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Three months later it was a warm sunny day when Kevin decided to visit his father. As he entered the graveyard, he could hear laughter and sounds of children that were playing in the nearby park. Kristin had asked him if he wanted her to join him, but he declined. He felt silly talking to his father in her presence, even though he knew she didn’t mind. She felt it was just a way for her husband to still have some sort of connection with his father and she didn’t judge him for it in any way. She understood though why he wanted to go there alone, he had a lot to share with his father. She had hugged him when he left the house and told him he could take all the time he needed. He knew there was no need to rush home. No matter how long he’d stay with his father, she’d be home, waiting for him.

Kevin smiled at the thought of his wife. Kristin had been so supportive through all of this, been there for him everytime he couldn’t handle the thoughts that plagued him during the night. She had been there when he got angry with the situation, in fact she told him it was okay to be angry, or sad, or whatever he was feeling at that moment.

Without realizing it, he had reached his father’s grave. He knelt down on one knee, to remove some leaves and dirt. For some reason, coming to this place made things seem more real. He had lost his father a long time ago, but sometimes when the phone rang, he still expected to hear his voice on the other end of the line. Kevin tried to picture his father, when he had, he cleared his throat and began to speak. “Hi dad. A lot has happened since the last time I was here..” he sighed. “It’s just..I don’t know where to begin. You should’ve seen us when Nick told us about the test results..”


"Hey Nicky..” Kevin whispered as the three men walked in. “Are you awake?”
“Hey..” Nick opened his eyes. “Gotcha back there, didn’t I?” he then said with a tired voice and a weak smile on his features.
“Not funny, you ass..” A.J. smiled as he walked up to the bed.
“How are you feeling?” Howie sat down on the bed, trying not to show how worried he was.
“Where’s Frick?” Nick asked as he sat up with a little help from Kevin.“Thanks Kev.”
The eldest nodded as he answered the question. “Brian was talking to Dr. Schagen when we left, but he should be here any second now.”
“Good.” Nick closed his eyes as he leaned back into the pillows.

“Did I hear someone say my name?” Brian forced a smile as he walked in to the room that was filled with so much tension that it was almost suffocating. It made him want to run off and hide somewhere. Nick’s eyes flew open at hearing his best friend’s voice. “Hey Frick..”
“Hey Fracky..” Brian carefully hugged him. “How are you?”
Nick let out a sigh and rubbed his face. “I’m sorry for scaring the crap out of you back there.” He said as he looked at each of his friends for a few seconds.
“It’s okay, Nicky.”Howie smiled at him. He felt the need to say more, but couldn’t find the words, so he stayed silent, just like the others.

A few moments later the eldest was the first who found the courage to speak.
“Nicky?” Kevin placed his hand on Nick’s shoulder. “Dr. Schagen said you didn’t want her to tell us about the results. C-c-can.. will you.. I mean..” the eldest stuttered. He knew none of them wanted to ask, but all of them needed to know.
“Yeah..” Nick whispered, his eyes closed. “She, I mean, Dr. S-s- she said that..” he yawned. “Sorry.. She- She said I still have a chance. She’s willing to fight this if I am..”


Kevin let out a sigh as the sound of a loud and happy yell broke through his thoughts, glancing over at the playground, a smile broke onto his features before he re-directed his gaze back to the tombstone. "I knew she would be the one Dad...I just...I KNEW it. And she WAS. Things haven’t been easy though. These last few months, have been like...I don’t know.
It’s been tough sometimes.”


"KEV? A little help, please?” A.J. yelled from upstairs. The older man quickly rose to his feet and ran up the stairs. He heard sounds coming from the bathroom. When he slowly pushed the door open, he found Nick sitting on a pillow in front of the toilet. Due to even more weight loss, sitting on the floor was too painful, so this was one of the ways A.J. had tried to make things somewhat comfortable. Kevin walked in to find the young man crying softly and A.J. sitting next to him. He was rubbing Nick’s back while whispering soothing words. When the rebel noticed he was standing there, he shot him a look that said it all.
”Again?” Kevin mouthed, just to be sure. The rebel nodded after which the eldest shook his head. No wonder Nick was crying.”Hey buddy,” Kevin whispered as he knelt down next to him. He placed a hand on his shoulder, causing the youngest to turn his head and look at him. Tears streamed down his cheeks, his breathing ragged.
“Let us help you. It’s okay.”
Another sob broke out of the young man as he tried to speak. “I-I’m so sorry..”
“It’s not your fault, Nick.” A.J. sighed.
“But-”
“Nick, it’s okay.” Kevin repeated, in hopes that the young man would allow them to help him.
“But...I-I can’t do this anymore.. It hurts..”
“I know it does. Give me a few minutes, okay?” Kevin said as he got up and walked out of the bathroom, leaving behind a puzzled A.J. who was trying to figure out what he was up to.

Two minutes later he walked back in, holding five towels in one hand and clean sheets in the other. “Jay, why don’t you put these on his bed?”Kevin said as he handed the blue cotton sheets to his friend. “Sure, but what are all those towels for?” he asked as he stood up.
“These are gonna help me clean up Nick.” Kevin sadly smiled, but as soon as he had finished his sentence, the youngest looked up, panic written all over his face. “Kev, I don’t-”
“I’ll be careful, Nicky.” Kevin said as he knelt down next to him. “Do you trust me?” he asked him as he locked eyes with the youngest. Nick slowly nodded. “I’m so sorry for making you go through this, Kevin.” Again tears streamed down his cheeks. “I tried to keep it down, really I did. And then suddenly, it was too late..”
“Shhh..” Kevin soothed. “I know. Now please let me help you clean up.”

The eldest stood up and took off his socks, followed by his shirt which he folded with care then placed it on top of the laundry-basket.
“But what-”
Kevin placed three towels in the tub, flipped on the water and made sure it was the right temperature. While he waited for the tub to fill, he helped Nick to take off his clothes.
“Those towels will make things more comfortable since your body will be resting on these instead of on the bottom of the tub itself.”
“Kev, are you-”
“Yes Nicky, I’m sure.” Kevin took off his jeans, folded them after which he carefully put them on top of his shirt.
“You’re still a neat freak, huh..” Nick sadly smiled, feeling insecure and ashamed of himself. “Always will be.” Kevin smiled. “Unlike you, Kaos. Ready?”
“As ready as I’ll ever be.” The young man sighed.
“Alright. Lean on me, okay?” Kevin helped him to stand up and take three steps forward.
“I’m gonna put one leg in the tub.” The eldest explained. “Then let me lift you, and I’ll slowly lower you into the water, okay?”
Nick felt so embarrassed, but he had given up the hostile attitude a while ago. He knew he needed their help, and that’s why he accepted it, even though it hurt so much to admit the fact that he was no longer independant. He knew he couldn’t do this without his assistance and that’s why he let Kevin help him right then and there.

After Kevin had helped him to put on some clothes and into his bed, the young man leaned back into the pillows and closed his eyes. He was exhausted, the bathroom incident had drained every bit of the little energy he had.
“Try to get some sleep, okay buddy?” Kevin said as he rose to his feet. Nick nodded and right before the eldest walked out of his bedroom, he whispered. “Kev?”
“Yeah?” He turned around, waiting for Nick to continue.
“Would you mind not telling the others about this?” he softly asked, his eyes still closed.
“I won’t tell them, Nicky, alright? I won’t.”



Kevin looked at his watch and noticed he had been talking at the cemetery for the last 2 hours. He touched the tombstone for a second, stood up and shoved his hands into his pockets.
“I’m so happy that things are finally changing, that Nick is regaining some of his strength. It’s just..” Kevin shook his head, he couldn’t change the past, so dwelling on what could’ve been wasn’t helping anyone. He should stay focused on being there for Nick, but more than once he found himself sitting on the porch, staring at the sky instead of helping A.J. with taking care of his youngest friend. He wanted nothing more than to be there for Nick, but at the same time, him getting better made him sort of jealous. “Dad, I just wish.. someone could have saved you too..”

~~~~

The sound of a ringing cellphone shook him out of his thoughts so he grabbed it and flipped it open as quickly as possible to stop it from producing sound. He held it to his ear and immediately heard a voice that he was familiar with.
”Hey honey, so what did the doctor say?”
”Hey sweetheart.” Brian whispered.
”Why are you whispering?” Leighanne softly asked.
“We’re still in the car, and Nick’s asleep.” Brian turned around to check if Nick was indeed still sleeping, but by the looks of it, he was, his head resting on a pillow on Kevin’s lap.
Brian smiled at the sight, Kevin seemed to be asleep too, his one hand was resting on the younger man’s shoulder in a protective manner.
“Sorry.” Leighanne whispered.
“That’s okay. Finally good news, baby. Doc said his body is responding to the treatment. It’s effectively fighting the cancer and some tumors already reduced in size.” Again tears of relief filled his eyes. Dr. Schagen had been right when she said that Nick still had a chance. Even though the price Nick had to pay was high, he felt even sicker than before, this new treatment was finally helping him to win this battle. Thankfully, Dr. Schagen had told them it was okay to fly home and get the treatment there, as long as someone from the Netherlands came with them to train the personnel at the hospital where Nick would get his treatment. She had made them promise to keep her informed about his condition, and Brian could’ve sworn she too got emotional when he called her to fill her in on the results.



“So Frack, think you can eat something?” Brian asked as he sat down next to him.
“Hmm.. I’m just not sure I can keep it down, but yeah, I think I’m hungry.” Nick replied as he looked at his best friend, a hint of surprise coloured his voice. He could hardly remember the last time he felt like eating, so this was kind of a surprise, even to himself.
“So am I.” A.J. said as he plopped down on the couch across from the other two.
“Did I hear someone say something about eating?” Howie walked in as he took off his jacket.
Brian nodded. “Yups.”
“Good, I’m starving.” Howie smiled as he sat down next to A.J. “Where’s Kevin?”
“At home. He’s gonna drop by later tonight.” The rebel replied. “Everyone seems to think this is a hotel where you can walk right in without reservation or something.” He rolled his eyes, but it was obvious he liked the company.
“You’d call us if we didn’t.” Howie chuckled. “But what about dinner?” he turned his head to look at the two men across from him. “Any suggestions?”
“Yeah, I’m thinking, pizza.” Nick smiled.
“Pizza?!” Brian echoed. “Are you sure?”
“No, but what the heck.. I feel like having pizza.”
“Then pizza it’s gonna be!” Brian grinned. It had been a long time since Nick said he was acutally hungry, so this was another victory. A small one, but still a victory.

~~~~

A light warm breeze blew across Kevin’s face as he turned around to head for the gate of the cemetery. The thought his father had been listening, brought a smile to his face. He looked up at the sky. “Yeah dad, I’m going home now. But before I do, I want you to know that things are finally gonna get better now.I think, no, I KNOW things are finally gonna be okay."