Nick's outburst had exhausted him again and he soon drifted off, the other four still standing in a semi-circle around his bed. So many questions hung in the air between them. They looked at each other in silence, waiting. No one was willing to be the first to break the peace.

When A.J. finally had to cough, everyone glared.

"Maybe we should let him sleep? Talk somewhere else?" he suggested meekly.

"I'm not leaving," Brian declared, voicing their shared sentiment. Something in the determined set to Brian's jaw was the last straw for AJ. Brian was here and he was willing to fight for Nick. He still had to fight for Nick. Things were definitely not okay.

"He doesn't know us," AJ whispered, feeling defeated. "He barely..."

"He remembers me." Brian stubbornly hung on to the good side. "He remembers his prayers."

"Two words. Of one prayer."

"But he remembers what it means." Brian's fingers skimmed Nick's forehead. "He's in there. He'll come back to us. He wants to."

Kevin squeezed AJ's hand. "Brian was right the first time, maybe we should listen to him this time."

"Yeah." AJ let out a shuddering sigh. "I... this hurts so much more than I expected."

"I know." Kevin drew him into a hug. He hadn't seen AJ in months, but it was easy to slip back into big brother mode and take care of him. Of all of them. When AJ stepped away, wiping his eyes on his sleeve, Kevin took charge again.

"No hospital," he began. "You were right, Brian. He's too scared. I don't want to see him in restraints."

The image made them shudder. "Kev!" Howie reproached him, backing away a little.

Kevin looked apologetic, but Brian spoke first.

"I don't think..." he paused, gathering his thoughts, wrestling with what he'd seen that day. "I don't think restraints could hold him. He's hurt bad but... he made it here. And he's still fighting."

"Okay!" Howie's voice was sharp. "No hospital. We get it. Can we move on?"

A.J.moved towards Howie, looking to comfort him, but Howie shied away.

Kevin continued without comment.

"He still needs a doctor. Somebody discreet. Aje, maybe you could talk to somebody from that clinic of yours?" Brian winced on A.J.'s behalf, but he just nodded.

"Good thinking."

"Next question is, who do we tell?"

"Family. Nobody else." A.J. asserted.

"Family?" Brian protested. "You want to tell them?"

"What do you think, Howie?"

Even before Nick's disappearance, Howie had written a few songs for Aaron. With Nick gone, he had tried to keep an eye on the rapidly-ascending young star. He wrote, produced and intervened where he could. Like Nick before him, he'd found himself in a losing battle, but he remained the one with the closest ties to the Carters.

He sighed. "It means media. They almost can't help it now, even when they don't want the attention."

"We can't have media here," Brian said through clenched teeth.

"I know!" Howie waved off another attempt at soothing from A.J.. "But they have a right to know. He's their son."

"You didn't always think like..."

"Brian, can it. This, they have a right to know." Kevin agreed. "Look, I'll tell security there was a break-in here last night and ask them to up surveillance. Then, Howie..." At Howie's vigourous head-shaking, he changed plans. "I'll call the Carters."

"Anybody have anywhere they need to be in the next couple of days?" A.J. asked. "Excuses that need to be made?"

"Brian, you maybe need to call Leigh. She ain't heard anything yet."

Brian ignored the question. He was watching Nick sleep. In slumber Nick's expression was much more relaxed, but his posture was a far cry from the calm innocence Brian could remember grinning at even on their last tour. The scars and bruises which decorated Nick's face were not as worrying as the deep care lines which lingered, even in sleep.

"Can we give him a day?" he asked abruptly, looking back at the others.

Kevin frowned, but his voice was gentle. "Cuz, he's not going to suddenly wake up and remember..."

"I know," Brian cut him off, trying to stay calm. He was upset, not an idiot. "But he's... he's wild. He wasn't just locked up somewhere, something really bad happened. There are burns..."

AJ watched Howie wince and wondered how long D could stand it before he'd run out of the room. He guessed at Brian's point and cut to the chase. "He deserves a day where he feels safe."

Kevin looked around the room, knowing he was outvoted on this. "All right," he conceded. "But I'm still gonna call security now."

"Cool. Okay. I'm gonna make... what time is it? Early dinner. D, why'n't we go find some Chinese or something?"

Howie nodded, accepting this help at least. "Brian, you should sleep."

"I will." They left him alone with Nick once more.

Chapter Seven
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