Cath answered the door and greeted, "Hello, Jack. It's nice to see you again."

Jack smiled and removed his coat. "Good to see you too. All's well?"

"Matt's been slightly dramatic and won't open his eyes, but yes, he's fine," Catherine chuckled.

"I don't blame him," Jack sighed. "Last time he was hooked up to one of those things, he watched his wife die."

Catherine nodded. "Poor thing. I hate that he had to go through all that." She lead Jack into her bedroom and kissed Matt on the forehead. "Almost done, Baby," she whispered.

Matt gave a whimper and Jack set to work removing the small needle.

"You're all set," Jack smiled. "Keep him on the antibiotic. His fever should start declining now."

"I will. Thank you," Catherine smiled. "You can open your eyes now, Matt. It's out."

"Is it though?" He questioned distrustfully.

"I wouldn't lie to you," Cath said softly. "Come on, open."

Matt opened one eye slightly and then the other. "Thank God that's over."

"Be sure to give me a call whenever he needs anything. He really should be having a yearly checkup, especially with his condition," Jack stated.

"Condition?" Cath asked worriedly. "What condition?"

"His entire exposed skin on his side is at risk of infection and irritation," Jack scolded. "He shouldn't really be wearing anything other than cotton t-shirts, but does he listen to me? No!"

"I never have listened to that instruction either," Catherine chuckled. It occurred to her that he wouldn't understand what she meant, so she added, "I'm a burn victim too."

"A match made in heaven," Jack sighed, shaking his head. "These rules and recommendations are put in place for a reason, guys."

Catherine smiled and rubbed her side. "Yeah, well, I've never been one to follow the rules," she joked. "I'll try harder."

"No wonder Josh liked you," Jack chuckled.

"I pummeled him good for that," Matt mumbled, wrapping his hand around Cath's as if to claim his victory.

Cath kissed his cheek. "Now, Jack, I believe I promised you dinner." She smiled at her boyfriend before showing Jack to the kitchen. As soon as they entered, the smell of tomato sauce greeted them.

"Smells divine," Jack beamed.

"Thanks. Lasagna happens to be my specialty," Cath smiled, dishing up a plate. "So, aren't you a little young to be a doctor? I mean, how old are you?"

"Twenty," Jack beamed proudly.

Catherine laughed in astonishment. "How are you a doctor already?"

"I owe it all to Josh," Jack said humbly. "He's the one who got me through med school in one piece."

"That's sweet," Catherine smiled sadly. "It must be nice to have a sibling to lean on."

"Are you an only child?" Jack asked.

"In a way," Catherine shrugged. "My sister died nine and a half years ago. She was sixteen and I was fourteen."

"It's not in a way," Jack said with conviction. "Death doesn't change your birth identity. Not in me and Josh's book anyway. Once a sibling, always a sibling."

Catherine nodded. "That's a good way of thinking about it...How long do you think it will take Matt to recover?"

Jack thought for a moment. "About a week if he takes his antibiotic."

"I'll make sure that he does," Catherine assured.

"Good."

Catherine and Jack continued to talk and laugh as they ate, and soon after they finished, the latter left. The former returned to Matt. "Hey Babe," she smiled. "How do you feel? Is the back of your hand sore?"

"A bit," Matt shrugged.

"I'm sorry," Catherine frowned, crawling into bed beside him. "Are you hungry? You haven't eaten in awhile."

"Not particularly."

"Do you want to watch something?" Cath asked, gesturing to the flatscreen tv on her wall.

"No," Matt smiled, "I like to hear your voice."

Catherine smiled before glancing at her buzzing phone and groaning. "I am going to kill my cousin if he doesn't stop calling me."

"I can help once I'm better," Matt smiled.

------

Mari called Cath again, and again, and again. "Come on!" She moaned. "Pick up, Cathy!"

"What?" Came her friend's annoyed voice.

"Josh isn't Josh!" Mari said breathlessly.

"Huh?"

Mari could barely find the words to speak. "He isn't Josh. He is, but he isn't. It's such a mess, and- I didn't know who else to call."

"Slow down, Honey. What happened?" Cath asked calmly.

"My friend got accepted into some prep school as a professor," Mari said frantically, "and I was helping him clean out old files, and I found one and it's him, Cath, I know it is. Sure, it doesn't look exactly like him, he doesn't have the glasses and the kid's frail as a stick, but I can see it in his eyes. It's Josh, I know it is."

Catherine took a deep breath. "Did he do something?"

"I followed the records through high school. After that, it gets weirder. It's all restricted government files," Mari said with concern. "I mean...I could be wrong, but I don't think so. The name isn't anything near Josh but-"

"It's probably not him," Catherine frowned. "It can't be."

"But his eyes, Cath," Mari sighed, looking around the room before quickly snapping a photo of the document in front of her. "Tell me it isn't Josh."

Catherine stared at the image on her screen. "Isaac Taylor?" She questioned in surprise. "Taylor is Josh's last name...Oh my goodness, if this is him, his initials are I.T."

"I wish I could ask him," Mari groaned. "I was dense. Dense and stupid, and thought he was some shallow nerd. He's got just as many secrets as Matt, apparently."

"Don't they all?" Cath sighed. "Speaking of, I really have to get back to taking care of my boyfriend."

"Cath," Mari said sternly, "what if he's in danger? Or hurt or- or who knows what else!"

"I don't know, Mariah, but Matt's sick and I'm really trying to take care of him and make sure he's comfortable. He had to have an IV today and it freaked him out a little."

"Okay," Mari said, feeling a rise of righteous indignation within her, "go, take care of him. I'll figure something out, I guess. Maybe his new number will be in some census somewhere. Though, now I apparently have no accurate information to go off of, seeing as the sick liar couldn't even give me his real name. But sure, go ahead. Tell Matt I said hi."

"Don't use that tone with me, Mariah Jane," Cath said sternly. "Listen, Jack gave me Josh's number. I'll give it to you if you want."

"You have his number?!" Mari exclaimed weakly.

Catherine smirked. "Yeah, but I guess you don't want it."

"Cath, that isn't funny. What is it?" Mari asked softly as she tried to steady her hand.

Why was this upsetting her so much?

"I'll text it to you. Now, will you let me tend to Matt?"

Mari bit her lip. "Yeah."

"Thank you," Catherine sighed with an air of irritation. She didn't wait for a response before hanging up and going back to her boyfriend. "So, we can hold off on killing Carlos. It was Mari that kept calling me."

"Oh?" Matt frowned. "What about?'"

"Something about Josh," Catherine said with a dismissive wave of her hand.

"What about Josh?" Matt asked, suddenly becoming more alert.

"I don't know. Something about a record and high school," Cath shrugged. "Don't worry. It's fine."

"Oh," Matt said softly. "How much do you know?"

"Mari mentioned restricted government files and that his first name is Isaac...Let's not talk about it now," Cath sighed, laying down on the bed. She reached over and grabbed his hand, stroking it gently so as not to hurt him. "The back of your hand is swelling a bit. Do you want me to get you some ice?"

"No," Matt mumbled, attempting to sit up. "She should know. She's entitled and probably worried out of her poor little mind."

Catherine put a hand behind his back to help him. "Jack gave me Josh's number. I promised Mari that I'd text it to her. She snapped at me, though, so I'm being cruel and making her wait," Catherine smirked.

"Sometimes I don't understand you," Matt sighed. shaking his head.

"Nobody does," Cath chuckled. "Besides, it's her fault, really. We've been friends for two years. She should know better than to snap a me...Anyway, forget about Mariah. Can I get you some water?"

"Cath, if I disappeared tomorrow and you found out that everything I told you was a lie, everything right down to my name, might you snap at someone?" Matt laughed.

Catherine frowned. "I hate it when you're right...Fine, I'll give her the number."

"Im interested to hear what he has to say," Matt mumbled.

"Don't worry yourself with that now," Catherine said, rubbing his back. "I'm more concerned about your health. Do you need me to get you anything?"

"Some peace of mind is all I want right now," Matt said sullenly.

Catherine sighed. "Do you want to call him?"

"No," Matt laughed. "For some reason I think Mari will be a far better interrogator."

"I have a feeling you're right," Cath smiled. She moved behind him and rubbed his shoulders. "Does this feel good?"

"To be honest," Matt said with some embarrassment, "I lost a lot of my nervous system. I can't really feel anything on my back anymore."

Catherine wrapped her arms around his waist from behind. "Jack said that you have exposed skin. Is it bad? I mean, does it cover a wide area?"

"I try not to think about," Matt said through a wince as she accidentally touched an area where there was more than enough feeling.

Catherine flinched back. "I'm sorry," she said quickly.

"No, it's fine," Matt said through clenched teeth. "It's worse when I bump the counter and stuff. And it's not nearly as bad as it used to be."

"I should have been more careful," Cath mumbled. "I didn't mean to hurt you. I'm sorry."

"Hey," Matt said with a frown, "you didn't know. Don't sweat it."

Cath kissed his cheek. "I love you...Are you sure you're okay?" She asked worriedly.

Matt nodded.

Cath moved over to his side so that she could face him. "So, what do you want to talk about?"

"I'd like you to give Mari that number before she kills herself," Matt chuckled. He gave her a small frown. "Why are you avoiding it?"

"I'm not avoiding anything," Catherine laughed. She grabbed her phone and quickly sent Mari the number. "There. Happy?"

"You're scared you're gonna lose her, aren't you?" Matt smiled knowingly. "That's why you guy's have been fighting recently."

"Maybe a little," Cath shrugged. "So, what kind of wedding do you want?"

"See right there," Matt laughed. "You just changed the subject faster than I would ever had thought possible."

"So?"

"Cath," Matt said softly, "who else are you friends with besides Mari?"

"Caleb, Alex, and Carlos," Catherine replied, wondering what point he was trying to make.

"Can you really talk to Caleb about your darkest secrets? Carlos is family. And Alex you don't see and hang out with every day."

"Carlos has always been one of my best friends. He's my cousin, so liking each other isn't a given. I don't see Alex every day, but he knows almost everything about me. And Caleb knows a lot too. We dated for a long time. What's your point? If you're trying to say I have no friends, then trust me, I'm aware," Catherine laughed.

"I'm not saying that all. I'm just saying-" Matt reached for her phone and gingerly placed it in her hand with sad eyes. "Don't lose the ones you've already got."

Catherine nodded. "I have to let her do what she wants." She glanced at her phone. "Mari just said that she's going to call Josh now and she'll let me know how it goes." Cath tapped her thigh. "Changing the subject," she smiled, "what are some of your favorite baby names?"

"You're crazy," Matt laughed, shaking his head.

"I'm crazy because I want to get your opinion on names for our future children?" Catherine laughed.

"We've only been dating what- five months?"

"Yeah. I like to talk about these things. What's wrong with that?"

"I love you," Matt smirked.

Catherine smiled fondly. "I love you too."