Lately, Kevin hadn't felt very hungry and therefore wouldn't eat. As a result, he began to lose weight. Then he began experiencing nausea and fatigue. Kevin wrote it off as the flu and figured he'd feel better in no time.

One morning, Scotty was cooking breakfast, hoping that Kevin was feeling well enough to eat something. Usually, Kevin was up by 9 but this morning was different. Scotty initially figured it was just the flu and continued to cook breakfast. It was 10:30 when Scotty finished the eggs and decided it was time to go wake Kevin up.

"Kevin, it's time to get up," Scotty said upon entering the bedroom. Kevin moaned but didn't respond. So Scotty went over to the bed and sat down next to Kevin. It was then that Scotty noticed Kevin's color was off and he was soaked in sweat. Concerned, Scotty placed a hand on Kevin's forehead and quickly pulled his hand away in shock. "Kevin? Kevin, please wake up." Kevin slowly opened his eyes and smiled weakly at his husband.

"Morning," Kevin said hoarsely.

"Kevin, I need you to sit up for me. You're burning up and I want to take your temperature," Scotty replied.

"Okay," Kevin replied before slowly sitting up. As soon as he did, Kevin shuddered. "I'm cold."

"Well that's because you have a fever. Hold on a minute while I get the thermometer." Scotty then went into the bathroom and returned moment later. "Open up," he ordered. Kevin complied. A minute later, the thermometer beeped and Scotty removed it.

"Well, what's the diagnosis?" Kevin asked.

"Oh my God, Kevin! You have a temperature of 103!" Scotty exclaimed with alarm. "We need to get you to the hospital!"

"Scotty, I'm fine," Kevin protested.

"No, Kevin, you aren't fine. A 103-degree temperature is dangerous! Come on now!"

"Scotty, I can't go to the hospital like this! I'm all sweaty!"

"Jeeze, Kevin! Okay, get in the shower quickly and then we are going."

Kevin got out of the shower 15 minutes, feeling nauseous. He then proceeded to throw up in the toilet. Scotty heard the retching and hurried into the bathroom. He found Kevin sitting on the floor, leaning on the bathtub, with his eyes closed. "Kevin?"

Kevin opened one eye. "Mm fine," he mumbled. Scotty walked over to Kevin and knelt down beside his husband. He just happened to look over to the toilet and gasped in alarm. The water was bloody. "Oh, God, no Kevin! You're not fine! Come on, we need to get you to the hospital!" Scotty then helped Kevin to his feet. They walked a couple inches before Kevin collapsed. "Kevin!" Scotty yelped, catching Kevin as he fell. Scotty gently laid Kevin on his side and then ran for the phone. He quickly dialed 9-1-1 and tapped his foot impatiently while waiting for an answer. Finally, somebody picked up.

"9-1-1, what's your emergency?" a nasally voice said.

"Hi, my husband just passed out! I need an ambulance!" Scotty said frantically.

"Okay, calm down Mr…?" the dispatcher said.

"Wandell. Please, hurry!"

"Okay Mr. Wandell, I need you to tell me your location." Scotty proceeded to give the dispatcher his address. "All right, Mr. Wandell, I will have somebody at your home as soon as possible."

"Thank you," Scotty replied, before hanging up the phone. Then he went into the bathroom and knelt down on the floor by his unconscious husband. Scotty sighed with relief when he saw that Kevin's chest was still moving. "Hang on, Kevin. An ambulance is coming," Scotty whispered.

Fifteen minutes later, there was a knock at the door and Scotty hurried to answer. "He's in the bathroom!" he cried as soon as he saw the paramedics.

"Okay, Mr. Wandell, lead the way," one of the paramedics said. Scotty nodded and hurried to the bathroom. The paramedics began wheeling the gurney after Scotty and once they reached the bathroom, both men went into action. They lifted the stretcher off and set in on the floor by Kevin. Then Kevin was gently rolled onto the stretcher. "Okay, Bill, on the count of three," one of the men said. He counted to three and then they lifted Kevin off the ground and placed the stretcher back on the gurney. Then the men began wheeling Kevin out of the bathroom with Scotty trailing behind. "All right, Mr. Wandell. My name is Ryan. Can you tell me what happened?" Scotty nodded.

"Lately, my husband hasn't been eating much and this morning, he was covered in sweat and had a fever of 103. We were going to come into the hospital but Kevin insisted on a shower first. After he was finished, I heard him retching so I went into the bathroom and found him sitting up against the tub. He had thrown up…and there was blood…God, is he going to be okay?" Scotty asked worriedly.

"Don't worry, Mr. Wandell. We are going to get your husband to the hospital as soon as we can." Scotty just nodded.

Finally, the paramedics and Scotty made it to the ambulance. As the paramedics lifted Kevin into the ambulance, he woke up. "Scotty?" Kevin said with panic in his voice. "What's going on?" Scotty stood outside the ambulance and smiled weakly.

"Kevin, you passed out in the bathroom. I had to call 9-1-1," Scotty explained.

"Mr. Wandell?" Ryan interrupted. "We are ready to go. If you would like to, please climb on up."

"Yes, thank you!" Scotty scrambled into the ambulance and sat down. He took Kevin's hand in his and squeezed gently. Once they were settled, Ryan began checking Kevin out while Bill began to drive to the hospital.

Scotty stood in the waiting room, pacing, when the doctor arrived. "Are you Mr. Walker's husband?" he said.

"Yes. Scotty Wandell, " Scoty replied.

"I'm Dr. Vincent. I will be your husband's doctor."

"How is he?" Scotty asked.

"Mr. Wandell, we ran some tests on your husband and I'm afraid it isn't good news," Dr. Vincent said.

"What? What is it?" Scotty said as his stomach flipped.

"It seems that Mr. Walker's liver is failing…" Scotty put a hand to his chest and sat down.

"H-how? Does it have anything to do with his donating part of his liver to his biological daughter?" Scotty asked, his voice trembling.

"No…people who donate part of their liver usually regenerate it in a couple weeks…Mr. Wandell, I believe that it's caused from alcohol abuse."

"A-al-alcohol a-abuse?" Scotty stuttered. "But wouldn't I have b-been able to tell? I mean…" Scotty didn't believe this was happening. Kevin's liver was failing from alcohol abuse? Suddenly, Scotty remembered something that had happened about two months ago…

It had been a week since Michelle's miscarriage and Kevin and Scotty were feeling down. Kevin, however, had been hit the most. He had wanted a child so bad and now they had no child and no money.

That night, Scotty was reading a book when Kevin stumbled in. "Kevin? Are you okay?" Scotty asked, concerned.

"Mm fine," Kevin slurred. Clearly he wasn't fine, however, as he tripped and fell. Scotty stood up from the couch, alarmed. He ran over to Kevin's side and helped him sit up.

"Are you drunk?" Scotty asked.

"Yess."

"Jeeze, Kevin, how much have you had to drink?"

"I dunno…a lot." Kevin looked up at Scotty with tears in his eyes. "I jussst needed the pain to sstop. Jus' for a little bit."

"Oh, Kevin…drinking your problems away isn't going to solve anything!" Scotty replied.

"I jus'…" Kevin didn't finish his sentence and instead broke out into sobs. Scotty frowned and pulled his husband into his arms.

"Shh, shh. It's okay, Kevin. Let it out," Scotty said, as he rocked Kevin. Kevin clung to him for about ten minutes before the sobs subsided. Then Scotty pulled away. "Why don't you have some water and go to bed?" Kevin just nodded and tried to stand up. As he did so, Kevin groaned and sat back down.

"Ssso dizzy," he said.

"Okay, c'mon. I'll help you," Scotty replied, chuckling a bit. "That's what you get for getting drunk, baby." The couple made their way to the bedroom, Scotty supporting Kevin up. When they reached the bed, Kevin collapsed onto it. Scotty smiled and began to remove Kevin's shoes and pants. "How about we get you sitting up so I can take off your shirt, hmm?" Scotty suggested. Kevin groaned in response but allowed Scotty to help him. As Scotty began unbuttoning Kevin's shirt, he looked his husband in the eyes. "Okay Kevin, no more drinking like this. Promise?"

"Mmk, Scotty," Kevin replied, before falling back on the bed. As soon as Kevin began to snore, Scotty covered him up with a blanket. Then he quietly left the room. "I have to make sure Kevin promises me that he won't do this again tomorrow…" Scotty said to himself, after realizing that Kevin was so drunk that he probably wouldn't remember making such a promise.

"Mr. Wandell? " Dr. Vincent said, bringing Scotty out of his flashback. "Are you okay?" Scotty nodded.

"A couple months ago, Kevin and I were trying for a baby. Our surrogate miscarried twice, however, and we lost our baby as well as a ton of money. Kevin came home one night drunk…really drunk. He said it was to make the pain go away for a little. The next morning, I made him promise never to drink like that again. I haven't seen him drunk since…but maybe that's because…I dunno."

"Well, Mr. Wandell…people who are drinking to get rid of pain usually can hide their drinking from loved ones very well. It's possible Mr. Walker wasn't drinking enough for you to be able to tell he was drinking. Nevertheless, his liver is failing and we need to get him on the transplant list as soon as possible," Dr. Vincent explained.

"Couldn't you just d-do the same thing you d-did for Kevin's n-niece?" Scotty asked.

"I'm afraid not, Mr. Wandell…the damage is too great for a live liver transplant. He needs a new liver entirely."

"O-k-kay…d-do what you have to d-do," Scotty stuttered.

"Don't worry, Mr. Wandell…your husband's condition makes him eligible to be placed high on the list. He's stable for now and will be fine for another day before his liver begins shut down. He might even have a new liver in 48 hours. Would you like to see him?" Dr. Vincent replied.

"Yes…but I n-need to make a phone call first," Scotty said. The doctor nodded and turned to leave. Meanwhile, Scotty pulled out his cell and called Nora.

Nora was washing the dishes when the phone rang. She dried her hands, picked up the phone and smiled. It was Scotty. "Scotty! What a pleasant surp…What?" She paused as Scotty spoke. "Is he all right?" Another pause. "I will be right there!"

Scotty reached Nora after two rings. She began greeting him but Scotty interrupted her. "Nora," he choked out. "It's K-Kevin…he's in the hospital." He paused as Nora spoke. "N-no…he's n-not. I don't wanna d-do this over the phone." Another pause. "Thanks…see you soon." Scotty hung up the phone and then went to find Kevin.

When he reached Kevin's room, Scotty paused at the doorway and took a deep breath before turning the doorknob. Kevin looked up when he heard the door opening. "Hey you," he rasped.

"Hey yourself…how are you feeling?" Scotty asked.

"Terrible. You?"

"Kevin…how long?" Scotty asked. Kevin looked down in shame.

"About two days after you made me promise I would stop," he replied.

"Why? Kevin? Why? I mean…God! Kevin, your liver is failing!" Scotty said hysterically. "You could die!" Tears suddenly welled up in his eyes. Kevin held out his hand to Scotty.

"Come here," he whispered. Scotty walked over and took Kevin's hand. He sat down in the chair by Kevin's bed and kissed his hand.

"I'm scared, for you! God, it's like déjà vu right now…" Scotty whimpered. He placed his forehead on the bed and let out a shuddering sigh. Kevin gently reached over with his free hand and stroked Scotty's hair.

"I know…but it's going to be okay," Kevin replied.

"You c-can't know that," Scotty said without lifting his head.

"Let's not talk about it right now, okay? I'm not going anywhere." Just then, the door opened and Dr. Vincent and a nurse walked in.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, but nurse Kelly here needs to check your vitals, Mr Walker. And Mr. Wandell, I think we should let your husband sleep."

Scotty lifted his head. "Y-yes…of course…I n-need to meet my m-mother in law anyways," Scotty replied. Kevin squeezed his hand and Scotty turned to look at him.

"You what?"

"Kevin, I'm not going to not call your mom!" Scotty replied.

"God, now she's gonna be all worried and fuss over me!" Kevin complained.

"She's your mother. She's allowed to do that. You just do what the doctor says and go to sleep," Scotty scolded. He then stood up and kissed Kevin on the forehead. "I'll be back to check on you later, okay?"

Kevin sighed, and then nodded. "Fine."