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The lights went down and the smoke faded but the high that stuck around after an amazing performance was bouncing off every member as they made their way backstage after the concert. They smiled and laughed together, finally everyone at ease. It was always like this after a concert. It seemed like performing was the glue that held them together and when they did it well they just blended all the more closely.

They were met backstage by Rachel who was going frantic trying to calm Baylee down. Brian was first to see her distress and crossed the room in a matter of seconds taking the screaming baby from her arms. AJ was right behind him and placed an arm around Brian’s shoulders as he tried to soothe his cries. The rest of the guys quietly watched the exchange before deciding it would be better not to interrupt. They slipped from the room unnoticed and went to gather their things to go to the hotel.

Brian looked at AJ with scared eyes having no idea what to do to clam Baylee down. AJ leaned down and kissed Brian’s forehead gently. “Go change and I’ll try to get him to stop crying, then we can take him back to the hotel.” AJ said urging Brian out of the room. Brian hesitated for a moment before nodding and leaving the room, leaving AJ and Baylee alone.

AJ spent five minutes trying every trick he had learned to get Baylee to calm and none of them were working. He was starting to get a little freaked out but swallowed his fears. His anxiety would only send Brian over the edge. He kept kissing Baylee’s forehead and noted how warm he seemed. He continued to hold Baylee and sing to him softly until Brian returned. He was starting to wonder if Baylee was running a fever. Before he could think any more of it Brian reentered the room looking flushed and beautiful. AJ handed Baylee to Brian and quickly grabbed the rest of their things before leading them both out to the vans. He would just change when they got back to the hotel. He wanted to get them out of there as soon as possible.

Baylee cried the whole way to the hotel, loud angry cries that broke AJ’s heart. He knew something wasn’t right but he didn’t know what it was. He hated seeing Baylee this upset. Once inside the hotel AJ followed Brian to his hotel room. They laid Baylee down on the bed and quickly checked him over trying to eliminate ever y reason why he could be this upset. AJ placed his hand on Baylee’s head and soothed back his curls.

“He’s burning up Angel. Do you think he could have gotten sick?” AJ asked turning to look at Brian. Brian looked at AJ and shrugged, his face scared. AJ nodded and grabbed his wallet and room key from the nightstand.

“I’m going to run down to the pharmacy around the corner and see if there is a pharmacist on duty who can tell us something. You stay here and see if you can get him to calm down at all ok?” AJ said looking at Brian carefully. Brian nodded slowly. AJ pulled Brian into his arms and hugged him closely for a moment before making himself pull away and leave the room. He had no idea what he had been thinking. He always seemed to make a bad situation worse. He avoided Brian’s gaze as he left the room. Sometimes he could be a real dumbass. He grabbed Marcus on his way from the hotel floor and quickly made his way into the night air.

~*~
Kevin knocked harshly on Nick’s door knowing that the blonde was indeed inside. He could hear the younger man muttering and slamming stuff inside the room and smiled to himself. Sometimes he forgot he had ever left. The door flung open unexpectedly, surprising Kevin slightly. He didn’t think Nick would actually open the door. Kevin smiled placing his hand on the door so that Nick couldn’t try to shut it on him. “Mind if I come in?” he said sweetly, smiling at Nick.

Nick glared at him, but stepped aside so that he could enter anyway. Kevin sat on the bed and tried not to stare at the mess all over the hotel room. He could never understand how Nick could live this way. His fingers itched to straighten and clean the mess. Being this close to Nick could be dangerous and he needed to get to the point quick before he ended up embarrassing himself.

“What’s going on Nick?” Kevin asked not wasting any time. He looked at Nick squarely awaiting some semblance of an answer.

Nick stared at him blankly. “What do you mean Kevin? Nothing’s going on. I was going to go to bed before you came barging in here wanting to talk so you tell me what’s going on.” Nick said crossing his arms over his chest. Kevin sighed knowing this was going to be harder than he had originally thought. “I mean something is going on with you, Brian and AJ. You’re rolling your eyes and making snide remarks and generally treating your best friends like shit. What’s the deal here?”

Nick sighed and ran his fingers through his messy hair. “Nothing’s going on Kevin.” He said finally.

“Bullshit Nick. Don’t lie to me. You don’t want to talk about it fine, but there’s no reason to lie to me about it. You need to grow up and get over the fact that AJ stole your best friend or Brian stole your boyfriend. There are a lot bigger problems out there going on than you acting like a spoiled brat. You need to knock it off and realize that your friends and they need your love and support, and your help, especially Brian.” Kevin said glaring angrily at Nick.

Nick looked away fighting the tears that welled up in the back of his eyes. He knew he was acting like a jackass. He didn’t need everyone pointing it out all the time. Kevin shook his head before getting up off the bed and leaving the room. He loved that boy more than anything in the world, but he could really be an asshole sometimes too.

Nick felt about two inches tall by the time Kevin left the room. He knew he needed to get his act together. He hated when Kevin was upset with him and knowing that Kevin was mad enough to come have this talk with him only made him feel worse. He stood there for a moment before realizing he needed to apologize to Brian and the sooner the better. Maybe if Kevin knew he was really trying he wouldn’t be so upset with him anymore.

Making up his mind he grabbed his room key and quickly left the room in search of Brian’s. He wondered down the hall trying to remember exactly what room Brian was in, but Baylee’s screams brought him to the right door. He could hear Baylee shrieking and crying before he ever reached the door way. The door was partially open and Nick pushed it open further. Brian stood inside crying himself and holding the bawling child close to him.

“What’s going on Brian?” Nick asked loudly, trying to be heard over the screaming.

Brian shook his head and shrugged. “He won’t stop. I’ve tried everything, if anything it only gets louder. I have no idea what to do Nick.” Brian said crying.

Nick looked at his flushed face and picked up the phone and called downstairs to have a van pulled up to the doors.”What are you doing?” Brian asked watching Nick take charge.

“We’re going to take Baylee to the emergency room. I’m sure he’s fine. But it’ll be better if we just go ahead and get him checked out. You can never be too careful, plus it will help you rest better knowing what’s actually wrong instead of guessing.” Nick said grabbing the diaper bag and leading Brian out of the room.

Brian stopped in the middle of the hallway causing Nick to run into him. “What about Alex? He just went to the pharmacy. He’ll be back soon. I need him to come with me.” Brian said looking at Nick with pleading eyes. He couldn’t take Baylee to the emergency room without AJ there too. Here lately he didn’t do anything without AJ there.

Nick nodded and continued to push Brian towards the elevator. “I’ll have Kevin bring him along as soon as he gets back. Now let’s go.” Nick said finally getting Brian off of their floor.