11.58am

When lunch arrived for the two boys, Wes took it as his excuse to leave. Lord knows he would rather have stayed there, and joked around with them. He would even have been quite happy to listen to them talking nonsense - he was curious as to why the man-eating jelly was green, for example - but his duty took him somewhere else. Kurt was suffering from the kind of devastation that nobody deserved to know; he was also sure that his stepmother, Carole, would be in agony at the loss of her child. He had met her a few times, and she had always seemed to him to be the kind of mother that every child deserved - warm, loving, kind. So unlike his own… He would visit her too, if she was up to it. He would pay his respects and then it would be time to move on; to head back to Harvard and those exams. So after one final round of hugs, and a promise to phone later, he left the two to their food. Though to be honest, what they had just been brought didn't smell or look that appetising…

It wasn't but the two consumed it anyway. The nurses had tried to get Jeff to go back to his room and eat, but to no avail, and in the end they gave up trying. The senior nurse left to go and talk to the doctor about the behaviour of her two patients; on overhearing that, Nick began to worry. Maybe he should try to get Jeff back to his own bed, even for a short while, if it was causing so much concern for the nursing staff. After all, he had been through trauma too, and maybe all the sitting by his bed and walking around wasn't doing him any good. Before he could broach the subject with him though, events took a turn. Jeff was moved away from his bedside once the food was finished, and Nick found himself being moved over to the right, closer to the wall on that side. Moments later the door to the room was opened wide, and Jeff's bed was wheeled in, and placed on the left side of Nick's. The room was more than big enough to accommodate them both. Once everything had been settled, and the locker from Jeff's room also arrived, the senior nurse, the same one that had spoken to them yesterday, arrived. "So, seeing as Mr Sterling refuses to leave your side, Mr Duval, we thought it was more practical to bring his bed through here. Now if you wouldn't mind, Jeff, hopping back into bed? Being up and mobile is important for your recovery, but so is adequate rest. I think we have placed the beds close enough together that you can stretch your unbroken arms out and still hold hands." The last line was delivered with a smile, and Nick was later convinced that he had seen a wink.

Sure enough, when Jeff hopped back into the bed (and although he would never admit it, he was tired) he found that he could still take Nick's hand. He sighed contentedly, and allowed his eyes to close, just for a moment. He did not intend to fall asleep, but that was what he proceeded to do, much to Nick's delight. He had seen that Jeff was tired, but knew better than to say anything. He also had to admit that he felt much the same, and once he heard his fiancé's breathing take on a regular tone, he close his own eyes, and let sleep take over. It wouldn't hurt to have a short nap after all.

In the end, they had been asleep for less than an hour when they were woken up again by the sound of voices in the room. They had been hushed, that much was true, but given the numbers involved, the noise level had begun to build up again, and it leaked into the consciousness of both boys. Possibly that was just as well, as the green jelly was halfway up their thighs in the dream that they were both having; worse still, Wes had tried to rescue them and was now up to his knees in it, all the time muttering about why it was even green… Jeff's eyes opened first, and he blearily looked out into the room and saw a sea of blazers at the far side of the room. Although he couldn't make out much of what they were whispering to each other, he gathered that there had been more than one comment about how sweet they looked lying there, side by side. He tightened his grip on Nick's hand slightly, and the increase in pressure was enough to pull him back into wakefulness, as he muttered the words "Don't step in the jelly, Sebastian!" in a low tone.

"Why on earth would I step in the jelly?" came the voice of the boy in question, as beside him Trent began to giggle, wondering what on earth Nick was dreaming about.

That was enough to bring Nick around completely, and he stared at the Warblers as they fully occupied the other side of the room. "Sorry, was having a weird dream, all thanks to something that my other half said to me earlier. I was stuck in the jelly; so were Jeff and Wes, and you came along and were going to try and rescue us. Thing is that it was a man-eating jelly, so I was trying to stop you being eaten too…"

"Ok, they need to change your drugs, because that is seriously strange. If Jeff started it, then they need to change them for both of you," said Trent, with a worried looked on his face. "Anyway, now that we have your attention, I hope that you don't object to all of us skipping class this afternoon to come and pay a visit to the newly engaged couple. As I pointed out to Principal Carmichael, none of them can concentrate after the events of yesterday, and that wasn't going to change until they came and saw you. We promised the nurses that we wouldn't sing, or start making a racket, and they let us all come in at once. So, how on earth did the two of you manage to get them to let you share a room?"

"I just refused to leave Nicky's side, and so they eventually had to cave in," said Jeff with a grin. "They know now that nobody should ever try to separate Niff."

"No-one ever will again, Jeffie," said Nick, with a smile. "We've both made up our minds that from now on, we go everywhere together, as far as it is practical. I mean, realistically, there will be some times when we can't…"

"…but when we can, we will. Although, it occurred to me that if I had let you come to the mall with me yesterday, Nicky, it would have been a very bad thing." Jeff stopped as the others looked at him in confusion. "Well, if there had been two of us when I went into that restroom, the guy might not have attacked, and we would have got into my car, and…"

There was silence as they all knew what he was pointing out, without him needing to spell it out. If Jeff hadn't been attacked, if he had been with Nick, then they would have been on the freeway at the wrong time, and the chances were that they would not have lived to tell the tale. It dampened the atmosphere in the room for a moment, but only for that. Before anyone else could speak, Skylar looked up from his shoes again, and said, "Would you mind Nick if I took a good look at that ring of yours? I'm sure that I'm not the only one that wants a quick peek at it either."

Nick laughed, and beckoned the boy over, extending his right hand. Skylar moved fairly quickly, and smiled at the band of silver that now marked the older boy as Jeff's future husband. It was only a moment before he was surrounded by others desperate for a look at the symbol of future unity. Seth, however, walked over to the other side of the bed, and sat next to Jeff. "I'm so glad that you are still here. When they told me that you had gone, it made me realise just how important you all are to me as friends. I never quite believed the whole concept of the Warbler brotherhood until then. I only hope that once the four of you leave, we can hold the group together in the way that you all have."

Jeff looked at the young man sitting beside him, and smiled. "Trust me, Seth, you already have the power to keep the group together. The whole affair with the steroids was bad; it was the worst thing that has ever happened in Warbler history I think, apart from the whole airship thing back in the day…" he paused as Seth nodded in agreement "…but the thing about it is that afterwards, we all came together and supported each other through the withdrawal; the criticism; the pressure. I know that a lot of the other boys look up to you, and you were there for them when the worst was taking place. Between you and me, I can see you as Head Warbler when the council comes back in your Senior year; I think Skylar will be your deputy, and he will take over the role when you leave for college. You'll all be fine, and the rest of us - and by that I mean Wes, David, Thad, all the old Warblers - will be available to give advice and encouragement, not to mention popping in unannounced when you least expect it! Once a Warbler, always a Warbler really does mean something."

"I know, it's just such a responsibility, carrying on all the traditions, making sure that we get it right…"

"Hey, don't worry about that. We all get things wrong. I mean, look at Wes and his pandering to Blaine, which lead to the whole 'Gap Incident'; Sebastian and the whole affair around Michael Jackson songs i.e. Slushiegate. And then this year… well you know all about that. Just keep the Warblers more about fun than about winning, and you will be ok - trust me on that." Seth nodded. He could see the wisdom in what Jeff was saying. Maybe he could be in charge….

They spent the next two hours after that just talking quietly. There was a lot of conversation about engagements and marriage; about love and relationships, during which there were some pointed glances at the spot where Colin and Edward sat side by side, not that the two of them noticed; and about music in general. As Jeff had surmised, Sebastian began to talk about a rota for pushing Nick about once he returned to Dalton, even though Trent had volunteered his services on a permanent basis, citing the fact that he saw Nick as not only one of his best friends, but also as a brother that he had never had. Admittedly he then had to say that he saw Jeff in the same way to stop any complaints after the latter had put on his best sad puppy face. It had almost beaten Blaine's in the sadness stakes. Sebastian tried the same trick, but Trent didn't bite. Then it was time for the Warblers to head back to Dalton.

When they left, Nick checked the time and realised that it was almost 24 hours to the moment that he had been told that Jeff was dead. Fortunately, it had been a mistake, but events had gotten a little out of control in that time. He felt so lucky; he had cheated death, thanks to his friends. He had the most beautiful fiancé in the world at his side, even if the two of them were bruised and broken at the moment. The love of his sister had been confirmed, and no doubt she would be back soon, ready to be at his side come what may. He knew that his parents would eventually feel obligated to put in an appearance, and he had already resolved that he was going to tell them the truth. If they hated it, then they did - there wasn't much they could do to him in a hospital. He had also realised just how many friends they had. The fact that Kurt, in the depths of his own grief, would run to the hospital to see them… He was sad for him; he had barely known Finn, but he had come good and stepped in at Kurt's side when the chips were down. He couldn't be there for the funeral, that much he knew, but hopefully Jeff could be, for both of them. That was for another day. Just now, all he wanted to do was lie back, his Jeffie by his side and talk nonsense; wedding plans too, as Kurt had been planning his after all for years; and even try and work out what the whole man-eating jelly dream meant.

"You ok, Nicky?" said a voice at his side.

"Yeah, Jeffie. As long as I have you, I will always be ok."

"Me too, Nicky. Me too."

And with that, the two of them lay back, hands held, eyes fixed on each other, as they awaited whatever the next days, months and years would bring.