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Kevin was standing outside the nursery and smiled when he saw his daughters. They had Nick's blond hair and knew that they would have two-color eyes since he dreamed that they would. He couldn't believe that he was a father now. He was married to the most amazing and beautiful man that he had the pleasure of meeting. His father would have been proud of the way his life turned out. Ever since Jerald Richardson, Sr. passed away in 1991, Kevin always had to be the strong one for the sake of his mother. His older brothers, Jerald and Tim, were there for him when he did cry in private. Right now, he wanted his brothers there with him. He couldn't take being the strong one anymore.

Unbeknown to Kevin, his oldest brother was walking towards him. Tim Richardson had received the call from Brian, letting him know that Nick was in the hospital and had given birth to his nieces but had to be rushed into surgery afterwards because of his heart. He knew that his baby brother was terrified of losing his husband. When Kevin had come home to Kentucky with Nick, Tim saw the love between the two men and was glad that his baby brother had found someone to love him like he deserved to be. Tim watched Kevin stare through the glasses at his daughters and walked silently over to the new father. “Kevin,” Tim replied softly as he wrapped one of his arms around the other man's shoulders.

Kevin turned to look at his eldest brother and saw the concern, love and worry in his green eyes. Kevin's bottom lip trembled and he finally let go for once. He wrapped his arms around Tim's neck sobbing brokenly. “I can't lose Nick, Tim. I just can't. He's my life and my everything. When I first told him I loved him, I was so happy that he felt the same way about me. I can't imagine life without him and his love. What if he doesn't regain consciousness and ends up having to go on life support? I don't want to have to see him like that!” Kevin screamed out into his brother's shoulder. He was glad that Tim was there for him and he was able to cry like he wanted to since they were at the hospital.

Tim felt Kevin's legs buckle and he held his brother close to his body. “Kev, it'll be alright. Nick is a very strong man and he'll get through this. Dad is watching over him and won't let anything happen to him. Dad would've been proud to have Nick as a son-in-law. Nick makes you very happy and I couldn't think of anyone better for you than that young man in the other room. Your eyes radiate the love and happiness that you hold for Nick. He won't leave you and your daughters behind,” Tim replied as he ran his fingers through Kevin's long hair. Kevin nodded and continued to sob into his big brother's shoulder.

Nick's Hospital Room
Leighanne and Aaron were sitting by Nick's bed, watching his chest rise up and down while the beat of the machines were the only noise being heard in the room. Aaron looked at his big brother and wished that he would wake up. He then stood up from the chair he was sitting in and crawled into the bed with his brother. Whenever Aaron was scared or had a nightmare, Nick would let him crawl into bed with him and Nick would hold him close in a strong, comforting embrace. Aaron decided to return the gesture. He wrapped his arms around Nick's waist and closed his eyes.

Leighanne watched as Aaron hugged his brother and knew that he wasn't going to move until he had to. She knew that the two Carter brothers needed each other and she didn't want to ruin the moment. She stood up from the chair and walked out of the room. She saw Howie holding Alex around the waist. “You two can go in now. Aaron is sleeping with Nick right now, so be quiet. Nick hasn't woken up yet, but Aaron needs to stay with him,” Leighanne replied softly and watched the Doroughs walk into the room. She hoped that Nick would wake up soon.

Howie and Alex pulled the chairs close to Nick's bed and just stared at him. Aaron was already sleeping once more and Alex placed his jacket over the sleeping thirteen-year-old. He looked over at his husband and saw the worry in his brown eyes. “Hey Nick. It's Alex and Howie. I hope that you can hear us right now. Kevin is very worried and frightened for you. Your daughters are here and they're in the nursery at the moment. All of us are praying that you wake up soon because we don't want to lose you. I'm sorry for putting you through a lot of shit when you were younger. I was an all-around asshole, but you saved me from myself. I love you Nicky. You're my brother,” Alex replied softly.

“I-I love y-you too, A-Alex.” Howie and Alex were startled when they heard a soft voice speak. Nick was smiling lightly while his eyes were halfway opened. “Hey you two,” Nick replied weakly and looked down when he felt arms tighten around his waist. His baby brother was sleeping next to him and the teenager's head was resting on his shoulder. “How are Abigail and Evelyn? Are they safe now?” Nick asked as he shifted into a better position so he could be comfortable.

Howie replied, “They're in the nursery right now, Nick. Kevin went to go and see them for a while. You've been unconscious for over a day now. It's close to 12AM now. We've been here at the hospital since 9PM last night. The doctor came and told us what happened. You don't know how lucky you are, Nicky. You could've died from the shape your heart was in.” Howie saw the look of fear, worry, and finally acceptance flash through Nick's expressive cobalt blue eyes.

Nick nodded his head softly and let out a sigh. “I know I am very lucky to still be here, Howie. I was supposed to have my surgery earlier, but I delayed it twice because of the touring that we were doing throughout Europe and all. I didn't want to let any of you down, so I forced myself to keep moving. The medications that I was taking helped, but I knew eventually that this was going to happen. I realized that I was cheating death all those times. Dr. Stokes told me that I had a zero-percent survival rate but by the grace of God, I'm still here. Can one of you go and find Kevin for me?” Nick asked softly and let out a yawn.

Howie nodded his head and replied, “I'll go and find Kevin, Nick. I'll be back as soon as I can.” Howie hugged Nick when he stood up from the chair and then kissed Alex on the lips softly. Nick smiled and watched his best friend walk out of the room. He looked over at Alex and knew that he was missing his daughter. Nick felt Aaron shift around on the bed and leaned down to kiss him on his forehead softly. A few minutes later, he was met with eyes that were the same shape as his but in hazel.

“Hi Aaron. I'm alright now and your nieces are finally here in the world,” Nick replied softly and hugged his brother close when he saw tears streaming down the teenager's face. “Please don't cry, Aaron. Everything is alright now. My heart was operated on and my cardiologist was able to repair it. I'm not going to leave you or anyone else behind,” Nick said as he ran his fingers through Aaron's blond hair. He knew that he scared his brother when he collapsed on the stage at the United We Stand concert.

Out in the hall by the nursery, Kevin had finally calmed down and was still standing in Tim's arms. He finally cried out all of the pent-up emotions that he kept inside of him. Tim knew that Kevin needed to be held while he was still shaking slightly. The older man looked up and saw Howie Dorough making his way towards them. “Kevin, Howie's coming over to us. I think he has good news about Nick,” Tim replied to his brother. Kevin nodded against Tim's shoulder.

“Hey Tim and Kevin. I got good news for once. Nick is awake and asking for you, Kevin. I think Nick will be glad to see you as well, Tim, since you're his brother-in-law,” Howie replied and smiled softly. Kevin let out a sigh of relief and was glad that his husband was alright with everything that had happened during the last month and a half. Together, the three men headed towards the room where Nick was recovering in.

Back in the hospital room, Nick had finally calmed Aaron down and was holding him close. Alex looked at Nick and smiled softly. “You are an amazing man, Nick. Kevin will be glad to see that you're awake finally. Everyone was extremely worried about you, Nicky. It was touch-and-go with you for a while. You had two holes in your heart so that was why you were feeling tired all the time. God must have been watching over you,” Alex replied and squeezed his best friend's hand softly.

Howie arrived back at the room with Tim and Kevin in tow. Kevin watched through the glass window seeing Nick and Alex laughing. He smiled and then walked through the door and went directly to the chair on Nick's right side of the bed. “Nick, it's so good to see you awake and smiling. I was so worried that you weren't going to wake up for a while. The doctor may want to keep you here for a week and a half to monitor your heart and see if the surgery corrected everything,” Kevin replied and kissed Nick on the lips softly. Nick smiled in the kiss and returned it. He knew that the older man had cried since his eyes were red and puffy. When the couple ended the kiss, Kevin smiled down at the young man and replied, “Tim showed up and I finally let go of the tears that I've been holding back. You were right about crying, baby. It is a good stress reliever.” Nick smiled and waved at Tim softly. Tim returned the smile and wave.

Howie, Alex and Tim decided to let the couple have some alone time since they deserved it. The three men walked out of the room quietly so they wouldn't disturb Kevin and Nick. Brian and Leighanne saw them coming out of the room. Howie nodded his head and smiled at the couple. "Nick's awake now and Kevin is with him at the moment," he replied.

Brian said, "Oh, thank you God for watching over my best friend." Leighanne hugged her husband and let out a sigh of relief and happiness. She knew that Brian would've been devastated if Nick didn't make it through the night. Howie hugged Alex around the waist and rested his chin on the younger man's shoulder. Tim smiled and leaned across the wall with his arms crossed. The two couples were enjoying the relief and happiness after finding out that Nick was going to make it. He decided to call his mother and let her know that Nick was alright and he was doing better now that he had gotten the surgery he delayed twice.

Back in the room, Kevin was holding Nick's right hand in his left hand. Nick was running his fingers through his brother's hair. He was glad that everything was getting better and he wouldn't feel so weak anymore. He was scared when the doctor told him that he needed to have emergency open-heart surgery, but at least he felt normal for once in his life.