Jane shrank away from her son with a look of fear in her eyes. "Don't joke about such things," she whispered as she looked at Nick.

Nick closed his eyes as if to will the fatigue away that was creeping up on him. "I'm serious."

Jane shook her head in disbelief. "You're not that sick to be talking about a bone marrow transplant..."

The nurse that had been tending to Nick quickly decided it was time to leave mother and son alone and quietly picked up her paperwork and left the room but not before she gave Nick a reassuring nod.

Nick swallowed hard as he tried to come up with the words to explain to his mother what he had been dealing with the past several months. Months when she would quickly change the subject when his health issues came into the conversation. "It's gotten bad enough that Dr. Andersen has set orders for me to go through the tests to prepare for the transplant." He paused to see if his mother was listening. "My labs have come back pretty lousy and the last set back I had with the sepsis didn't make anything better for me."

"Sepsis?"

Nick drew the covers up to his chest. "It's an infection of the blood."

"And that's why you're here?"

Nick laughed softly despite himself. "Well that and a few other things. I was suppose to have a weekend off from the hospital and my body decided to go on a vacation of it's own I guess. It's really hard getting hit with something you have no control over."

"How did you get this infection?" Jane questioned, then her eyes darkened. "Was it from this hospital? Dirty needles?"

"No mom."

Jane didn't listen as she continued to rant. "I've thought all along that the doctor you have isn't very clean---"

"MOM!" What Nick had hoped was a loud yell only amounted to the equilivant of someone clearing their throat. At any rate, this stopped Jane Carter's speech. "Mom, I got the sepsis because my system is messed up. It didn't have anything to do with the hospital and nothing to do with my doctor. It's all me. Period. My body sucks."

Jane softened a little as tears welled up into her eyes. "Baby, I just want you to be well."

"Having the transplant will hopefully help me to do that," Nick replied.

The older woman struggled with the words she needed to say, fidgiting with a sleeve on her shirt. "Um, exactly how bad is it?"

Nick studied his mother for a moment before speaking. Licking his lips, he looked into her hazel eyes. "Pretty bad. I guess this is my last hope."

Upon hearing those words, Jane gasped, unchecked tears streamed down her face. "Please," she begged. "Please don't say that!"

"It's true" Nick reached out for his mother's hand and Jane was quick to take it and for the first time she noticed the feverish warmth it radiated.

"Why didn't you tell me it had come to this? Why didn't I know about this?"

"Mom, I've tried to tell you and I guess at the same time I tried not to tell you...."

"But baby, you know I would have been here in a heartbeat if I had known it was this bad," Jane cooed as she pulled Nick's hand up to her face.

Closing his eyes, Nick took in the feeling of his mother's soft skin against his hand. For some reason he felt the security he had known when he was a child. For the first time in almost a year, he felt as if he wasn't sick and didn't have any troubles in his life.

"I should call Bob, he would want to know."

Nick's eyes snapped open. "No, not yet."

"Nicky, why don't you want your father here? He would want to be here with you just as much as I do."

"Because I really don't want to share the crap I'm going to be going through for the next few weeks with anyone."

"We can help you," Jane replied quietly.

Nick shook his head. "I doubt anyone could do anything for me when I go through this. Last thing I heard Dr. Andersen tell me was that I would be pretty much snowed during the whole deal."

Jane looked at her oldest son with a puzzled expression. "Snowed?"

He smiled at his mother. "Really drugged up."

Jane Carter looked down at her son with shock. He seemed to be taking his situation as a lifestyle rather than a condition. 'Maybe that was his way of dealing with the pain,' she thought. She couldn't help but notice the tired expression on his face. "Honey, I'm so sorry that I ran away from you. If I knew then what I know now..." she choked back a sob. "If I knew then I wouldn't have pulled everyone out to LA and tried to force you to come with us and live with me so I could take care of you. I was so selfish. Nicky, you knew what was right for you and I only made you grow farther away by acting like that," she quickly buried her face in her hands. After a few moments, she felt a weak tug at her arm.

"Mom, please.....don't cry, whats done is done. It's in the past," Nick softly said.

"I'll make this up to you honey....."

"Mom, did you listen to me? It's in the past. This is now. I love you and you know that!"

Jane wiped the tears from her cheeks and leaned over to hug her son. "I love you too." She pulled away and lightly stroked his cheek. "Nicky, close your eyes and rest. I can tell you're struggling to stay awake. I'll be here...I'm not leaving."

Nick didn't need to be asked to fall asleep, lately it was something he did automatically whether he wanted to or not.

AJ slapped the younger Carter on the back just as Aaron lifted a cup of lemonade to his lips. "AC, I'm glad we thought about the boat races."

Aaron gasped and coughed as the liquid was sent down the wrong pipe from the action. Finally after a few moments of coughing, he managed to reply, "Yeah."

"Dude, you sure can't hold your lemonade," AJ cackled.

"Only because you hit the poor guy on the back when he was taking a drink," Howie defended.

"I didn't hit him that hard."

Both Aaron and Howie answered simultaneously, "Hard enough!"

AJ looked at Howie and Aaron. "Judas.... you guys ganging up on me today?"

Aaron quickly shrugged his shoulders and prentended to be occupied with his drink. Howie on the other hand had quickly answered his cell phone.

"Alrighty then...." AJ sighed, looking around at the people walking by. He noticed a group of young girls approaching them. He leaned over to Aaron. "AC, teenies at three o'clock."

"Huh?" Before Aaron had a chance to realize what AJ was telling him, he was practically knocked over by the small band of young teenage girls. Grinning, AJ walked away from the small group toward Howie.

Howie cupped a hand over his cellphone when he saw poor Aaron stranded with the group of overzealous teens. "That was mean!"

AJ smirked. "Yeah but it's good to see this happen to other people for a change."

"Still...."

Before Howie's reprimand could go on, AJ's cell phone rang. He held a hand up at Howie as he reached down to his belt to unhook the phone. "Yessum?"

"Jay?"

"Yup....who dis be?"

"It's Brian......I've been trying to get a hold of Kevin and he's not picking up his calls---"

AJ stuck a finger in his ear trying to block out the squealing girls. "Hold on, what did you just say?"

"B-R-I-A-N...."

"BRIAN?!" AJ repeated as panic slowly coursed through his body.

"YEAH....I SAID I WAS TRYING TO GET AHOLD OF KE----"

"IS SOMETHING WRONG WITH NICK?" AJ yelled.

"STOP YELLING! I CAN HEAR YOU! NO NOTHING'S WRONG WITH NICK....AT LEAST I HOPE. I'M TRYING TO GET AHOLD OF KEVIN! CALL ME BACK WHEN YOU GET A BETTER CONNECTION! I CAN ONLY HEAR GIRLS SCREAMING!"

"I'll call you back in a minute when I get to the car," AJ rasped and then quickly closed the phone, leaning over toward Howie. "I'm going to the car, Brian can't hear me and I can't hear him."

AJ sprinted toward the parking lot, ignoring the protest his cigarette smoke taxed lungs made. Once he reached the car he was panting out of breath as he dipped a hand into his front pants pocket to fish out the car keys. He dropped his keys to the ground as he tried to juggle the keys and the cell phone and unlock the door all with the same hand.

"McLean, you're a dumbass," he quietly berated himself as he bent over to retrieve the car keys. Once inside the car, he fired up the igniton and cranked up the air conditioning to ward off the Florida heat. He flipped open the phone only after he lit a cigarette. Whatever Brian had called for, AJ had a distinct feeling that he would eventually need a smoke. He struck the #5 key - the speed dial number he had programmed for Brian's cell phone and only had to wait for one ring before Brian answered.

"It's happening!"

AJ narrowed his eyes at the comment. "Come again?"

"The baby!" Brian smiled into the phone. "The baby is coming....."

"Why the fuck aren't you there with her then?"

"I am with her....say hi honey!" AJ could hear the muffled sound of Brian moving the phone away from his ear and then the not-too-pleasant sound of Leighanne moaning. "I guess she doesn't feel like talking right now."

"I would imagine not, dumbass. How about you go back and be with Leighanne and I'll try and get a hold of Kevin for you and have him call, okay?"

"Okay, have Kevin call and then when Kevin calls make sure Nick is around so I can talk to him too....bye!"

Before AJ had a chance to get any words in, Brian ended the call. Smiling to himself as he shut his phone he couldn't help but feel the happiness that Brian had to be feeling at this moment. That's what they all needed right now with the things that have been going on with Nick lately.

His smile faded as his thoughts drifted to Nick. Brian hadn't been totally updated lately of Nick's progress, no one wanted to talk about the elephant in the room when Brian had been making his routine calls to Florida. Lately he had been told when he called that either Nick was sleeping or was in the shower or something just to keep him satisfied. Lord knows that Brian had enough on his mind with Leighanne that he didn't need Nick's troubles clouding his thoughts. They prayed things would change soon so they could give Brian a good update when it was time.

After the baby is born.

Shit!

AJ jerked from his thoughts and quickly pressed #7 to speed dial Kevin's cell phone. As expected, he was placed directly to voice mail. He left a short, "Kev call Brian's cell" and closed the device.

Drumming his fingers on the steering wheel, AJ pondered his thoughts for a few moments only to be torn away by Howie and Aaron tapping on the driver's side window.

"Unlock the door butthole," Aaron yelled through the closed window.

A wicked smile crossed AJ's lips as he cracked the window a centemeter. "What?"

"I told you to unlock the door so we can get in," Aaron repeated.

"There was something else you said to me," AJ questioned.

"Huh?"

"You called me something you usually call your brother..."

"Butthole? Yeah well you are being one so unlock the fricken door so we can get in here before those girls find us!"

AJ chuckled for a moment as he contimplated unlocking the doors to Nick's Mercedes convertible. After seeing Howie D's worried expression, he relented and clicked open the door locks.

Once the two were safe inside the car, Howie questioned AJ about the phone interruption. "Why did Brian call? It's not bad news is it?"

AJ smiled. "Nope good news for a change.....Leighanne is finally having the baby!"

"Thank God! I swear she's been pregnant for ages," Howie smiled.

"Shit....those girls found the car, lets get the fuck outta here!" Aaron muttered.

Howie stared in disbelieve at the mini image of Nick. "Where did you get that potty mouth AC?"

Aaron gestured toward AJ with his pointer finger. "Learned it from him.....wouldja go!"

The urgent tone in Aaron's voice set AJ in motion as he shifted the car into reverse, quickly backing out of the parking space. With a slight grin on his face, he punched his foot down hard on the accelerator, sending loose gravel back, showering the young girls with tiny bits of gravel from the parking lot.

"Was it necessary to stone peck those poor girls back there Bone?" Howie asked as he looked into the side view mirror.

"The simple things in life I really enjoy...."

"That was totally mean dude," Aaron agreed with Howie.

"If I wasn't mistaken, you were scared to death of those girls only a few minutes ago," AJ pointed out.

"I wasn't like I was really scared of them it was more like I was scared of what they could actually plan on doing," the young teen replied.

AJ laughed as he guided the car out of the parking lot. "Not only do you resemble Nick, you sound like Nick when it comes to girls."

Aaron playfully swatted AJ on the back of the head. "Whatever."

"So where to now?" Howie wondered.

"I could go for a burger what about you guys?" AJ asked. The others agreed without hesitation and AJ wheeled the car into the drive thru of the first McDonald's he found. As they were starting to tell AJ what they wanted him to order, Aaron's cell phone rang and the young teen looked at the caller ID as he pulled the phone off of his waistband.

"Shit," he mumbled.

Howie turned around in the front seat, looking at Aaron, eyebrows arched in question.

"It's the hospital," he muttered as the cell phone kept ringing.

"Answer it!" AJ rasped.

Aaron quickly flipped the cell open. "Hello?"

"Hello is this Aaron Carter?"

Aaron didn't recognize the woman's voice on the phone. "Who is this?"

"This is Doctor Andersen, Tampa General Hospital."

Once the woman identified herself did Aaron relax a little. "Oh okay....."

"I'm calling you because I have the final results of the bone marrow type testing you've done for clearance as a donor....."

Aaron drew his free hand through his hair. "Okay...." his heart started to pound heavily in his chest, worried that she would come back and tell him that he could no longer be considered a suitable donor for Nick.

"I'm pleased to tell you that everything looks fine from your side for your brother Nickolas and I'm still waiting on the final results of his lab tests and xrays before I make my final decision but I just wanted to let you know that everything looks pretty good."

Aaron let the breath out he didn't realize he had been holding. "Thanks, that's good news."

"Yes it is. Do you have any questions for me?"

"Um....how soon will we know Nick's results?"

"I'm expecting to know by tomorrow morning."

"Thank you Dr. Andersen." After Dr. Andersen ended her half of the phone conversation, Aaron closed his cell phone. "AJ, lets go to the hospital, I wanna see my brother."

"Alrighty little dude, right after we get our fricken order since we're trapped in this fucking barrier!" AJ growled as he realized the situation. "I hate barrier drive thru's...they have you by the balls!"

"Jeeze Bone....take it easy I'm sure we'll get up to the window in a few minutes," Aaron soothed. "Nick won't be going anywhere."

Howie nodded in agreement. The statement made by the teenager sadly struck home.

Nick won't be going anywhere.