After some more arm-twisting by Brian, Kevin finally gave in and had something to eat. Brian smiled in triumph, and Kevin decided to let him have his small victory. There were other things, more important things to worry about right now. If it made Brian feel better, well then at least one of them would be feeling better.

They didn't talk much while in the cafeteria. Brian could see that Kevin was slowly retreating back into the little world he had spent most of the day in, and he was worried. It wasn't good for Kevin to be like this, and he tried everything he could think of to pull Kevin out of his depression and at least get him back into the real world. Finally, Brian decided to talk about Jamie.

"You know she's going to be okay now, right Kev?"

"I hope so, Brian," Kevin sighed, and stared into his soda cup, swirling the drink around and around in the cup.

"She will be," said Brian firmly. "She can't be anything else. You can't think negatively about this. You're going to have to be there for her while she recovers. If you're depressed and sad all the time, how do you think she's going to take it?" Kevin stared at him, an incredulous expression on his face.

"You think I shouldn't be sad or depressed?" Kevin's voice rose slightly. "Someone just tried to kill Jamie, and I shouldn't be depressed? I'm sorry, exactly how should I react? How should I feel about this? Please tell me, Brian."

Brian frowned. "That's not what I meant. Once she's up and around, you won't have any reason to be upset. If you're sad, all I meant was that it will be harder for Jamie to get better. You'll be focusing on what put her here in the hospital, rather than on concentrating on recovering."

"You don't think it's worth thinking about? Someone shot her, Brian. She almost died today, and you don't think I should be worried about that. If this is supposed to make me feel better, you're doing a lousy job."

"I'm sorry, Kevin. What I want to say is not coming out the way I want it to. I just think you should focus on the positive, that's all."

"And I'm trying to tell you there is nothing positive about this. Do you know where I should be right now? Do you? I should be on a plane with my wife, flying to Athens where we will be going on our honeymoon. I should be having one of the best experiences of my life, starting my life with the one woman I love more than anything in this world. I should be talking to her, holding her, looking forward to spending the rest of our lives together. I should not be in a hospital, praying for her to still be alive the next time I see her. I should not be waiting for her to come out of the effects of anesthesia after having a six hour operation. I should notbe looking at her in a hospital room covered with tubes and bandages. And I should not be sitting in a cafeteria with you, listening to you tell me that I shouldn't be upset about any of this. You'll forgive me if I fail to see what is so positive about this situation." Kevin stood up, and turned to walk away.

Brian also stood and called after him, "Kevin. . ." Kevin did not respond or turn around, but continued to walk out of the cafeteria. Brian sat back down heavily, ran one hand through his hair and sighed. He only wanted Kevin to see that Jamie would be all right and that everything would be fine. He didn't want to make his cousin any angrier or upset than he already was. "Smooth move, Rok. Way to go," he mumbled to himself. He sat there for another couple of minutes, then got up to go back to the waiting room to apologize to Kevin.

Kevin leaned up against the wall outside the waiting room and covered his face with his hand. He had every right to be upset and angry, but he knew he didn't have the right to take his frustration out on Brian. It was just that Brian didn't understand what he was going through.

The last time Kevin was in this hospital, Brian had been the one in surgery, having the defect in his heart repaired. Brian hadn't been in a position then to see the worried and solemn expressions on everyone's faces as they waited in that same room to find out if Brian would be okay or not. Kevin had promised himself that time that he wouldn't spend another minute in that waiting room again.

But now a couple of years later, here he was back in the same room, waiting to hear about the results of yet another life-or-death surgery performed on someone he loved. Brian just wouldn't understand what Kevin had gone through, and so he tried to rationalize this to make Kevin feel better. He didn't know that no amount of rational thought was going to change the situation or restore Jamie to health. But Kevin knew that, and he couldn't stand to hear Brian talk about it for another second.

Almost everyone in that room understood because they had been there waiting for news about Brian alongside of him. The others who hadn't been there were Jamie's family, her flesh and blood. They understood exactly what the others had felt. It was different for Brian because he hadn't had to go through this experience before, at least not while conscious.

Kevin steeled himself, took several deep breaths, and pushed open the door to the waiting room. Everyone else was still there, still waiting, and they refrained until he sat down next to his mother before asking him about Jamie.

"It's awful, Mom. You can barely see her in the bed, and what you can see of her is so pale and unmoving. She doesn't look anything like she normally does. And she's so cold, her hand was like ice when I held it. She doesn't deserve this, Mom, she doesn't," he cried in a little lost voice. Ann Richardson put an arm around her youngest son and tried to comfort him as best she could while he cried in her lap.

She was still holding him when Brian walked back into the room. He took one look at his cousin crying face down in his mother's lap and Brian's heart sank. He didn't mean to do this to Kevin, but he felt helpless, and didn't know what he could do for him. Kevin was usually the one everyone went to when there was a crisis, because he was the strongest one, and he knew just what to say to help. But now the tables were turned, Kevin was the one who needed help, and everything Brian had said only seemed to make things worse.

He looked over at Nick, slouched in one of the chairs across from Kevin and his mother. He had a distressed look on his face, and Brian went over and sat down next to him.

"Hey Frack," he said quietly. Nick looked up and saw the raw pain on Brian's face, "Hey Brian. You okay?"

"Not really. I think I pissed Kevin off instead of helping him."

"What did you do?" Brian explained quickly the conversation they had had in the cafeteria. Nick just shook his head.

"Oh man, Frick, even I know when to quit with Kevin. I would have stopped talking after the first mistake."

Brian sighed. "I know, I know. But I thought I could explain, and cheer him up."

"He's not going to be cheered up until Jamie wakes up and yells at him for crying over her." Nick gave a small half-smile as he pictured Jamie sitting up in the hospital bed, yelling at Kevin.

Brian gave a little laugh, "Yeah, I guess so. She will too, won't she?"

"Yeah, you know how she is about all that fuss," Nick nodded. "Look, Brian, we can try all we want to make him feel better, but it's not going to work until she regains consciousness. I mean I love Jamie too, and I want her to be all right. . .oh God, she has to be. . ." Nick paused for a moment, closing his eyes. "But it's not the same feeling as Kevin has for her. Just think how you would feel if it were Leighanne in Jamie's position, and see what would make you feel better. I can guarantee it won't be anything we say to you."

Instinctively, Brian looked over at his own wife, who was having a quiet discussion with Jamie's mother. "You have a point," conceded Brian. He looked back at Nick. "When did you get so smart, Frack?"

Nick smiled again, "I've always been smart, I just choose to show the world at carefully designed moments. This is one of them." Brian shook his head.

"Should I apologize to Kevin now, O Wise One?"

"Not at the moment. Let him cry, he'll feel better afterwards, then you can go talk to him again. Trust me," Nick's eyes clouded, and Brian could tell he was remembering his own experiences with Taylor.

"I'm sorry, Nick. I didn't think. . ."

"No, it's okay," Nick shook his head to clear his mind. He couldn't think about Taylor now; even after all this time, it was still too painful. "But just let him go for now," he said quietly. Brian nodded, and they changed the subject.

Just then, the door opened to the waiting room, and a man in street clothes followed by a uniformed officer entered the room.

"Kevin Richardson?" asked the man in plainclothes. Nick pointed over to where Kevin was sitting. He had pulled himself upright when he heard the door open, and quickly dashed away the tears with his hands.

"Yeah, I'm Kevin."

"Mr. Richardson, my name is Detective Logan. Can I talk to you for a moment about what happened today at the hotel?" Kevin nodded, and Logan motioned outside the room. "I'd like to do this in private if that's all right. I will also need to talk to anyone who saw what happened."

"None of us really were there when it happened," said Howie. "We didn't see anything. The others were still upstairs in their rooms, I think. But I happened to walk into the lobby when someone came running in to call 911. I waited with Kevin until the ambulance came, then went and got the others. We all came here as soon as we could."

"Okay, then I'll need to speak with you afterwards, all right?" Howie nodded, and Kevin and Logan turned and walked out of the room.