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Brian was drumming on his steering wheel as he sat none to patiently in the messy traffic jam. He was on his way to visit his younger friends, at least, he had been on his way. Pulling onto the freeway, he had made it no more than 5 miles before he had been forced to halt his car, coming to rest in the place he currently sat. His vehicle had yet to move over 20 feet in the past half an hour and Brian was not very happy about it. Leaning back, he allowed his gaze to wander out onto the scene before him, his eyes rolling upwards in complete exasperation at the total and seemingly neverending gridlock he saw. He assumed it was due to an accident somewhere up ahead. The weather was horrible, overcast and raining. The rain hit his car rhythmically in it's steady downpour soothing him at first, now simply driving him insane.

"I am stuck in traffic," He sang softly, the song popping into his head as he shifted around in his seat trying to get comfortable and take his mind off of where he was. "Stuck in traffic." A grin surfaced onto his features and he briefly rolled his eyes, remembering where he had picked the song up from. Closing his eyes, he allowed himself to mingle on the memory. AJ had gone back to Nick's house recently to pick up a few items, including Nick's camcorder as per the youth's request. When the trio had looked at it, they had found a bunch of videos Nick had filmed for their official website, the "Stuck in Traffic" escapade being one of them. Brian let loose a sigh at the image he was picturing, seeing Nick and AJ singing along to their goofy made up song. Their voices were off key, high pitched and worn but their happiness and carefree attitudes shown through, making anyone who viewed the captured moment crack a smile.

Peeking open his eyes for a moment to check the scene before him, he sighed again before shutting them roughly. Happy times like that seemed like forever ago. Brian couldn't even recall the last time he had seen Nick really laugh, his eyes lighting up as he did so. That was something Brian wished with all his heart he could see again. Nick had always held ashimmering childlike essence in his eyes, even at 25 years old, it had always been there, sparkling with mirth. But it had long began to ebb away, constantly reminding them that they were running short on time.

It had been two months since Dr. Peterson had informed them all that they were pratically out of options and in the past two months, himself, AJ, Kevin and Howie had hunted all over the country, trying to find someone to help their youngest brother out. They had come away empty handed every single time. Brian was beyond desperate. They all were; the realization that they could lose Nick soon, hitting each of them hard. Howie had thrown himself into his condo company, working around the clock to keep his mind occupied. Kevin was constantly researching, reading every medical book he could get his hands on, determined to help Nick find a way to beat his cancer. He refused to let the matter drop, refused to surrender to fate's hand once more. AJ had begun writing songs left and right, carrying a small leather bound journal around with him and could often be found scribbiling away. It was his release, his escape from reality.

Upon everyone's insistance, Nick had returned to AJ's house after being released, continuing on with his chemotherapy treatments in the slightest hope they would help him. Brian spent as much time with Nick as possible, constantly afraid if he left Nick's side, his friend would slip away. Nick's incident in AJ's backyard had caused reality to hit him hard and he found himself wide awake night after night, dreams of Nick's death haunting him. The Kentuckian also found himself consistantly reading his Bible, trying desperately not to lose his faith. He was having trouble keeping it steady, trying hard to understand why God was robbing him of his best friend. And then there was the promises he had made to Nick that day, a few days after Dr. Peterson had delivered the news to them, he and Nick had been lounging about in Nick's hospital room, idly chatting when Nick had turned serious.

----Flashback----

"Seriously Frack! You gotta seem him do it! I swear, he loves the song!" Brian laughed as he leaned back in his seat, causing Nick to groan as he shook his head.
"Bri, no one loves that song."
"Baylee does. He lights up when it comes on, especially during your parts."
Nick rolled his eyes at the mention, coughing lightly.
"If you like it innovative, better get someone creative, honey yes, and if you want it to be jammin', better get somebody slammin', baby!" Brian sung, making Nick laugh as he watched his older friend dance around in the chair. "I don't even remember the lyrics anymore."
"Neither did I." Brian shrugged, "But Leigh keeps playing it for Baylee, so I've only heard it about a few hundred times in the last week."
"Get your son hooked on a different song Frick," The youth chuckled. "Preferrably one that's not so lame."
"It's not that bad." The southener sighed, relenting as Nick shot him a look, raising an eyebrow in question. "Okay, okay, it's that bad."
"Thank you."

The blonde pushed himself up slighty in the bed, letting out a deep sigh. "When can I go home?"
"You mean back to AJ's?" Brian shrugged again, smiling at Nick's grimace, "In a few more days bud. They wanna make sure you're okay."
"Okay?" Nick echoed, shaking his head. "I don't think I'll ever be okay again." He paused for a moment, picking at the blanket. "It's like, the odds just keep piling up against me. Like, I'm not supposed to get better, you know? My fate just isn't written for me like that."
"You can re-write fate Nicky."
"AJ said the same thing." The youth nodded, looking at Brian for a moment.
"Did he now?"
"He said we were proof of being able re-write fate and everything."
"He's got a point."
"AJ never has a point." Nick frowned, rolling his eyes dramatically. "I just...you know, I'm getting so tired of all this bullshit. For every step forward I take, I get shoved back three."
"You've gotta have f-"
"Faith." Nick cut in, "See, now, that's a funny word." He smiled at Brian who half smiled back, unsure of where the conversation was leading. "You keep telling me to have faith, you all do but I can tell you guys are losing yours."
"Nicky, we're not losing our faith."

"You are." The youth argued. "But it doesn't even matter. I think this is all gonna end soon anyways."
Brian felt a stab in his heart at the words and he felt his mouth run dry. It took him a moment to recover from his stupor before he leaned forward, gently hitting Nick on the arm to get his attention."Listen to me Nick," He began firmly. "How much does my friendship mean to you?"
Nick stared at him, frowing at the question."What are you trying-"
"How much does my friendship mean to you?" Brian repeated.
"It means everything to me Bri, you know that." The younger man answered softly.
"And do I keep my promises? Especially when I risk our friendship on them?"
"Yeah."
"Then I promise you Nicky, on our friendship, you WILL overcome this. All of it."
"No one can promise something like that to anyone."
"Like hell they can't. And I'm not just anyone, I'm me. Brian. The Frick to your Frack and this is MY promise to YOU." Brian's eyes were wide as he fixed his gaze on his best friend, his heart beating a mile a minute but his stare firm and defiante. They stayed looking at one another for a long time, before Nick finally moved, pulling Brian into a deep hug and burrying his head into the older man's shoulder. "Thank you." He had whispered, tears threatning to spill over their boundries. Brian had remained silent during the exchange, hugging Nick tightly, all the while wondering how he was going to keep his promise.

---End Flashback---

A loud honk startled Brian out of his thoughts and he jumped, his eyes shooting open to see the cars in front of him beginning to move forward quickly. Shaking off the chills that had just come over him, he took the car out of park, stomping on the gas and flying down the freeway.

~~~~

Nick sat silently on AJ's porch swing in the backyard, a thick blanket wrapped around his thinning frame. One foot lay tenderly tucked beneath his body, another dropped easily to the ground, moving every so often to push the swing back and forth. He watched the rain fall with rapt attention, a nameless tune slipping from between his slightly parted lips. A sketch book sat ready in his lap, a pencil tucked gently behind his ear. Nick glanced down at his half finished drawing with a small smile, sighing quietly. During the times he was well enough to do so, he had begun drawing again. He had thought often about goodbye writing letters to each of the guys but when he had attempted to do so, it just hadn't felt right. So, he had been drawing his goodbyes. In a large leather bound scrapbook he had had Kevin buy for him, he was slowly filling the pages with memories of lost time, pictures of their favorite moments and ideas of his very own. Nick had added inscriptions here and there, making funny comments and jokes about various events as well as mixing in heartfelt messages. It was the perfect combination, he thought, of everything he wanted or needed to say to his brothers. The only way he could thank them for everything they had done and the only way he could truly say goodbye.

"Goodbye." Nick breathed, letting his eyes slip shut as he thought things over. He was getting tired of the phrase, tired of the idea. All four of his bandmates had become so concerned he was going to just give up that they had begun to check him whenever he closed his eyes, just to make sure he was still breathing. It frustrated him to no end, partly because he was putting them through so much and partly because he wanted so desperately to go back to a time before all of this had begun. Nick no longer dwelled on the idea that his life would be ending soon, he didn't have the strength to. Instead, he continued on with his treatments, trying more so to comfort his friends with his slow progress than himself. Sleeping was also something he had given up on, at least, sleeping reguarly at night. He was constantly plagued with dreams of his death, dreams of his friends mourning over him, angry that he had caused them so much pain. Nick had learned the best way to get over the dreams was to avoid sleeping as much as possible, so he sat up at night, pouring his heart and soul into his sketchbook. Letting out a sigh, he broke himself out of his thoughts, closing his sketchbook as he shifted his postion, shivering slightly as the wind picked up. Stifiling a yawn, he slowly rose to his feet, heading into the house to find AJ.