned me. She writes letters sometimes, but that�s all. I don�t really have a family anymore, besides Justin,� Lance told Jc, surprised at how easy it was to talk to him.

Jc was trying to figure out how any mother, or parent for that matter, could disown their child. He looked over at Lance, who looked exhausted.

�Thank you for sharing all that with me, Lance. Why don�t we end a little early because you look really tired,� Jc suggested.

�Ok,� Lance said, yawning.

Once they were back in Lance�s room, Jc tucked him into the bed.

�Can you stay with me until I fall asleep?� Lance asked, shyly, hoping and praying that Jc would say �yes.�

�Of course, Lance,� Jc answered, smiling. So he sat in the chair next to Lance�s bed, running his hands through Lance�s hair until he fell asleep.

And Lance, for the first time since he�d been admitted there, didn�t have a nightmare.