Disclaimer: Any first gen. WWers aren't mine. JJ, Becca, and Chris are, however. ;0)

Notes: Another piece, finally! I've got a whole bunch of others at least partly written. I'm sorry to go off on another tangent with Chris, but the characters start talking to me and I have to write them. You guys don't mind, though, right? Anyway, Chris's situation is sort of a foil for Josh and JJ's relationship, sooo…I hope I haven't offended anyone with anything in here; this does contain light discussion of homosexuality, so if it bothers you, don't read! Feedback, as always, makes me do a happy dance! ;0)

"So, can we borrow the convertible, Ceej?"

"Call home first."

"CJ!"

"Call home first."

"But I just emailed them…"

"Joshua Josiah, do not make me smack you in front of these nice friends of yours. And don't blink those Bambi eyes at me. It won't work. Or the dimples. I've known your father for 25 years. I'm immune. Well, nearly…Anyway, go. Call home. Call your parents. Suzy misses you."

That got him. "All right, all right. Don't say I didn't warn you, though. It's going to destroy my good karma," he grouses.

"I think you should tell your father that."

He frowns at me and rolls his eyes, then whips out his cell and goes over to a corner of the patio. "Hello?… Hey, Suze. How ya doin'? A backflip, huh? Wow, sweetie, that's great. I can't wait to see. I'm not sure, hon. Maybe later this summer. I know, but I'm working. I miss you too, Tulip. Love you."

"Dad, hi. It's JJ. No, I'm fine. I'm at CJ's. Chris and Becca are here, too. For a couple of days. Finals were fine…no, no grades yet. Really Dad, they went fine. I feel fine. Well, I keep saying 'fine' because that's how things are with me: fine! Yes Dad, I start my job in June. Because I'm taking a couple of weeks off. Nothing with kids starts in May, anyway. Yes, I know you offered to set something up for me in DC. But I'm fine here, really. Dad, I got my own job, ok? That's how I want it. I don't want people looking at me as though I only got a job because of who my father is, which is what they'll do in DC. Dad, I'm just being honest, it's how I feel, ok? I'm sorry. Yeah. Listen, I'll let you know if I can make it home…Dad, I don't really know what my schedule's gonna be like for a while. I know…I know! Listen, tell Mom I'm sorry that I missed her, and 'love you' and everything. Yeah. You too, dad. Bye." He shuts off the phone and sighs.

"Did you survive?"

"Yeah, just another episode of 'The Way JJ is Screwing Up His Life,' followed by 'oh, by the way, son, I love you.'"

"JJ, it's not like that. You know that."

"CJ, you haven't been on the receiving end of this shit for ten years, okay? You don't know anything about it."

I'm going to ignore that. "JJ, he's so proud of you. He talks about you all the time. He's just, well…he's Josh. It's just what he does."

"Well, could have fooled me."

"JJ, he just…worries. Every time I call, he asks whether I've seen you, how you're really doing, whether you're eating, whether you look happy, whether you look exhausted…"

"If he wanted to know those things he could just ask me."

I just look at him. "Right. And you would tell him?"

He gives me a lopsided grin and adjusts the sunglasses I gave him as an end-of-semester present. "Point," he concedes. "Thanks, CJ. You're the best godmother a guy could ask for."

"Get out of here, charmer. I already said you could borrow the car."

He laughs. I watch as he heads over and helps Becca load the last bit of gear, and then I wander poolside, casting a shadow over Chris, stretched out on a lounge chair. "You didn't want to join Lewis and Clark on their Grand Adventure?"

"God, no. I will hike, I will scuba dive, I will rock climb. I will not, under any circumstances, go kayaking."

"With all that, you have kayak issues?"

"They go upside down. I don't do upside down."

"Fair enough."

"So, did the J-man start World War Three over there or what?"

"I'd say it was a skirmish, if anything."

"What's with him and his dad, anyhow? I've met the guy; he's intimidating, but you can tell he cares."

"Tact's never been Josh's strong point. He can be rather forceful, and likes to get his way. Why exactly JJ is so upset with him, I have no earthly idea."

"At least his dad gives a shit."

I look at him. Chris and Becca are JJ's best friends. They met last year, as freshmen. Becca lived in JJ's building, and JJ and Chris were roommates for part of first and all of second semester. JJ's first roommate got suspended after some drug incident or other, and Chris's roommate was uncomfortable with Chris's "lifestyle preference," and so a friendship was born. JJ's really laid back and open, so he and Chris get along extremely well. They sound like their own version of the 'Odd Couple' occasionally, but… Chris, on the other hand, makes sure JJ has a life outside of his room. He forgets to, sometimes. Chris even took him to a gay bar a few times. JJ keeps count of the men who hit on him. It amuses both of them.

Chris has a gift for that, for jollying people, making them laugh. Even himself. I've gotten to know him well over the last year, and this bitter tone is something new. "What is it, hon?"

He laughs shortly. "Oh, just pondering. JJ's parents just want him to come home and mine just want me to stay far, far away."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"Nothing to tell, really. My father is a bona-fide, certified asshole, so my mother left him. Unfortunately, she didn't take me with her. He never liked me much, and when he remarried, I was just in the way. So he basically wrote me off when I came out."

"And your mother?"

"Who knows?" He pauses. "Anyway, it just hurts when I see JJ walking away from a good thing. In more than one respect," he adds wryly.

"So you've noticed that too, huh?"

"Am I blind?"

"If JJ's anything like his father, it'll be a while. It took Josh and Donna years to admit how they felt about one another."

"Hmmmm. I sense some plotting is in order."

"Want a drink, there, Cupid?"

"Margarita?"

"Right."

"Martini?"

"Sure."

"Daiquiri?"

"Virgin."

"CJ, you wound me."

"Funny boy." I look at him, and lay a hand on his arm. "Seriously, though, Chris, you know you're welcome here if…if you ever find yourself in need of a place to stay. I might not be here, but…"

"You hardly know me."

"I know you well enough, and I know JJ. He's got a good head on his shoulders when it comes to people."

When he looks up, his eyes are bright, and his voice husky, but he's got his devilish grin on. "CJ, you're a very attractive woman, but I thought from our previous conversation it would have been obvious that…"

"Watch it there, pal. You might just lose yourself a virgin daiquiri."

"Now that would be a shame."

He grins, but there's a thank you in his eyes. I nod, and go and make him his drink.