*AN* This is the first alternate ending to "Unthinkable". This takes place from midway through Chapter 18, just before he is pronounced dead and just after they arrived at the hospital. This should only be about 2 chapters long plus an epilogue if it fits. I make it sound like I have a lot of alternate ending ideas which I do but not all of them are going to make the cut only 2 or 3 really. I like to put in alternate endings to challenge myself. Many people think its because I cant decide on an ending, sometimes this is true but for the most part I just want to put it all out in the open so I know I can write different plot lines; I want to be sure that I didnt take the easy way out and choose the simple ending or the ending everyone wants to read. Many authors write different endings to begin with and often go over them several times to see which one fits as the story rolls along. In any case enjoy!*

She grabbed a chair and pulled it as close as she could and leaned over the bed.

"James, I hope you can hear me, I just wanted to let you know that I forgive you. You might not believe me but I do. I'm sorry I wasn't able to visit you.; if I was allowed to go, you know I would have. Please don't think me forgiving you is from regret. I had a lot of time to think this through. You're like a brother to me and I never want to lose that bond. Just know that I still love you. I just wanted you to know that so you can be free. Don't worry about me, I'll miss you, but I know you'll be in a better place. There's no need for you to suffer anymore, but I'll be here until you're ready to make your decision."

Outside the door, Kendall, Carlos and Logan were in tears. Katie's words rung true in their hearts, they were like brothers and no matter what, they still had that deep bond. They felt selfish in a way, Katie went through the most but was able to forgive James, while they kept their distance. They didn't want it to end this way. They made their way back inside. Katie turned to them, hearing them coming. Carlos stood next to Katie, Logan and Kendall were on the other side. They looked at their friend in silence as they gathered their words.

"James, I'm sorry. I'm sorry for everything I did to you." Kendall started "I'll be honest with you, you deserved that punch in the face for what you made everyone go through but I'm still sorry for not being there."

"I'm sorry too, bro." Logan said.

"We hope you can find it in your heart to forgive us, James. Please." Carlos added

"We're family till the end and nothing is going to change that." Kendall finished. They sat in silence for several minutes, content with having everything out in the open. James' parents came back and a doctor followed not too far behind. He checked the heart monitor and compared it to his notes.

"He seems to be stable although still in a critical condition. He might just pull through, but don't get your hopes up, he's not out of the woods yet. The longer he fights the better chance of survival, however, the longer he stays on life support, the less chance his body has of functioning on its own." he said. "you will have all legal rights as the parents. You can decide when to pull the plug." the doctor walked out without another word. Even though James was still in a bad condition, they were hopeful that he had improved a little bit. It meant he was fighting for his life. The minutes turned into hours and soon day turned to night, they were allowed to stay at his bed side through the night. One by one they all fell asleep and hoped for the best as they had both dreams and nightmares. Logan had a violent nightmare, he was shaken awake by Carlos.

"Dude, Logan, wake up!" he whispered. Logan finally came too after a few shakes; he blinked as he tried to focus on Carlos.

"Carlos, what's the matter?" he asked rubbing his eyes.

"I was going to ask you the same question, you were talking in your sleep. What were you dreaming about?"

"I don't remember anything."

"Well it must have been something big; you socked me right in the face!"

"Oh shit, I'm sorry, man! You alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, I was just concerned about you."

"I'm all good. You should get an ice pack or something though."

"Yeah, I'll get something. Then I'm going back to sleep on the other side of the room." Carlos assured. Logan chuckled as he shifted himself to fall back asleep. Since they had fallen asleep so late and were emotionally and mentally exhausted, they slept in until almost noon! The Maslow's had woken up several hours ago and after checking on James went to get some breakfast. They figured the others would sleep for a while if they let them, and they needed it so they took their time. As the morning progressed, the hospital got busier and noisier and in turn, began to wake the teens. Logan made enough noise stumbling his way into the bathroom he woke Carlos who was already beginning to stir. Katie was sound asleep on the floor and Kendall was laying next to her on a row of chairs. Carlos went to wake them but a loud crash from the bathroom did the job for him. Kendall shot awake, and in his daze, fell off the chairs to the floor hitting Katie. He narrowly missed landing directly on top of her, but she still got kicked. She woke up almost yelping in pain and in a panicked confusion. Nurses ran inside to see if everyone was alright. Logan was getting up off the bathroom floor, he had went to use the step pedal on the trash can but lost his balance. He knocked it over and then tripped over it. He was alright. Kendall was still sitting on the floor, legs on top of Katie; she had calmed down quickly once she gained her senses. Kendall was a little sore from the fall, Katie had gotten kicked in the head and the shoulder blade. A nurse helped Carlos, untangle his friends before checking over Katie real quick. She was responding just fine; she had received a soft kick from Kendall's calf that impacted the blow. The pain in her shoulder would subside in a few hours. Kendall hit his tailbone and hip and didn't want to move for a while, but inevitably he was fine. Once everyone was up and brushed off, they focused on what was actually important: James. He looked the same as last night but they waited for a doctor to tell them otherwise.

As the days went by, James condition improved although he stayed in a coma. His lung function was improving and he was regaining some color from his vitamin rich diet. The time had come for the decision, James could stay on life support no longer if there was any hope that he would breathe on his own; however there wasn't a very large chance that he would be able to function anyway. The teens awaited the decision as the looked at the Maslow's. The decided it was best if they did pull the plug and just hope for the best. There were no arguments from the teens as they looked at the friend. The Maslows joined them as the doctor worked the machine. It stopped clicking, humming and inflating. The heart monitor kept going as it told the tale of James struggle. It beat faster for a few seconds before slowing down again. They watched the James for any sign of life before watching the monitor like it was the last few seconds of overtime at a basketball game. It kept slowing down.

"Come on, James. Fight!" Logan said. They stared in silence, just waiting. The heart monitor began to sound off at his low pulse rate.

"No! Come on James, you can do this! You're too strong to give up!" Katie said

"James don't do this…!" Kendall said

"Come on buddy, show us what you're made of." Carlos encouraged, for a few measly seconds his pulse went back up high enough to stop the alarm. James was fighting for his life right now, and no one could do anything to help. He had already lasted longer than most patients after being pulled from life support. James wanted to live and his friends could see that. They just wished he could see it. They kept yelling for him to fight and to wake up as the alarm kept going off, they weren't going to let him give up. His heart rate kept slipping until eventually he flatlined.

"NO!" Katie yelled "James don't leave me!" She grabbed his hand as she screamed to him. It was heartbreaking to see her fall apart. Kendall tried to pull her back but she wouldn't go. Mr. Maslow couldn't take it.

"I don't care what you have to do, just help my son! I may have been the one to say pull the plug but now I'm telling you to save him!" he ordered the doctor. The doctor was stunned for a moment as he stared at Mr. Maslow.

"Crash cart!" the dr. finally ordered. A team was rushed in as they frantically worked on James, every second counted and they had already missed several. Kendall and Carlos both pulled Katie back by force as the medical teamed cranked up the dials and tried to jump start his heart. They all had to exit the room and wait in the hallway. Katie was almost inconsolable but soon quieted down. After what seemed like hours the doctor finally came out. They looked at him with expressionless faces; they didn't want to hear the news.

"We tried everything and managed to get his heart beating again. Its too early to say if there is any permanent damage, he'll have to wake up first." They had mixed feelings; happy and sad. Now it was just a waiting game.

As the days went by, James grew stronger but he just wouldn't wake up, he no longer needed help breathing. He was still quite lean; once he woke up he was going to be upset about the loss of his muscle. AS his condition improved, guests were only allowed during the day and they had to go home at night. He would have to stay at Rhodes Island General until he was well enough to return home and for that he would have to wake up first. He had since been released from prison on parole. An ankle bracelet was placed on him for the remainder of his sentence. As much as they wanted to stay, no one could afford to stay in RI any longer. The Maslow's flew back to California and BTR went to CT with Katie. They could crash with her until her parents returned from their retirement trip. This way they could still be somewhat close, only a few hours. Katie was the first contact to be reached if there was any change.

They were all on a vacation in a way. Nickelodeon wasn't paying them though since they weren't earning any money for the company; so they had money wired from home to pay for food. Nickelodeon studios had since released a statement talking briefly of the hiatus of BTR in both filming and touring. In turn it raised questions from fans and it started rumors that the guys had a fight with each other or with Nickelodeon. They would wait until either he woke up or passed away before releasing anything else.

The days turned to weeks and James looked better and better. He was completely healed and was in a stable condition. He was moved out of ICU to a private room to wait out his coma. It had been nearly a month in his coma, no one had visited him in a long time, Katie couldn't afford the gas to make the trip and the Maslow's had to return to work. They just waited by the phone in hopes that something would change and improve; waiting for the call that he had woken up.

"Hey, I got a call from work, asking to teach at a fellow dog training school. It's in Killingly, right on the boarder of RI. I can stay over a few nights to visit James. You guys want to come?"

"Absolutely!" Logan said.

"When?" Carlos asked

"Its Thursday." Katie replied.

"Let's start packing then." Kendall said to the group before the boys scattered through the house. She watched as they ran past her and she tried to dodge them as they jumped and ducked past her, back and forth.

"But…its only Monday…" she tried to tell them but they were too hyped up.

Thursday rolled around and she was actually up first this time. She woke them up as gently as possibly and although groggy woke up pretty quickly as they dashed about. She packed up her things into her car and they met her outside.

"2 of you in the third row, and one gets shotgun. Shadow gets second." she said. Kendall and Logan squeezed into the back while Katie fetched Shadow. He jumped in ready and waiting; once Katie started the car he gave a howl. She pulled forward to let Carlos in and off they went. Katie went to her lecture first and the guys were excited, they never saw her teach before. There weren't any videos or photos on her face book or the schools website, her students papers were under lock and key; it was very hushed. They marveled at her prowess as she commanded Shadow both with words and silent, non-verbal commands. The moves both her and Shadow made were like a well rehearsed ballet; it was so graceful and tuned. She demonstrated a recall technique with a crop before dismissing Shadow to the corner to lay down and she continued on. She received a round of applause and stayed for an additional hour to answer questions after class and let the students play with Shadow. After re-packing the car and signing out the guys waited for Katie as she finished up inside with teacher things. She came out, put Shadow in the back and hopped on the highway to RI.

By the time they got their it was mid afternoon and there were only a few hours left for visitors. James condition hadn't changed much if at all, although he looked healthy. Knowing how far they came, they were granted to stay the night and brought out cots, blankets and pillows for them. Time flew by at the hospital, it was midnight when a nurse came around to put the lights on their dimmers or turn them off completely as they did every night. They got comfy on their cots and fell asleep pretty quickly. Katie got up in the middle of the night, she checked her phone and it was around 4:30 in the morning. Before going back to sleep, she checked on James. She sat next to him for a little while, whispering to him and holding his hand. She was still tired and didn't notice she was nodding off to sleep as she talked.

*AN* In these bottom AN's I will dictate any minor differences I may have thought of or originally implemented as I wrote. These would just be minor details that wouldnt change the overall plot all that much such as Instead of waiting for a reason to go to RI, they made it a weekly trip. I also thought about adding additional dialogue when Katie talked to James during the night but I decided to lay off and leave most of this as a narration. *