"I wonder what's taking so long for them to tell me my baby is out of surgery?" Jane spat as she paced the waiting room floor.

AJ watched the woman as paced, her high heels clicking noisily on the tiled floor.

"I cannot believe how bad this hospital is," Jane sputtered. "The staff leaves little to be desired!"

"I think this is a great hospital," AJ rasped in defense.

Jane Carter shook her head. "Not as far as I've seen. My babies would have been better off at Cedars-Sinai. Nick would have been cured by now."

"You keep thinking that Jane," AJ muttered.

Jane spun around on her heels. "What did you just say?"

"Nick wouldn't have had any different treatment in California than he would have in Florida. You're just pissed because he stood up to you when you tried to take him out of state when you found out about the cancer. All that did was worsen an already bad relationship with your son. God, you never can get it through your thick head!"

Jane glared hard at the rebel. "I can't believe you said something like that to me," she growled in a low voice.

"Truth is a bitch, ain't it Jane?"

Just as the woman opened her mouth to reply, the surgeon entered the room. "Mrs. Carter? Aaron is in recovery now and he did just fine."

"I'm so relieved," Jane breathed. "How is he doing?"

"He's sleeping right now, he'll be in a bit of pain once the anesthetic wears off but then we will be able to give him some pain medication to help take the edge off."

AJ felt that he needed to fill in with the thick silence that hung in the room. "So when will Nick be given the marrow stuff?"

"They will be running a few final tests and if everything gets the green light, he will be started on the marrow transplant in roughly four hours or so," the doctor knowledgably replied.

"He's not in isolation yet, is he?"

Jane jerked as she listened to AJ's question about isolation. To her the word isolation meant death or dying. "Isolation? What on earth are you talking about something like that for?"

AJ threw a dark glare at the older woman.

"Nick will be in isolation for a few weeks once the BMT is started. He will run a higher susceptibility of infections and his blood counts will rise and fall so precautions will be taken. This is generally the same for any BMT patient," the doctor calmly explained.

"I guess was never told about this," Jane said softly.

AJ rolled his eyes. "You were told Jane you just chose not to listen."

The doctor looked uncomfortable with the way Jane and AJ were bickering back and forth. "If there are no further questions, I have to leave."

AJ smiled. "Thanks doc."

"When can I go see Aaron?" Jane called out, stopping the surgeon at the door.

Shaking his head as he watched Jane follow the surgeon out of the waiting room he decided this would be a good time to go and see Kaos after he slipped outside for a quick cigarette.

Shoving his hands into his front pockets, AJ made his way into Nick's room, hoping that he would find him alone. He was happily rewarded with finding Nick not only alone but sleeping soundly. The rebel had waited begrudginly with Jane Carter for Aaron to come out of surgery. Ten minutes with the woman was more than he could ever tolerate and the two hours he spent with her had been pure hell. He never really liked the woman from day one. AJ prided himself on being a good judge a character and the moment he laid eyes on Nick's mother he pegged her as a selfish, money grubbing bitch. For his friend he had wished he misjudged the young teenager's mother, unfortunately though, he hit the nail on the head.

AJ's few moments watching Nick as he slept came to an aburpt end when he heard footsteps entering the hospital room. He turned to find Brian, Howie and Kevin.

Brian grinned. "There you are!"

"We thought for sure you'd be down in the cafeteria with Jane," Kevin added.

"She would be the last person on earth that I'd spend down in the cafeteria with," AJ sputtered.

Howie gestured at the hospital bed, desperate to change the subject. "Look like Nick's sleeping pretty well."

"I was," Nick mumbled as he opened his eyes.

"I'm sorry Nick," Brian quickly apologized.

"S'key, it's not like I'll fall asleep in another ten minutes," Nick replied softly.

Brian looked at his friend with sadness. "Yeah, I guess you're right about that."

Nick looked up at AJ. "So I take it Aaron's out of surgery?"

"Yeah, me and your mom waited for about two hours I guess, but yeah it's overwith."

Nick detected a strange look on AJ's face. "Is everything okay?"

AJ ran a tired had across his face. "Yeah, Airhead came out of it alright."

"So what's with the look?"

"It's nothing...."

Nick's eyes widened. "Is he alright?"

"Shit, he's fine....relax Nick....he's just a little sore but he's fine."

"Then what's wrong?"

AJ pasted a thin smile on his face. "I just spent two hours with your mom."

Nick raised an eyebrow at his brother. "That bad, huh?"

"Let's just say I would have enjoyed spending time at the dentist office."

That phrase said it all for Nick. He knew that AJ didn't particularly like dentists, he had a severe phobia about having his teeth touched. Nick exhaled loudly. "Dude, I'm so sorry."

"It's okay Nicky...wasn't like you could have been down there in the bowels of hell with me."

"Jay.....just drop it, Nick is having a rough time. You don't need to bring the topic of his mother up!" Kevin hissed.

"Guys....please, don't agrue," Nick quietly pleaded as he ran a hand across his face in a tired gesture.

"Sorry Nick," Howie immediately apologized. "Old habits..."

Nick smiled weakly. "Yeah I know....I just feel wiped out today for some reason."

"It's a wonder--"

"Brian just let it go, okay? I hate having you guys act like I'm fragile. AJ did the docs know when they will be starting the BMT on me?"

"The doctor mentioned that they would be running a few more tests and if everything came back clean, they would start."

"Exactly how are they doing this again?" Brian asked.

"IV," Nick said quietly.

"IV?" Brian echoed.

"Yeah it goes in my Hickman----"

"Whoa...what? A Hickman? That thing in your collarbone, right?"

"Yeah, it's in an artery that runs along the clavicle."

"Nick, you have gone all medical technilogical on me," Kevin grinned, adding, "I'm impressed."

"What the heck is a clavical artery?" AJ questioned.

"Right here," Nick replied calmly.

"Whoa, I wouldn't want anyone to put a needle in my shoulder," AJ grimaced.

"You would if you needed to," Howie pointed out.

A nurse briskly entered the hospital room. "Sorry guys, you're gonna have to wrap it up."

"Visiting hours aren't over!" AJ protested.

"We're preparing to move Nick into an isolation room."

Nick's eyes widened. "It's that time?"

The nurse nodded. "You might as well take advantage of this last time to have contact without isolation precautions."

The men nodded solmenly as they recalled how they had to visit Nick earlier wearing surgical scrubs and masks.

"As soon as you say good bye, we'll take you down, Nick."

Nick tried to swallow the lump that formed in his throat, tearfully looking at his brothers grouped on either side of his bed.

Brian was the first one to pull Nick's frail body into a tight hug. Nick closed his eyes as he held onto his best friend, savoring the feel and the scent. In the back of his mind he wondered if this would be the last time he would ever be able to do this.

"Nick.......," Brian sobbed as he held his brother. After a few moments he pulled back, wiping the tears from his cheeks.

It was the same reaction from AJ, Kevin and Howie. It was hard for any of them not to break down. They knew that this would be the toughest road for Nick in the battle and that if the BMT failed, they would be denied seeing their baby brother outside of the hospital.

No one spoke when two people dressed in surgical scrubs and masks from transportation came to take Nick away. After holding up a brave front, Nick finally let the tears fall. He was scared and he wasn't afraid to admit it.

Kevin and Howie on the other hand, were too fearful of the unknown to bring words of encouragement to their baby brother. Deep down, they believed that Nick could beat this but they both knew that the odds were stacked against him. Clearing his throat, Kevin stopped one of the people from transportation as they set up Nick's IVac equipment.

"Can we follow?" Kevin asked.

"Only as far as the double doors," the man replied, as he guided the gurney next to the raised hospital bed. "Okay Nick, do you think you can slid onto the cart?"

Nodding, Nick struggled as he tried to summon the strength for what should have been an easy task. As much as he was willing to move himself onto the cart, his weakened body failed in the task.

"It's okay Nick, I'll go get a draw sheet, back in a minute."

Nick's normally pale complexion quickly turned a slight shade of pink from embarrassment. "This sucks," he mumbled.

"It's okay Nick," Brian replied, voice filled with sympathy.

Nick felt the humiliation creep onto his cheeks when a nurse and the male orderly lifted him onto the awaiting cot with ease. He knew his brothers were watching the scene and it made him feel helpless.

"Okay Nick are you ready?" the male orderly asked as he pressed on the brakes with his foot, noisily unlocking the wheels to the cart.

Nick sighed. "Like I have a choice?"

Wordlessly, Nick's brothers followed behind the cart and true to their words, they were stopped at the set of heavy double doors. "You'll be able to visit Nick once he's stable and it will be under the isolation guidelines," one of the orderlies stated. He could see the fear of the unknown in their eyes and gestured for them to approach Nick.

Kevin was the first to step forward and once again wrapped his arms around Nick. "I'll see you as soon as they let me," Kevin whispered into the young man's ear. Stepping back he noticed that the tears that had pooled in his eyes were matched by Nick.

One by one, the rest of the group took their turns saying their goodbyes and by the time it was Brian's turn, Nick's face was wet with tears from his own eyes and from the tears of the others that had fallen onto him. Drawing a breath in, Brian hugged Nick. "Be strong...okay?"

Nick couldn't say anything back to that. He knew he had to be strong - there were so many people that were depending on him. Most of all, he knew he couldn't let his little brother down. If something were to happen to him, he knew that Aaron would blame himself. Nick managed to paste a smile on his face, he knew that his eyes told something different than the smile but Nick prayed that Brian wouldn't catch the fear that laid behind them.

"Will I get to have a phone in my room?" Nick questioned, looking at the orderly that stood next to his cart.

"Yes, but you probably won't feel up to making any phone calls right away," came the reply.

"Well, when I do, you guys can count on me being a pain in the ass until they let me out!" Nick promised with a grin.

The last gesture from Brian had Nick with fresh tears as he was guided through the double doors into the unknown. Through his tears, Nick shook his head. 'Who would have thought getting a kiss on my cheek from Brian would make me crumble?' Nick wondered.

The cart was guided through two sets of windowed doors. The room didn't look any different to Nick from the other hospital rooms he had been in except that this one was smaller and seemed to smell more antiseptic.

"Here we are Nick, your home for at least the next thirty days.......hold on a sec while I move the bed up and we'll transfer you." After a few moments of situating their patient, the orderlies left promising that his nurse would be notified.

Wiping the tears off his cheeks with the back of his hand, Nick looked around the room and sighed. He didn't have to wait but a few minutes before the door opened and woman dressed head to toe in surgical scrubs and a mask entered his room carrying a large IV bag that looked like it was full of milk.

"Hi Nick, my name's Mariah and I'm your nurse today."

Nick pointed at the large IV bag. "I-is that what I think it is?"

The nurse hung the bag on the IV pole. "The bone marrow?"

"Yeah."

"Yes......"

Nick didn't say anything else. He was content to watch as the woman unwrapped the sterile tubing and methodically strung the line into the end of the IV bag and then carefully swabbed the end of his Hickman catheter. Setting the dials on the IVac, she watched the flow for a few moments.

"Do you want me to get you anything before I go?"

"I'm fine....thanks."

"Okay, someone will be in here with you in a bit to monitor your progress while you get the transfusion."

"How long will this take?"

"Probably about an hour to an hour and a half, give or take.....you sure you don't want anything?"

Nick sighed, shaking his head slowly. What he wanted he knew that there was no way the nurse would be able to do for him and that was walking away without a trace of the cancer that had invaded his body and left his soul wounded. He was not going to give into this demon! He was going to win!