Kyung stood just outside Lizz’s room next to Brian and watched her while she slept. “I shouldn’t have let her out of bed. She had just got done getting her last stitches fixed. I can’t believe she tore them again.” She said softly.

“At least she didn’t tear them as bad this time. You can’t blame yourself. You know she would have found a way to get in there anyway, just like she tried to before and just like Nick did.” Brian replied. He shook his head, thinking back to how mad he had been when he and Kyung had returned from their coffee break. Kyung had been just as angry. Nick had just been loaded onto the gurney and was being wheeled out of Lizz’s room when they had walked up. The look on Brian’s face was one of horror as he ran over to see what had happened. Kyung rushed into Lizz’s room to find her back in her bed, shaking and white as a ghost. She was crying and looked scared out her mind. No one had told her anything so she could only sit there and wonder. She tried to get up and go find out for herself, but Kyung wouldn’t let her go anywhere. It had been a very long hour.

Kyung sighed. “What are we going to do?” At first seeing Lizz pass out in Nick’s room had scared her, but her doctor said that it was probably either the pain, the physical toll on her body, or the emotional. Now she was relieved that at least she wouldn’t be all worked up about seeing Nick.

“I don’t know, I honestly don’t know. I pray that something doesn’t happen to one of them because I don’t think, at this point, that the other one could take it.” Brian said quietly.

Kyung couldn't help but smile as she looked at Brian curled up in a chair in the corner of the waiting room. A clattering of silverware from a cart out in the hallway woke Brian up from his sleep. Disoriented, Brian looked around the room, his eyes half open.

"I was hoping at least one of us would be sleeping, Brian," Kyung softly commented.

Yawning, Brian stretched in his seat. "You should have tried to sleep too."

Kyung shook her head. "I can't, there's too much on my mind."

"Mine too, but there's no excuse for letting yourself wear down with worry. Any changes while I was sleeping?"

"Some of Lizz's blood draws looked promising. They won't tell me anything about Nick thought, they're keeping it strictly confidential, which is good, but it's so frustrating when you want to find out what's happening with him," Kyung replied quietly.

Brian nodded as he listened to Kyung. She turned to look towards the door when Brian suddenly stood up. She wasn't too certain, but she thought she recognized Nick's mother standing in the doorway.

"Oh Brian, how is he?" a tearful Jane Carter asked Brian as she wrapped her arms around him.

Brian's thoughts were racing, trying to think of the best way to explain all that was happening with Nick at the moment.

"He's resting right now," Brian started out, he caught Kyung's face out of the corner of his eye and had to look quickly away, knowing that the shocked look on her face was from him not telling the Carter's everything right away.

"I need to see him, what room did they say he was in?" Jane looked up at her husband while she asked.

Bob Carter placed his hand on her shoulder. "Calm down, honey, let's talk to Brian first and see what's going on before you bolt into his room."

Bob turned his attention back to Brian's. "Now, tell us what happened to Nick, from the beginning."

Brian sighed and ran a hand through his hair. This was going to be something that could very well tear them up. He wanted to make sure he explained it to them as gently as possible.

"You know how Nick can be sensitive about certain things---"

Bob cut him off. "Brian just tell us, don't lead into this. We already know he either accidentally overdosed or deliberately overdosed, we just want the truth."

"Nick tried to kill himself yesterday. No one knows for sure exactly what he took but we do know that some of the meds were mine mixed in with his. His heart stopped on him twice and he's had a few seizures since he's been here."

Jane gasped when Brian mentioned Nick's heart stopping.

"But he's okay now? He's going to be alright?" Jane asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

"They have him in a drug induced coma to try and sort out why he's been having seizures," Brian quietly stated.

"I need to see him, take me to him," Jane demanded.

I distinctly smelled my mother's perfume. When I heard her voice, I wanted to call out to her. It's funny what you can hear when you're in a coma. Good thing about it is that hopefully I won't remember hearing her anguished cries. I had let her down. I had let my parents and my best friend down. How could I live knowing that?

Jane cupped Nick's hand in hers. She fussed with his blonde hair and didn't speak to him, just took in all that was surrounding Nick, the machines, the tubes, the IV's.

"This won't hurt his voice, will it?" Jane asked, gesturing towards the tube in Nick's mouth.

Brian shrugged and then shook his head no. He wasn't certain what would or wouldn't harm Nick at this point.

I felt someone messing with my arm and awoke with a start. “Shhh...It’s okay sweetie. I just need to check your graft.” A nurse said softly. It wasn’t Della. Shifts must have changed. This one’s name tag read Cynthia.

I started to look down at the graft, but changed my mind. I wasn’t sure I wanted to see it. I knew there was going to be a nasty looking knot thing that was the graft under my skin. After asking if I need anything, Cynthia left me alone in my room. My thoughts immediately returned to Nick. The last thing I remembered was being in his room as Kyung and Brian tried to convince me to leave. What happened after that and how I ended up in my room again was a mystery to me. I was not happy about it though. I started to sit up so I could somehow get back to his room, but to my shock, I couldn’t even move. I turned my head to the door, hoping that I could get a nurses attention. This was freaking me out.

I tried as hard as I could to sit up, but my body simply wouldn’t obey me. The pain in my side was sort of a dull throbbing instead of that fiery sharp feeling. “Dammit.” I muttered. Even my voice sounded pitiful. I had to get to Nick.

“Lizz, what’s wrong?” Kyung stood in my doorway.

“What the hell is wrong with me? I can’t get up!” My frustration was growing.

“You pushed your body too far. You need to rest for awhile. Between what you did to it by overdosing and then tearing your stitches twice, you need to stay still. I shouldn’t have let you out of bed the second time.” Kyung’s voice was tired.

“I need to see Nick.” I said, dismissing what she said about resting.

Kyung shook her head. “Absolutely not...”

I started to cut her off, but she continued.

“Anyway, his parents are here. Let them spend some time alone with him.”

“His parents?” I breathed. That blew me away and sort of scared me. I knew that Nick was very adamant about his parents not getting involved in the other times. The fact that they were now just told me of the seriousness of the situation. “Is he still in the coma?” I asked softly.

Kyung nodded.

“What about the other guys?” I asked.

She shrugged. I could tell there was something else on her mind.

“What is it?” I leveled a gaze at her.

“More than just Nick’s parents are going to be finding out.” She looked away.

I narrowed my eyes. “What do you mean?” I asked slowly.

She sighed. “I didn’t want to tell you this, but you are going to find out anyway. This whole thing has turned into an even bigger mess. Someone here found a copy of you guys’ chat and has already called the National Enquirer.”

I gasped.

“It gets worse. Other major news stations know and there are reporters all over outside. Security is keeping them from coming in, but there have been some close calls.”

This was unreal. “Oh my god, everyone is going to find out. My parents, everyone at school. Shit! What is this going to do to the Backstreet Boys? To Nick?!” I felt sick to my stomach.

“I don’t know. I wish I knew what to say, but I don’t. Oh and I heard someone in the nurses station mention that psych is sending someone up to talk to you.” Kyung frowned as she said this.

“What?! Why?” I demanded.

“Well Lizz, look at it. You are a suicide risk now. You swallowed a bottle of a pretty strong drug. It wasn’t someone like Tylenol. This looks like a serious attempt at your life. Everyone is still amazed that you are even alive now. Your body is still really screwed up. And I’m not even talking about your kidneys. The albuterol really did a job on you. Not to mention that you are making it worse by not taking care of yourself here. You have already torn your stitches twice.” Kyung’s voice rose.

“Like you said, I’m already all screwed up so I don’t care that much at this point. I am more concerned with Nick right now. He’s in a freaking coma. He’s having seizures and they don’t know why. His career might be ruined now. What if they can’t bring him out of this coma? What if he doesn’t get better? What happens with him is so much more important right now.” I fired all this out at Kyung and didn’t even notice how red her face got.

“Bullshit! Why is your life any less important, huh?!” She demanded angrily.

I just looked at her. “It just is.”

“Whatever. I’ll be back. I need some coffee.” She stormed out of the room.

Shit. I had pissed her off good. I haven’t seen her this mad in...I don’t even know. I suddenly felt really alone and really depressed. I felt tears come to my eyes and I blinked them away. I was sick of crying. A few escaped anyway. I heard a soft knock at my door and I turned away. “Go away whoever you are.” I muttered under my breath.

The knocking persisted. “Yeah?” I called out softly. I figured it was Kyung again so I was surprised it wasn’t her that gazed at me from the doorway.