A/N: The plan is for me to finish up all my In-Progress stories by the end of the year, and start 2012 with completely new fics. That's the plan, but it probably won't happen. Lol. That also means me finishing In the Beginning, No Way Out, and What If by the end of December, and yeah…that's a lot of writing. At this rate, I can knock out Big Time Sick and In the Beginning by the end of December. Maybe I can knock out No Way Out; it only has eight chapters left. What If is what concerns me. That has 32 drabbles to go…Granted, they are just drabbles, but still…Anyways, new fics will be coming from me in 2012. That much I promise you. So keep on voting in the poll on my profile page to determine what fic I'm going to kick off 2012 with.
Disclaimer: I own nothing. Maybe someone can get me partial ownership of Big Time Rush for Christmas though…lol.
Big Time Sick
"Can I go see Logie now?" Carlos whined.
"For the last time, Carlos, I said no!" Sylvia Garcia snapped back, rubbing her temples with her fingers.
She was trying to be patient with her son, but it was just so hard. He would ask something, and a few seconds later, he would ask it again thinking he was asking it for the first time. It wasn't that she was mad at her son; it wasn't his fault his short-term memory wasn't working properly. It was just frustrating. That's all.
"You don't have to yell at me," Carlos muttered.
"I'm sorry, sweetie. It's just it isn't fair. Kendall, James, and Logan are still themselves, but you're…different," Carlos' mom said, lowering her voice.
Carlos reached over and took his mother's hand in his. He smiled brightly at her, already having forgotten that she had just yelled at him.
"No, I'm not, Mama. I'm still me. I'm still Carlos," Carlos responded.
Mrs. Garcia lost it. She broke down and started crying. Her son didn't even think there was anything wrong with him when there clearly was. His blissful ignorance was devastating to her.
"Don't cry, Mama," Carlos said, wiping a tear on his mom's cheek away with his thumb.
Officer Garcia had went to go see Logan after he had received word that he was being taken to a recovery room. Mrs. Garcia couldn't be bothered to go. No one even invited her anyways after hearing about the incident with Logan before his surgery. That was perfectly fine with Sylvia though.
"Can I go see Logan?" Carlos asked.
XXXXX
Officer Garcia, Brooke Diamond, Jennifer Knight, Katie Knight, Kendall Knight, James Diamond, and Joanna Mitchell were in Logan's hospital room to see him. The adults were on one side of Logan's hospital bed while the children were on the other.
Dr. Worthington happened to be passing by when he saw the crowd that had gathered in Logan's hospital room.
"I'm sorry, but there are too many of you in here. Some of you need to leave now. He should only have two visitors at a time," he said.
"You? Sorry? Like you even know what it means to be sorry," Kendall muttered under his breath.
James and Katie snickered. Even the adults cracked a smile at Kendall's remark. Dr. Worthington didn't look too amused though.
"I said it was okay," Dr. Summers said. "After all, Logan is my patient."
"I'm just saying that they shouldn't crowd Logan. It might be too overwhelming for him," Dr. Worthington stated.
"What difference does it make? He's sleeping!"
"I'm just reminding someone of hospital protocol!"
"Well, maybe someone should worry about his own patients, and I'll worry about mine!"
Dr. Worthington was at a complete loss. He wasn't used to people standing up to him, and he certainly wasn't used to people getting the better of him. He convinced himself that Dr. Summers just got lucky. He left without saying another word, steam practically coming out of his ears. James waved bye to him, smirking all the while.
"I'll be right down the hall if you need me," Dr. Summers said before quietly excusing herself.
Logan looked so peaceful laying there in his hospital bed. It somehow made him look smaller and years younger. He looked so innocent and vulnerable, bringing out everyone's protective instincts.
Even though Kendall had proof that Logan was okay right in front of him, he kept thinking about how close they had come to losing Logan. If Dr. Summers hadn't been able to stop the bleeding…They always teased Logan about being so scared of everything, but he didn't hesitate at all when it came to putting his life on the line to save Carlos. Kendall just wished that Logan woke up so he could tell him that.
James felt like a part of him was missing; his better half. Logan completed him. Logan made James a better person. At the very least, he made him want to be a better person. James knew he had his glaring flaws, but Logan didn't seem to mind; Logan still loved him regardless. Logan loved him. James still couldn't get over that. Even after everything they've been through, Logan loved him. And James loved Logan too; more than James loved himself, and James did love himself a lot.
Katie had always thought that Big Time Rush was nothing without James, but after seeing what essentially were three of her four big brothers bomb at their concert, she was starting to question that. Maybe Big Time Rush was nothing without Logan. Or maybe Big Time Rush was nothing unless it was the four of them together as it should be. Katie was filled with regret. She didn't spend as much time with Logan as she did with James and Carlos. She didn't want Logan to think that she didn't care about him as much as Kendall, James, and Carlos because that couldn't be further from the truth. She loved all four of them equally. She just realized that she hadn't always shown that, but she vowed that things would be different from now on.
Mrs. Knight knew that the worst of it was over. Logan had survived the surgery. He had a long road of recovery ahead of him, but he wouldn't have to do it alone. He would be surrounded by people who love him and are willing to help him every step of the way. Mrs. Knight couldn't be more proud of Logan. He had went above and beyond to help his friends; all of his friends. The more she thought about it, the more she realized how ironic it was that out of the four boys, the one who seemed the most different when compared to the other three, the one that seemed like he didn't quite fit in, was the one that was central to their friendship. Mrs. Knight had witnessed that firsthand. When Logan had left, the other three pretty much fell apart.
Mrs. Diamond was so relieved to hear that Logan would be okay. She saw the way her son looked at Logan even when he was still out from all the anesthesia he had been given. Even growing up, James and Logan had been really close. She remembered how James would have at least one of his friends spend the night virtually every weekend growing up. Sometimes, James would even have Kendall, Carlos, and Logan over depending on what plans they had. The boys rotated whose house they spent the night at, but the point was that Logan had been over so much that she had really got to know and care for the boy over the years.
Officer Garcia felt like he owed Logan his life. Had it not been for him, Carlos would more than likely still be on life support or worse. Carlos and Logan had always had a really strong bond with one another. When Officer Garcia thought about it, that would probably explain why Carlos got so upset by Logan's absence. But it wasn't just Carlos that had a strong bond with Logan; James and Kendall did too. Anyone who got to know Logan was fond of him, and Officer Garcia was no exception.
Logan's mom's eyes were red and puffy. She had been crying nonstop ever since Logan had been taken in for surgery. Worried couldn't even begin to describe how she felt as she waited to hear news. Now though she was crying tears of joy. Logan was her pride and joy. Logan was her everything. She had come so close to losing him too. She didn't know what she would have done without him, but she thanked her lucky stars that she would never have to find out.
XXXXX
"Mama, why don't you like Logan?" Carlos asked innocently.
Sylvia was caught off guard by her son's question. As messed up as it was, she thought that because Carlos' memory was all screwy, he would forget all about that. She also didn't think she was being that transparent, but apparently she was.
"What makes you say that, Carlitos?" Mrs. Garcia asked.
"Because whenever I say his name, your face gets all scrunched up and your eyes get all squinty," Carlos answered.
Carlos' mom had no idea how to explain to her son how much heartache Logan had caused him when he left Los Angeles for his own selfish reasons. That had been the most broken up Sylvia had ever seen her son. People might hate her, but she was only trying to protect Carlos from ever having to endure such heartache at the hands of Logan again.
"That's not true," Sylvia lied through her teeth.
"Yes it is. Logan. See? Your face just did it again!" Carlos exclaimed, pointing.
Carlos' mother quickly removed the expression from her face, making it carefully blank instead.
"But Logie saved my life. Aren't you grateful to him for that?" Carlos inquired.
"Of course I am, honey, but…" Sylvia trailed off.
"But what?"
"Don't you remember how sad it made you when he left?"
"Silly. Logie never left us. He's been with us in L.A. the whole time!"
Sylvia Garcia broke down in tears. Her son had no memory of that at all. Of course he wouldn't be mad at Logan. He didn't even remember Logan doing anything wrong.
"What did I say?" Carlos questioned. "I didn't mean to make you sad, Mama."
Carlos didn't like seeing his mother cry. He couldn't figure out why she was so sad. He also didn't understand why she was mad at Logan for some reason. It made him sad though. He hated it when people fought.
Sylvia gathered her son in her arms, kissing him on the forehead before resting her chin on the top of his head.
"Whatever Logie did to make you mad at him, you need to forgive him, Mama. Please? For me?" Carlos asked, pulling away to look up at his mother.
Carlos had always been the most innocent thing ever, but ever since the accident, he had somehow become even more innocent. Sylvia Garcia had no idea that was even possible.
"We'll see, Carlos. We'll see," Mrs. Garcia said, kissing the top of her son's head.
XXXXX
Logan's eyes flew open and he sat ramrod straight, surprising everyone else in the room. Joanna Mitchell gently pushed her son down so that he was back in a reclining position.
"Where's Carlos? Is he okay?" Logan said frantically.
"He's fine. Just take it easy, Logan," Officer Garcia said.
Logan looked around the room and saw the way everyone was looking at him; like he was some kind of hero or something. He hated it. Didn't they remember what he did? One good deed hardly absolves his sins.
"Stop it! Stop looking at me like that!" Logan shouted.
"Like what?" Kendall asked.
Kendall and James traded worried looks with one another when Kendall turned to face James. Everyone in the room was alarmed by Logan's behavior.
"You all should hate me like your wife does!" Logan remarked, looking at Officer Garcia.
"My wife doesn't hate you," Mr. Garcia said slowly and calmly.
Logan scoffed.
"Are you kidding me? She hoped I died in surgery!" Logan retorted.
Joanna Mitchell embraced her son as fresh, hot tears leaked from his eyes. His body shook with sobs, and he hid his face from everyone in the room.
The truth of the matter was this was all wrong. Logan had hoped that he would die in surgery too. Having to endure all of this was worse than dying in Logan's mind. Having everyone idolize him when he didn't deserve it. Having everyone pretend like he hadn't caused them such heartache. Logan couldn't take it. They forgave him apparently even though Logan felt like he didn't deserve their forgiveness.
"She was just worried about Carlos, but now that he's fine…" Officer Garcia started to say.
"I want to see him! I want to see Carlos!" Logan yelled.
He squirmed out of his mother's embrace, and started trying to climb out of his hospital bed. Officer Garcia and James immediately grabbed hold of Logan and tried to wrestle him back down, but it was easier said than done. Logan was bound and determined to go see Carlos right now.
Mrs. Knight pushed the call button. She was no doctor, but she was sure that Logan shouldn't be getting agitated like this after just coming out of surgery. What if his sudden movements reopened his incision?
"Logan, calm down," Officer Garcia said gently.
"You can see Carlos. Just not right now. You just came out of surgery, Logan," James said.
Honestly, James was kind of hurt that the only person Logan seemed to care about right now was Carlos. Did the surgery change how Logan felt about James? Did Logan not love him anymore? He hadn't said so much as a word to James so far. Did he even know he was there?
"No! I want to see him now! Let me see him now! Carlos? Carlos!" Logan screamed at the top of his lungs.
Dr. Summers and some nurses came rushing into the hospital room. The nurses helped hold Logan still as Dr. Summers administered a sedative into Logan's arm. The effect was instantaneous. Logan's eyelids drooped, and soon he was lying perfectly still in a peaceful slumber.
"Get some restraints," Dr. Summers said to one of the nurses.
"Restraints?" Kendall replied incredulously.
"Doctor, is that really necessary?" Mrs. Knight asked.
Joanna Mitchell placed her body over her son as if that would protect him. Everyone else in the room oriented themselves protectively around Logan. This didn't go unnoticed by Dr. Summers.
"It's for his own benefit. We can't have him tearing open his incision," Dr. Summers said, frowning.
"But he's unconscious now! Surely he doesn't need to be restrained while he's sleeping!" Officer Garcia remarked.
"What about when he wakes up, huh? What then? No, it's best if we restrain him now. It's a precautionary measure really."
James was at a loss for words. Here he thought Dr. Summers was a nice doctor. Here he thought she actually gave a damn about Logan. Now she seemed no better than Dr. Worthington! He glared daggers at Dr. Summers, hoping that she noticed too.
The nurse reentered Logan's hospital room with restraints in tow.
"You all have two choices. Either you let us restrain Logan and you can stay or you can leave the room," Dr. Summers said.
James was the first one to get up out of his seat and leave the room, jostling past Dr. Summers on his way out. Kendall was next. Then Officer Garcia. Then Mrs. Knight, followed by Katie. Then James' mom. Finally, in a display of solidarity, Logan's mother left the room too.
"I'm sorry, Logan," Dr. Summers said, a solitary tear trickling down her cheek as she applied the shackles.
To Be Continued…