A/N I don't really know what to say except… Merry Christmas everybody

James was in a coma. It was fever induced. The doctors were doing everything they could to get his high temperature down, but James' body was having a hard time fighting the tough infection. His doctor explained this to Kendall and Logan, who had finally calmed down enough to come back to the waiting room for an update on their best friend's condition.

"Is he getting worse?" Logan asked the doctor softly.

"No, but he's not getting any better. His fever hasn't moved since he's come in. Usually I see some kind of improvement in patients on the same kind of medication that he is on, but I haven't seen any yet. Just keep praying, boys." With a small smile, the doctor gave them a nod and walked away.

Kendall huffed and rubbed his forehead, feeling a headache coming on.

"Are you okay?" Logan asked, studying his friend. As worried as he was for James, he forgot that Kendall and Carlos were probably exhausted. They had a long concert followed by finding James near death. It now the middle of the night, and they were still at the hospital. Logan admitted to himself that if it weren't for the adrenaline still pumping through his veins, he would be passed out by now.

"Hmm? Yeah, I'm fine. Well, as fine as I can be knowing James is in their suffering all alone…" Kendall trailed off, trying to force the thoughts away. He could feel the familiar burn of Logan's concerned eyes on him, and he turned to face the brunet. "What, Logan?"

"You're not fine."

"I'll be okay once James is okay."

"We need to go home, get some sleep," Logan said.

"No. I'm not leaving him here, Logan. It's bad enough I can't be in there with him. I'm not leaving."

Logan frowned. There would be no use in arguing with Kendall. He wouldn't think of leaving the hospital until James did, but Logan worried that if they didn't get any sleep soon, it wouldn't be long until all 4 of them were laid up in a hospital bed.

"Where's Carlos?" Kendall asked suddenly, realizing he hadn't seen him in a while. Logan's heart dropped. They had abandoned their youngest friend after being blinded by emotions. He could be anywhere, and he probably wasn't happy.

"I don't know. He was here in the waiting room when we left…"

"He'll turn up soon, right? Maybe he just needed to cool down just like we did."

"Yeah, Carlos isn't a little kid anymore. He'll show up when he's ready," Logan reasoned, but it didn't help the extra pang of worry in his stomach. Right now he wanted all of his friends to be together.

Their questions were answered a few seconds later, when the double doors to the hallway opened up and there was Carlos, being pulled along by the arm, James' doctor in the lead.

Logan breathed a sigh of relief. "Carlos! What are you doing?'

Carlos looked down with shame. "I tried to see James."

Logan apologized to James' doctor and tugged Carlos down into a seat. Kendall glared at him.

"Carlos, we were freaking out. Where did you go?" Kendall demanded. "This isn't the time for you to play games and act like a child. Do you want to get us kicked out of here?"

"I needed to see him, Kendall!" Carlos defended, his voice rising slightly in pitch. "What if he wakes up and we aren't in the room? He'd be scared. You know how James gets. Besides, running away all emotional and leaving me alone while I'm worried sick about my best friend isn't very mature of you either, is it? I had no idea when you guys would be back or if you were even okay. We need to stick together after what happened tonight."

"He's right," Logan spoke up, a bit surprised by Carlos' rant. "We shouldn't have left you, buddy. And we do need to stay together, or else we'll fall apart one by one. We are only strong as a unit, and James needs us right now."

"I agree," Kendall said. "But right now, you and Carlos need go."

"What?" The shorter pair asked in unison.

"Logan, you're worried about me, right? Obviously I'm worried about you and Carlos, and for the same reasons. You both need to go home and get some rest for a few hours. I will stay here and call if I hear anything about James. I promise."

"But what about you?" Carlos asked, noticing for the first time how dull Kendall's green eyes were. "You're tired, too."

"I'll be okay. I'll catnap while I wait. But the only one I can feel at least a little bit better about all this is if I know you two are taking care yourselves. Get some sleep and eat something. Come back in the morning."

"Only if you're sure," Carlos said, feeling a bit uneasy about leaving James and Kendall in the hospital all night.

"Carlos, you're exhausted. We can't be here for James if we are too tired. Kendall will call us and we come right over if James wakes up."

Carlos finally nodded. As much as he wanted to stay, he was comforted by the thoughts of a warm bed and something to eat.

The trio stood up to say their goodbyes, and Kendall was the first to lean forward and wrap both of his small friends in his long arms. He held their warm bodies against his chest for a little bit longer than usual, listening to their steady breaths. They were alive and well, and Kendall felt even more protective over Carlos and Logan now more than ever before.

After several moments, Kendall reluctantly released them. Logan's heart broke at the despair in his watery green eyes. He didn't know what to say or how to fix this. He only knew that unless James made it through this, they would never be the same again.

A/N Thanks for reading, everybody. I'm really sorry it has been so long. So much has happened this year but I wanted to be sure to give you all a Christmas present. Love you guys.