A.J. blinked. Nick was standing in front of him looking tired, a little disheveled and bruised, but not bad, all things considered. Not sure whether to laugh or cry, he opted for the obvious; he grabbed the younger man in a tight hug. The moment Nick's arms embraced him in response, A.J. knew everything would be okay
"What are you doing here, man?" Nick asked once A.J. had released him.
"Dude, you think we were gonna leave you stuck in here? We came to get you out."
"You did?" Nick frowned, confused. "Why? It's better for everyone if I just stay here."
"Nick, quit that noise," A.J. admonished. "You do not want to spend the rest of your life alone in the dark. You *hate* the dark!"
Nick shrugged. "It's my dark. It's quiet, it's simple, it's safe."
"Safe from what?" Almost instantly, Nick flinched, betraying the answer.
"Safe from us? We kind of dragged you along with us the last couple days, huh?" Studying the ground, Nick slowly nodded.
"If we knew how to deal with things without hurting you, we would have."
Nick continued to study the ground.
Out of nowhere, Brian appeared. The mute plea on A.J.'s face and Nick's quiet, skeptical body language gave Brian his cue.
"It's a raw deal Frack," he began gently. "You saved our lives and we just made you feel bad. We gave you those bruises. We made you build this. But you're our little bro. No matter what we say or do when we're upset and confused, we care about you."
"We fight *all* the time, Nick." A.J. continued. "And sure, you usually sulk for a while, but it's been a couple of days. Time for the olive branch, as D would say."
"D..." Nick looked up at them, his eyes pools of hurt. "Howie's *scared* of me."
"He's really not," Brian assured him hastily. "He's just allergic."
"You're *what*?" Nick demanded of Howie, who materialised in front of him.
"I'm allergic to psychic energy, Nicky" Howie shrugged apologetically. "It's nobody's fault."
"Then what are you doing here??? You could die!"
"So could you," was the quiet response."I wasn't going to just let that happen."
"I don't get it."
Kevin finally made it through. He listened to his cousin say, "That's because you've been in here too long. You forgot some things are more important than being safe."
"Like what?"
"Like you," Kevin declared. "You forgot you're worth fighting for. You forgot that no matter how mad or upset we get at you, it's still worth standing up for yourself. I forgot too, for a while." He regarded his young friend's fragile physique. "I bet a lot of the worst stuff was because I forgot.If I'd known I was hurting you so much, I would have remembered sooner..."
"That's past Kev," Howie interrupted. "What's important is now. We've remembered that you're worth fighting for. It's time you remembered that too, Nick. It's time for you to wake up."
"I don't know if I can, guys." For once, Brian detected a note of frustration, rather than out and out hoplessness.
"You know the way," he encouraged. "And we'll be there for you, no matter what."
"There are lots of people who want to help," A.J. continued. "Your team, your family, the fans, the doctors... hell even the media are rooting for you."
"Really?" The incredulity in Nick's voice was painful.
"There's a lot of people out there who love you. They can't reach you when you're shut in here."
"I... " Nick ran a hand through his hair, "All right, I'll try. But you gotta go first, give me something to aim for."
"Sure thing, bro."
"Promise?"
"Promise."
"All of you?"
"Come here, you idiot." The four older Backstreet Boys surrounded their youngest member in a group hug. After a long moment of togetherness, the walls began to shake.
"Better go," Nick warned. "The door's that way," he pointed.
"See you soon, Nicky. Let's *go*, guys." Howie led the way towards a glowing orange portal.