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Jennifer was sitting on a chair beside Nick's bed, his hand in hers, when his mother arrived. "Oh, thank god," she jumped up and ran to her, hugging her tightly. "He's still in a coma."

Jane Carter returned the hug in surprise, before turning her gaze to her son. "Oh, Nick," she sat down on the side of the bed, tears filing her eyes as she looked at her child lying still on the bed.

Jennifer just returned to her seat, lowering her eyes to the floor to allow Jane some quiet time with her son.

Jane Carter sat silently, staring at Nick, for nearly half an hour, before raising her gaze to the blond woman. "You're Kevin's friend, right?"

Jennifer's mouth dropped open slightly before she looked at Jane, thinking this meant Nick had never told his mother about her. "Oh, god," she stammered, unsure of what to say. She'd been on television, in tabloids as Nick's girlfriend, how could his mother not know...

"Jane," Brian walked into the room and hugged his best friend's mother tightly, realizing from the expression on Jen's face he'd interrupted at the perfect moment. "You remember Jennifer? She's been seeing Nick for a while now, I'm sure he's told you about her."

Jane's brow knotted as she looked at the younger woman, and she tilted her head before nodding as she remembered. "Wait, he mentioned a Jennifer, a dancer?"

"I'm a dancer," Jennifer said softly, looking at Jane carefully, trying to remember if they'd gotten along at previous encounters in the past. Jane had always been around when Nick was younger, but she couldn't really recall if she'd ever talked to her much...she was Nick's mother, there was no reason for them to talk.

"I hadn't realized I knew you," Jane said, shaking her head.

"Jen's been with Nick all night," Brian said, looking at Jennifer carefully. "You should get some sleep, you know."

"Out of the question," Jennifer shrugged. "I can't leave until he wakes up."

"Jenny Lynn?"

Jennifer froze, and slowly turned her head to look at the figure in the doorway. "The doctor said he would throw us all out if he caught too many people in here."

"Brian's right, you need to get some sleep," Kevin walked into the room and took her hand, ignoring Brian's startled gasp at his actions. "I'll take you back to the hotel, ok?"

"No," Jennifer shook her head in protest, "I can't leave him."

"Jennifer," Jane said softly, taking the younger girl's hand in hers. "I can see that you care for my son a great deal. I can also see that you're exhausted, and could use some rest. I promise I will call you if anything happens. Just go to the hotel for a few hours?"

"I can't..." Jennifer tried to argue one last time, but Jane shook her head firmly.

"Just a few hours, Kevin will take care of you." She smiled wryly at the younger girl. She had to respect her determination not to leave Nick's side, it was admirable.

"Fine," Jennifer sighed, and let Kevin lead her from the room. As he steered her through the hospital corridors, a thought occurred to her. "Kev? Where'd Kristen go?" Surely with Nick hurt, she would stay...

"She left last night," Kevin replied gruffly, waving to his bodyguard to get the van ready. "Let's get you back to the hotel and to bed, ok?"

Jennifer didn't have the strength to protest, and just nodded in reply. The hotel, and bed. Her life had become one big nightmare. She was just wondering when she was going to be able to wake up....



Jennifer did wake up a few hours later, her eyes widening in surprise when she found Kevin's body wrapped tightly around hers. "Kevin," she pushed at his chest, squirming when his arms just tightened around her back. "Wake up...."

"I'm awake, Jenny Lynn," he replied softly, his green eyes opening to gaze into hers. "You get enough sleep?"

"Yes," She answered him firmly, looking at him with a curious expression. "We need to get back to the hospital."

"We can stay here a little while longer," Kevin argued, refusing to budge. "Nick's in a coma, he's not going anywhere."

Jennifer gasped and smacked Kevin's chest, her eyes blazing angrily. "What the hell is wrong with you? Nick's hurt, and I need to get back there!"

"Sorry," Kevin sat up, his eyes widening in apology when she jumped out of bed. "Jenny Lynn, I'm just worried about you."

"You should worry about Nick," she shot back, pulling on her jacket and turning to Kevin. "Are you coming?"

"You're ready to go, just like that?" Kevin stood up slowly, smiling at her eagerness.

"Yes!" Jennifer gestured impatiently towards the door. "Just like that. Now are you coming?"

Kevin grabbed his jacket and made it out the door just before it closed behind her, chuckling softly to himself. "Yeah, I'm coming, Jenny Lynn. Wherever you go, I'll follow, you know that."



"How is he doing?" Jennifer asked Jane Carter when she arrived at the hospital, her heart sinking when she found Nick looking much as he had when she'd left him earlier that morning.

Jane's eyes were red and puffy, and she'd clearly been crying. She shook her head slowly and sighed, brushing Nick's blond hair away from his face absentmindedly. "The doctor said the longer he's unconscious, the worse his chances get."

Jennifer felt her eyes fill with tears as she struggled to find the right words to reply. "He'll wake up, he has to."

Jane nodded slowly before standing up and stretching. "I'm going to go to the ladies room, I didn't want to leave until you got back."

"Thank you," Jennifer said softly. "Nick wouldn't want to be alone."

"Mind if I wait with you?" Brian walked in, looking at Jennifer carefully. He didn't want to be in the waiting room with Kevin, that was more of the truth, but he did want to spend as much time as possible with Nick.

Jennifer shrugged and took her seat by the side of his bed, taking Nick's hand in hers.

Nick's mother turned to leave, pausing for a moment at the door. "You know, at least he was doing what he loved," she said softly, leaving the room, as Brian started to cry softly from her words.

Jennifer's eyes widened in surprise when she saw Brian break down, and she quickly moved to him, putting an arm around him and hugging him tight. "He's going to be ok, Brian."

Brian couldn't reply, he just nodded through his tears and fixed his gaze on Nick, wondering what the younger man would remember. He'd seen Kevin push him...would Nick remember that? And if he remembered that...god...what would that do to him? The will to live...if you're stabbed in the back by your big brother, does that effect your will to live? "He better be," he said softly, his blue eyes narrowing as he looked at Nick. "He'd better be."