[chapter seventeen]

By the time Caitlin had driven halfway across town towards her own neighborhood, the rain was coming down in sheets, and seeing the road was becoming more and more of a challenge. She eventually pulled onto her street and quickly parked her car in the garage. Noting that the other cars were gone, Caitlin remembered that Alex, Jon and Scout were on maneuvers for the next two days, so she had the house to herself.

She walked from the garage into the house through the kitchen, flipping on lights as she made her way through the dark house. Just as she was reaching for a lamp in the family room, a huge clap of thunder caused her to jump about a mile in the air.

"Ok, be cool. It's just a little thunder," she thought to herself, rushing over to close the blinds. As she hustled over to the patio door, several forks of lightning lit the night sky, causing Caitlin to jump back in terror. Steeling herself, she quickly drew the drapes as another clap of thunder resounded above her.

"What weenies are terrified of thunderstorms, anyway?" she chastised herself as she sat down on the couch and pulled off her running shoes. "TV, watch some TV. Get your mind off the," Caitlin jumped at the latest clap of thunder, "storm."

Caitlin curled up on the sofa and flipped on the television. She mindlessly flipped through the channels, finding nothing of interest on any of the channels. She began scanning the channels again when another bolt of lightning lit the entire house and a huge clap of thunder shook the house to its foundation. Caitlin shrieked as the electricity went off, and she was bathed in darkness. She sat frozen on the sofa, waiting for the room to be illuminated again. After about a minute of sitting in the darkness, she hopped up and ran to the dining room, where a stash of candles was kept. Lighting several with the nearby lighter, she walked with the candle back into the kitchen. Another bolt of lightning flashed through the house and a crash of thunder immediately followed. Caitlin immediately picked up the phone, relieved to hear a dial tone. She quickly dialed a number and waited, praying she wouldn't wake him up...

"Hello?" Caitlin sighed slightly to hear JC's voice on the other end of the line.

"JC? Did I wake you up? It's Caitlin. I just," she paused as another clap of thunder resonated through the house, "I just wanted to hear a familiar voice."

"Cait? What's wrong? You sound scared to death." JC said, concern tingeing his voice.

"I...I am." Caitlin said in a small voice. "I'm terrified of storms, and this one is rattling the teeth right out of my head. And the electricity went out, and the guys are on the base, so I just wanted to talk to you for a minute...did I wake you up?" Caitlin trailed off, knowing she must sound about five years old.

"No, I was just channel surfing. You poor thing! I forgot you were afraid of storms--this one looks like a whopper too." JC said. "Where are you?"

"Hiding in the kitchen." Caitlin said with a small laugh. "Me and a candle."

"I'm coming over." JC said firmly.

"No, no. You have to get some sleep. I'll be fine...just talk to me for a minute." Caitlin insisted.

"No arguing. I'll be over in a few minutes. Just sit tight." JC said, his voice commanding.

"JC..." Caitlin started.

"NO arguing. I'll be there in a minute." JC said.

"But..." Caitlin heard JC's end click off, so she sighed and hung the phone back on the receiver. Caitlin shook her head, not believing that JC was coming over to her house because she was scared of some silly storm.

As if to reaffirm her fear, she jumped again as another streak of lightning lit the house. She walked back to the family room with the candle and gingerly looked outside and saw the rain pelting down. "JC is going to get soaked." She thought to herself upon seeing the buckets of rain coming down. Retrieving the lighter, Caitlin lit another candle that was on the coffee table, and after making sure the front door was unlocked, she curled up on the couch again. Between flashes of lightning and claps of thunder, she thought about JC.

Over the last few weeks, he had certainly proven that he was more than a pop star or face on a billboard. She kept waiting for the arrogant or egotistical side of him (or even the other four guys) to emerge, but it hadn't. All she could see was a normal guy, trying to maintain a normal life. She knew this time was unique, since they weren't touring, promoting a new album or doing the appearance circuit. Once that craziness began again, who knew what to expect. Either way, she liked JC. A lot. He was a good person, with a good heart, and the fact that he was coming over to keep her company because of some irrational fear of stormswell, that made him her hero. She trusted JC. She felt like she'd known him for years, even though it had only been weeks. She just hoped they could continue to see each other when *Nsync's lives returned to abnormal.

She smiled to herself, remembering the evening's events, and laughed a little to herself at Lance and Justin crashing in at just the wrong moment. If that hadn't, who knew what would have happened...

A flash of lightning and huge thunderbolt accompanied a crash that came from behind Caitlin. She cried out and jumped off the couch, whirling around. Standing in her front doorway, illuminated by lightning, was a thoroughly soaked JC. Relief poured through Caitlin, and she rushed over to help JC close the door against the storm and remove his soaked jacket.

"I can't believe you came all the way over in this weather, you are soaked to the skin! You're going to freeze to death!" Caitlin babbled as she put away his umbrella and hung up his jacket.

"Are you ok? I got here as fast as I could." JC said, shaking his head to remove some of the water from his hair.

"You must have flown! I only called a minute ago." Caitlin said. "But I'm glad you're here."

JC kissed the tip of her nose so he wouldn't get her too wet. "Me too."

"Your clothes--they're soaked!" Caitlin said with dismay. "I can chuck them in the dryer if you'd like. We'll dry them when the electricity comes back on. I'm sure Alex has something you can change into."

"That'll work. Lead the way, m'lady." JC said with a grin.

Caitlin started walking towards the staircase when another clap of thunder burst across the skies. She yelped and grabbed JC's hand. Gripping it tightly, she hustled up the stairs and into Alex's room. Flinging open his closet, she gave JC free reign to find some clothes that would be comfortable. "I'll see if I can find some more candles." Caitlin said, leaving JC the one she had been carrying.

She headed back downstairs and was digging through a junk drawer in the kitchen when she heard JC walk up behind her. She turned around and inhaled sharply. JC was wearing a pair of loose basketball shorts and a white tee shirt. He was barefoot and he had hastily run his hands through his hair to try and tame his locks. He still had a sheen of wetness on him, and Caitlin couldn't believe how attractive he was, even with messy hair and wearing her brother's oversized clothes. She took his damp clothes with a smile and carried them to the dryer. After closing the dryer door, she returned to the kitchen to find JC looking through her freezer.

"Hungry?" She asked teasingly. "After all that pizza?"

"Well, if your electricity is out, I wouldn't want any ice cream to go to waste, so I thought I'd check it out." JC said, emerging from the freezer with a half-eaten pint of Chubby Hubby. "Wanna share?" He asked.

"Absolutely!" Caitlin grabbed some spoons out of a drawer followed JC into the family room, where most of the candles were. She couldn't resist checking out JC's legs as they walked into the other room. She'd always had a thing for guys with nice legs, and JC definitely fit that bill. Muscular and shapely, his legs were, lacking for another word, perfect. Caitlin made a mental note to buy him shorts for his next birthday, and with a secret smile sat down on the sofa next to him.

Another thunderclap made her jump again, so she snuggled right next to JC, as if he were the only thing that could shield her from the storm. "Don't worry, I'll protect you." JC said, as though reading her thoughts. "Ice cream?"

The hungrily dug into the pint, and fought over all the big chunks of peanut butter and pretzel. "Share you big hog!" Caitlin demanded as JC switched hands to hold the pint away from her. He laughed, and she could feel the reverberations from his body to hers.

"Oh that's nice. I come over here, risking life and limb to protect you from the storm, and you call me a hog!" JC teased.

"I didn't make you come over!"

"I couldn't leave you here alone, you sounded terrified of the big bad storm!"

"I'm a big girl. I could have crawled under the bed and hidden there just fine until it was over."

JC burst into raucous laughter. "I'm just teasing you. Here..." He said, holding out the pint to her.

"Besides, from all I've heard, you turn into an Olympic track star whenever someone gets a sharpened pencil near you, much less a needle." Caitlin teased back.

"Touché." JC conceded. "I'm terrified of needles. Everyone has to be afraid of something right?"

"I enjoy being afraid of Russia. It's a harmless fear, but it makes America feel better, Russia gets an inflated sense of national worth from our paranoia. How's that?" Caitlin quoted.

"St. Elmo's Fire, right?" JC said.

Caitlin squealed. "Finally! Someone who may be able to quote movies as much as I do!" She said happily.

"Oh, I'll beat the pants off of you!" JC bragged.

"We'll see." Caitlin said with a knowing grin.

"I'll get the guys to gang up on you too. Just wait!" JC said with a smile.

The finally polished off the pint, and sat contentedly against each other. JC put his arm around Caitlin, and she laid her head on his shoulder. Sighing deeply, she closed her eyes. "Sounds like the storm isn't as bad anymore." She said drowsily. A clap of thunder boomed moments later. "Well, so much for that theory."

JC kissed the top of her head and pulled her closer. "You're safe now. Don't worry. Tired?" He asked.

"Mm-hm. Are you?" Caitlin asked, stifling a yawn.

"Yeah. At least we don't have to be at the Compound until a little later tomorrow, so I can sleep in a bit. Do you work tomorrow?" JC asked.

"I have the afternoon shift. Noon to eight. I guess I can sleep in a bit too." Caitlin said, her eyes closing again.

"Come on, let's get you into bed." JC said, rousing Caitlin from his side.

"Ok." Caitlin replied with no argument. Pulling her off the sofa, JC took Caitlin's hand and gently led her up the stairs to her room. "Do you want me to stay?" He asked quietly when they reached her door.

Caitlin looked into his eyes. She didn't have to think twice about her answer; she knew what she wanted. Without a word, she nodded.

"Why don't you put on your jammies, and I'll put out the candles and be right back, ok?" JC said with a soft smile.

Caitlin smiled in return. "Ok." She said softly. She turned and went into her room, setting the candle down on the dresser. She quickly pulled out of one of the drawers a shorts and shirt pajama set in a silky material, with a black and white pattern on it. She slid the clothing on, and went into the bathroom to brush her teeth and wash her face. She returned to the bedroom and was just crawling into bed when she heard a soft knock at the door. "Are you decent?" JC called softly.

Caitlin smiled. "Yep. Come on in." She said as she slid between the sheets. JC carried the candle over to the bed and smiled down at her. "You look exhausted." He said.

"I am. Apparently being with you wears me out." Caitlin retorted.

JC grinned. "I can only imagine. I locked all the doors and pulled the shades, and I put all the candles out."

"Thank you JC." Caitlin said. They held each other's gazes for a minute, then JC slowly pulled the tee shirt over his head and slid into the bed next to her. They automatically both scooted to the middle of the bed. Caitlin lifted her upper body slightly and JC instinctively slid his arms around her. She laid her cheek on his chest and sighed deeply, inhaling the smell of his soap, his cologne...of him. JC put one hand on her head and began gently stroking her hair, and the other arm wrapped protectively around her back. "Thank you for everything."

"You're very, very welcome. Go to sleep Caitie." JC commanded tenderly.

"Yessir." Caitlin smiled against his chest as she immediately began drifting off to sleep. JC continued to stroke her hair, and smiled slightly when he heard her breathing deepen, signaling that she was already asleep. He studied her peaceful face, and vowed that he would always keep her safe. And close to him.

chapter eighteen