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So here's another (short) chapter, but we had to cut it short this time. Next one will be longer, that's a promise. Please keep reviewing.. it helps us write the story! Now Enjoy!
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With his eyes still closed, his head buried in the pillow trying to forget the nightmare and block out the noise, he tried to grab his cellphone from the nightstand, but instead pushed it off so it landed on the floor. Two days had passed since Nick collapsed and he bought a new phone the day after he was admitted to the hospital. He grunted as he slowly turned his head, opened his eyes, picked it up and brought the device to his ear after pushing the ‘accept’-button. “McLean.”
“Goodmorning, Mr. McLean. This is Dr. Peterson.”
The sound of that voice immediately caught his attention. A.J. shot op straight, while rubbing his face with his left hand.
“What’s wrong with Nick? What happened? How..”
“Nothing but good news this morning, Mr. McLean. Nick regained consciousness at around 4am this morning! We had to do some checks on him, but he’s pretty much awake by now.”

A huge smile danced on the rebel’s face, unsure of what to say. For once, he was speechless.
“Mr. McLean?”
“I’m sorry Dr. Peterson... Can we come see him?!”
Dr. Peterson laughed. “Sure you can. He asked specifically for you though.”
“Me? Alright, I’ll come over as soon as possible!! I’ll call the others and-”
“Mr. McLean, Nick wanted me to ask you not to do so for now. He’s still very tired, weakened and requested I called only you. He wanted to talk to you first before you notified the others, or something like that.”
“Okay, I won’t call them yet.” A.J. nodded, knowing why Nick had reacted in such a way. The outburst, he probably wanted to ask him if the others were still angry with him. “I’ll be over there as soon as possible!”
“Mr. McLean! Wait! Before you hang up, I thought it might be a good idea to tell you everything you needed to know. My shift’s over in a few minutes, so.. Well, we removed the tube, since he was panicking when he felt it and we had no choice but to remove it. He’s still short of breath occassionally, so he now has an oxygen mask on to help him breathe whenever necessary. TRY to stop him from talking, because the tube has damaged his throat a bit, which is normal by the way. Well, that’s about it.. Have a nice day, Mr. McLean, but I’m sure that’s not going to be a problem!!”
“Same to you, Dr. Peterson and thanks for calling me!” He couldn’t wipe the smile off his face as he jumped out of bed, grabbed his jeans and a shirt from the floor and ran to the bathroom.

Twenty minutes later he was in the elevator on his way to room 525. He was still excited, but a little scared too, unsure of what to do or say. Normally, Kevin would go in first, breaking the ice for the others, but now, it was only him. He walked out of the lift into the hallway, almost bumping into a nurse. “You’re here to see Mr. Carter, right?” she gently asked him, sensing his hesitation. He nodded and looked at her nametag before he responded. “That’s right, Mrs. Perez. I am.”
“I just checked on him. He’s doing pretty well, considering the circumstances. He can’t wait to see you, so hurry, go see your friend!” Her smile and enthusiasm made him feel better and he quickened his pace towards the room in which his friend was waiting for his arrival.

As he opened the door, he peeked around the corner and saw that Nick’s eyes were closed. He gently closed the door behind him, not wanting to wake him if he was asleep. A.J. tiptoed over to the bed and sat down. His weight caused the chair to make a squeaking sound, which woke Nick from his little eyeshut. His eyes fluttered open as he turned his head towards the sound. When he saw his friend sitting there, a smile crept onto his features. He lifted his hand towards the oxygenmask as if he wanted to remove it. A.J. noticed and put his hand on Nick’s arm to stop him from doing so. “Don’t Nick. Leave it on.” A small lump worked it’s way up to his throat. Nick was awake and already being stubborn not listening to the doctor’s orders. It was almost like the old days, except for him being in the hospital. The youngest didn’t fight though and slowly put down his arm again, letting it rest on bed. They sat there in silence, Nick unable to speak, his friend unsure of what to say. A few seconds later Nick grabbed A.J.’s hand as if he wanted to make sure he wasn’t leaving anytime soon.

A.J. squeezed his hand for a second as if he wanted to reassure him that he wasn’t about to run off on him. “I- I.. owh man, I suck at this. It’s just.. I’m so happy you’re awake Nick. I- I was scared we lost you little guy..” He swallowed a few times, trying to get rid of the lump. “I know why you asked Dr. Peterson to call me first. It was because of the little thing that happened earlier with the guys, right?” He looked at Nick, who nodded his head in response, his eyes filled with tears. “They’re not mad at you, Nick. They know you didn’t mean it, they know you were frustrated and don’t hate us at all. I filled them in on our conversation before,.. well, you know. They just want you to be alright. We - we love you kid!! I bet they’ll kick my ass if they find out I didn’t call them immediately..” he smiled and got a smile in return from the man that looked so fragile, yet so strong. He had been through so much and still never gave up.

Nick slowly removed the mask for a second. A.J. again tried to stop him, but the youngest shook his head which told A.J. this was important. With a hoarse voice Nick softly spoke. “Can’t face them all at once. I-” A small cough escaped his lips before he continued, which had A.J. worried immediately. “I’m an idiot.”
“Well, I don’t think that’s something I don’t already know.” He chuckled. “Listen Nick, don’t talk alright. Doctor’s orders. Just rest.”
Nick shook his head and took a deep breath before he lifted the oxygen mask again.
“Can’t see them all at once. Too much.. Can you please ask Brian to come over first?”
“Well, sure.. Kevin is not going to be amused though.” He winked.
Nick smiled in return, too tired to actually laugh at the comment. “Thanks. Need to thank him.”
This had A.J. confused which showed on the expression on his face. “Thank him? What for?”
“His help... without him I wouldn’t have found my way back..” he softly whispered, not sure A.J. would believe him if he told him everything he’d experienced. “You lost me buddy.. what are they giving you through that IV?”
“He-” Nick coughed again, feeling he shouldn’t really be talking anymore.. “Brian, he lighted the way..”