Chapter Two:

It was over an hour later before a nurse finally showed up in the waiting room to take Will to ICU. Gunnar was surprised that there wasn't a rut running down the middle of the carpet from Will's constant pacing. Despite the fact that Will's pacing had upped the anxiety level in the room to astronomical proportions, nobody had the heart to tell him to stop. By the time the nurse entered the waiting room, the tension was so thick that everyone bolted out of their seats startling her.

"Mr. Lexington?" she asked, her eyes flitting around the room.

"Yes," Will said shakily.

The nurse smiled at Will and said, "Follow me please." She was almost out the door when she realized that Will wasn't moving. Confusion creased her brow as she glanced at Gunnar who was just as confused as she was. "I was told you wanted to see Mr. Bicks once he was settled." When Will continued to stand stock still and just stare at her, she continued, "Is that not right?"

After watching Will in constant motion for the past hour, it was somewhat jarring to see him suddenly turned into stone. Gunnar turned to Avery who just shrugged his shoulders helplessly. Gunnar turned back to the nurse and said, "Could you give us a minute?" The nurse nodded and stepped out of the room. Gunnar stepped up to Will and said, "Will? What's going on? I thought you'd be racing out of here to go see Kevin."

Will's eyes darted back and forth as he said, "I don't know if I can."

Gunnar peeked over at Avery again for assistance but Avery didn't seem to understand what was going on either. Avery stepped closer to Will and placed his hand on his back reassuringly. "What do you mean you don't know if you can?"

Will turned his watery eyes to Avery and whispered. "I don't know if I can see him like that."

Avery's eyes filled with compassion as he lifted his other hand and placed it gently on Will's chest. "It's okay Will. That's completely understandable. And you're right, it will be hard. But I know that you can do this. Do you know why?" Will shook his head and Avery continued. "Do you remember when you and Kevin broke up? When we were sitting at the kitchen table talking? We were both miserable, and I knew that you loved Kevin just as much as I loved Juliette and that both of us would have given anything to have them back. Well, you got Kevin back and right now he is up in that ICU fighting so hard to get back to you. He needs you Will. He needs to feel you squeezing his hand with everything you have. He needs to feel your love for him, to draw strength from that. He needs you to help him fight. And that's why I know you can do this. Because you would never let Kevin down like that. You love him too much."

Gunnar watched as Will silently absorbed everything Avery said to him. Will reached out and squeezed Avery's shoulder then brushed past him and out the door without a word. Silence descended over the room until Scarlett blurted out emotionally, "That was beautiful."

Avery quickly wiped the tears from his face and blushed slightly in embarrassment. "Yeah…well…I'm sure there's a song in there somewhere."

Scarlett walked across the room and wrapped her arms around Avery's waist. "I'm not sure the general public could handle a song like that. But it was beautiful. And exactly what Will needed to hear. So thank you."

Gunnar stepped out into the hallway to ensure that Will hadn't changed his mind, but he didn't see either Will or the nurse. He breathed a sigh of relief then turned his head when he heard Luke's voice.

"Thanks for keeping me updated. Hold down the fort a few minutes longer."

Gunnar moved closer to Luke as he ended the phone call. "Everything okay?"

Luke peered up at Gunnar pensively. "Yeah, it's fine. The media's clamoring for an update. Apparently, their blowing up the phone lines at Wheelin' Dealin', so I'm going to go check into the hotel across the street and see what I can do to put out some fires." Luke pointed his finger at Gunnar and said forcefully, "You tell Will that the only thing he needs to worry about…is Kevin…period. I'm going to take care of everything else including the media. They're not getting anywhere near him if I have anything to say about it, and I plan on having a whole lot to say about it."

Gunnar shoved his hands down into his pockets. "I'll tell him. Oh, by the way, do you know if anyone has contacted Kevin's family?"

"The police said they'd take care of that. Will didn't know a lot but he told them what he knew." Luke hesitated a moment before stepping closer to Gunnar and saying, "Listen, if Will or Kevin needs anything…and I mean anything…I'm your first phone call. Got it?"

Gunnar nodded. "Got it."

Luke smiled slightly as he clapped Gunnar on the shoulder with a slight squeeze. "Good man." Luke turned away but turned back after only a couple of steps. "Oh, and Gunnar? Watch over our boy."

Gunnar watched Luke walk away grateful that someone as high-powered as Luke Wheeler had Will's back. It was one of the many great things about Nashville. People genuinely cared about each other.

Will had followed the nurse to ICU like a frightened puppy, trailing behind her scanning this way and that with wide, scared eyes. Everything inside him was telling him to run away but instead he put one foot in front of the other until they finally stopped outside a room within ICU. The nurse turned to him with a friendly smile and gestured towards the door. "He's right in there." She walked away leaving him at the threshold.

Will just stood there for several moments. He couldn't manage to get his legs to continue with the last few steps required. It wasn't until he heard Avery's voice in his head "He needs you Will" that he finally moved slowly forward. The next steps took an eternity, the distance between the door and the bed lengthening out into oblivion. When he finally got his first glimpse of Kevin, his legs tried to buckle out from under him and he sagged against the wall. It was just as bad as he imagined.

Kevin was lying on the hospital bed surrounded by machines that whirred and beeped and pinged creating a cacophony of sounds that seemed overwhelming to Will. How was Kevin supposed to rest and get better with all that noise? Kevin's mouth was covered by a breathing tube that Will knew extended down his throat, and it made him want to gag in empathy. But the thing that scared Will the most, more than all the noises, tubes, wires and machines, was how pale he was. Logically Will knew it was due to the blood loss that Kevin had sustained, but that did nothing to assuage his fears.

Will inched closer to the bed on rubbery legs. He was terrified to touch Kevin. He seemed so fragile. Will was suddenly reminded of his childhood. His mother collected porcelain angels that she kept in a curio cabinet in the formal dining room. Normally he would bound through the house like any other typical young boy; but whenever he had to walk through the dining room, which thankfully wasn't very often, he would stop and practically tip-toe through the room with his eyes glued to the cabinet. He was terrified that the slightest motion would topple the angels over and they would shatter into a million pieces. He would always sigh in relief when he managed to make it across the room without incident. Kevin reminded him of those porcelain angels. Would Kevin shatter into a million pieces if Will touched him?

As before, it was Avery's voice that answered him, "He needs to feel you squeezing his hand with everything you have." Will peered around the room finding a chair and pulling it close to the bed. He sat down and stared at Kevin's hand for a few moments before finally taking a deep breath and cautiously reaching out. He gently lifted Kevin's hand from the bed and then firmly clasped it between his own. He released the breath he was holding in relief when nothing ominous happened. He brought Kevin's hand up to his lips and kissed it before holding it against his cheek. Will closed his eyes and reveled in Kevin's skin against his own.

Will didn't know how long he sat like that before he finally opened his eyes again. He stared at Kevin's pale skin and felt tears bubbling to the surface. "Don't you dare leave me," he whispered. Clutching Kevin's hand tightly, Will leaned closer to Kevin's ear. "Do you hear me? Don't you dare leave me."