A/N Yay omg I'm so happy ya'll are still with me! Thanks so much everyone who read and reviewed last chapter :D Sorry this is late (but hey at least it's before Christmas!)
By the time James got Kendall into the car, he decided that waiting for the rest of the family and trying to cram them all into the small vehicle would not be an option. He sent a quick text to Logan saying he would just meet them at the hospital and sped away with Kendall curled up in the backseat.
"It's okay buddy, we're almost to the hospital." James muttered, not only to reassure Kendall but for himself as well. Heglanced up in the rearview mirror to see his sick, pale friend moaning, curling up against the seat as if he were trying to disappear, hide from the pain and fever wreaking havoc in his already weakened body. James bit his lipnervously, pressing his foot against the gas pedal a bit harder. Help seemed so far away when his friend was in such grave danger. They had warned them this could happen. The doctors said he could most likely end up right back in the hospital. But James had been in denial. He did everything he could to prevent it from happening-of course now, he felt like he hadn't done enough, but he had never actually thought he'd be driving Kendall to the hospital in the middle of the night, once again fearing for his life. Hadn't he prayed enough, every single night for hours on end, for Kendall to be well again? Why wasn't God listening? Did He simply not realize how much James needed Kendall to be here on earth with him, healthy and alive? Because without Kendall, there was no James. There was no Big Time Rush, or the 4 goofy hockey players from Minnesota. James was nothing without that frail, sick bundle in the backseat of his cherry red convertible.
James sniffled and wiped tears from his blurry vision, stepping on the brake pedal when he came across a red light. He pressed his forehead against the steering wheel and uncontrollably pounded his fist twice against the dashboard so violently that he almost thought all the little bones in his hands had broken, but when he examined his hand, it appeared to be fine. He flexed it once and ignored the ache inside of it.
"J-James?" A weak voice came from behind the upset brunet. James quickly wiped his tears away, realizing Kendall was watching him have a meltdown.
"It's okay," James croaked, although he didn't sound very reassuring. "Everything is going to be alright. It has to be." The stop light finally turned green and James continued driving along the quiet Minnesota street.
Kendall blinked his weary, fever-glazed eyes, watching James with trepidation. He didn't know why his friend had suddenly acted so violently. It kind of scared Kendall. Maybe he was worse off than he thought he was.
"James, am I sick?" Kendall whispered. "Like, really sick?"
"You're going to be okay Kendall. You just need some medicine and then you'll be right as rain again," James said softly. His cracked voice gave away the inner emotional turmoil he was feeling, though. How does one tell their best friend that they don't know if they will be okay or not? James guessed that, in some cases, it was best to lie, and these were one of those times.
Kendall was silent. He didn't feel well at all, but mostly he was just tired and his head felt funny and he was cold. But James was acting seriously scared, like something bad was happening that he didn't know about, which was only making Kendall nervous and fearful, too.
"I want to be home," Kendall whispered, not realizing he said the words out loud. His heart was yearning to be home in bed, safe and warm with his mother, sister and friends nearby. He didn't exactly get why, in his feverish mind, he was out driving around in the middle of the night.
"You'll be home soon buddy," James said.
With great effort, Kendall sat up a little bit and pressed his blazing forehead to the frozen glass window pane, watching pretty, twinkling Christmas lights whiz by as they drove down the street.
"Is it Christmas?" Kendall asked. James thought he sounded kind of like a child. A curious, yet scared, child.
"Yeah, almost," James reminded the delirious boy. Kendall didn't say anything. He seemed to be transfixed on the lights adorning all of the little shops along the road. "It's going to be the best Christmas ever, remember?" James sighed. How exactly was he going to give Kendall the best Christmas ever now, while he was sick in the hospital? Christmas was ruined. But he couldn't let Kendall know this, it would break his heart. He was looking so forward to Christmas, and now he wouldn't even be home with his big, special Christmas tree and his family gathered around the fire. Instead, he would spend the night in a lonely hospital, fighting for his life.
James pulled into the parking lot of the hospital and hurried to Kendall's side of the car. He opened the door and gently pulled his weak friend out, setting him on his feet.
"Wh-where are we?" Kendall wondered, his glassy green eyes scanning the parking lot, confused. "P-Palmwoods? Mr. Bitter's gonna kill us…" Kendall slurred, wavering on his feet. James grabbed the blonde by his forearms to steady him.
"No, Kendall we aren't in LA, we're in- Kendall!" James felt his stomach rush to his throat with panic when Kendall suddenly lurched forward, his eyes closing and his body going limp. He had fainted on the spot. James lifted the boy to his chest and carried him into the hospital.
"Help, my friend is sick!" James shouted as he walked through the automatic doors. The small town hospital's workers looked momentarily stunned before springing into action. A nurse asked James an array of questions, and within seconds a doctor pulled Kendall out of his grasp and laid his still body on a bed, wheeling him off as James explained what was wrong with him.
"He's getting over a double kidney infection," James stuttered out. His mind was a panicked fog and it was hard to speak or think. He was focused solely on Kendall's health. "He had a fever tonight and I rushed him here, and he just fainted in the parking lot!" James scrubbed his hands against his ruddy, red cheeks, fighting tears away. He looked around for Mama K, feeling like a lost little boy. Mama K would know what to do.
"His mom should be here any minute," James told the doctors. "Sh-she has all of his records and can explain everything. Because I-I don't know. Just please, make him better."
"Okay, sit down sweetie," A nurse said, leading the near-hysterical boy to a chair in a waiting room. She waited with James for Kendall's mother while James held his face in his hands. Just minutes later, Mrs. Knight came running into the waiting room, looking around wildly for James. Carlos, Logan and Katie trailed behind the motherly figure with wide eyes.
"Jamie!" Mrs. Knight cried when she saw her surrogate son sitting in the waiting room. She was immediately alarmed when she saw he was crying, streams of crystal tears running steadily down his reddened cheeks. She couldn't help but be reminded of all of the horrible days they had spent in the hospital during Kendall's illness.
Mrs. Knight brought the frightened teenager into her arms, her protective instincts coming out now more than ever. She ran a hand through his thick, dark hair, trying to comfort him through their panic.
"James, what happened?"
"I-I helped him out of the car and he collapsed, Mama K!" James wailed, holding onto the older woman tightly. "Wh-what if he doesn't wake up?"
"Ssh, ssh, Mama's gonna talk to the doctors now, okay?" Mrs. Knight cooed, gently prying the child away from her chest and into Carlos' waiting arms. She looked into the Latino's big brown eyes.
"Take care of him for me," she instructed the young boy. She did not have time to nurture the distraught boy, and she knew Carlos would be the one to be able to calm him down. Carlos nodded boldly, wrapping his arms around James' quivering frame and leading him to a corner of the waiting empty waiting room while Mrs. Knight left with the nurse.
"This isn't supposed to happen. Not again," James said in a tiny, broken voice. Katie climbed up in James' lap, while Logan and Carlos curled against his sides, holding him. "Hasn't he been through enough?"
"How could this happen the day before Christmas Eve?" Katie asked solemnly, though her small cherubic face was free of tears, unlike the boys'. She wouldn't cry until later that night, alone in her room. Only then would she allow the flow of tears to come, like she usually did when something scary or upsetting happened.
"I just hope he's okay," Logan whispered, staring off down the long hallway that Kendall was taken down. His precious, stubborn best friend was down there somewhere going through hell knows what without the support and comfort of any of his friends. Finally he had to tear his eyes away before he was tempted to run down the hall, find Kendall, and scoop him into his arms.
"James, what happened to your hand?" Carlos wondered in a hoarse voice, pressing his small fingertips lightly to James' bruised hand. James just shrugged and made a loose fist, ignoring the pain that shot through the delicate bones by doing so.
"Did you hurt yourself again?" Logan asked, taking James' hand into his and stroking the skin gently. He knew James had a habit of using brute strength against himself without even realizing it when he was emotional. "Do you need ice?"
"It's fine guys. Can we please just worry about Kendall? I'm freaking out. W-we should've known his health was taking a turn for the worse. We ignored the signs. I assumed he'd be okay, too pathetic to realize he wasn't getting better. When's he gonna get better?" James shoved his face in his hands.
"Don't do this, don't blame yourself," Carlos pleaded. He hated it when James broke down. He loved to comfort his friends, but when James cried, it hurt the Latino deeply. "He was getting better. Much better. He's weak, but he's getting better. It's just going to take a little while. Kendall's just tired and all. But he'll fight through this, I know he will."
James whimpered, praying inwardly that what Carlos was saying was true.
"Come here," Logan whispered when he heard the tiny, pitiful noise emit from James' mouth. He brought James in for a big cuddle and rested his cheek on James' soft hair, letting him cry.
A/N Once again I'm soo sorry for the delay in updating! I've been too busy to even turn on my laptop. But my hours at work are going to start slowing down a tiny bit so hopefully next chapter will be up before Christmas! Thanks so much for reading! Please review, they are sugarplum fairies!
