Chapter 11

Odd.

It was the only way Katie could describe it.

It was odd. Abnormal. Uncharacteristic.

She couldn't think of anything other descriptive words that matched the motionless figure in front of her. It had been unmoving since she had arrived at the place with the others. It had been a few days already.

The doctors had told her mother something, pulling the woman aside to not let the younger ones hear the gruesome details but they could still faintly hear them. "... several bruises… extreme blood loss… concussion… surgery… bullet… it'll be up to him... to wake up…" was what she had been able to hear. Though she was able to get the idea.

Katie remembers looking over to her brother and friends, who had also been listening, and started whispering something she couldn't hear, despite sitting a few chairs from them. After their discussion finished, they looked pretty serious. Logan was the second youngest of the four boys and quite vulnerable when it comes to emotions, so his eyes were red from the silent crying he had done earlier.

James and Kendall were somewhat the same. The preteen knew that the pretty one was trying to keep it together but he couldn't have escaped the shock from when they first saw their injured friend. Kendall was quiet to everyone else except for his friends and occasionally his sister. His expression was blank but his eyes were hardened to not let any weakness pass through.

Katie wanted to be like her brother but failed miserably when her eyes first landed on the boy at the building.

(Flashback)

"Come on! He should be nearby," Logan reported, taking a quick glance at his phone. They had started sprinting when a large explosion came from a few miles away. They had a feeling that their friend was in there, despite not wanting to believe in it. The group slowed down a bit when the refinery came into view. The building was in flames and nearly coming down to rubble. Logan looked back down at his phone and looking back up with worried eyes. "He's in there."

"Let's go," Kendall spoke, his voice hard and commanding, though his eyes swam in worry. They ran to the front open gate and pushed themselves past the fire and policemen.

They stood in a group, trying to find any indication if their friend made it out safe. Their heads bounced in every direction until James had gasped, making them all turn around in that direction. They watched with wide eyes as their bubbly Latino pal carried off in a gurney, his shirt soaking in blood and his face covered in ash and blood.

"Carlos! Oh my god, your bleeding!" Logan snapped them out of their daze with an exclaim. The group followed the medics, sticking by the gurney. They watched as the injured one weakly crack open his eyes but close them right after.

"You're going to be alright, we're here for you," Kendall consulted. Suddenly, their friend's body went completely limp, and rapid beeping from a monitor they put on him suddenly went off. Medics quickly rushed into their ambulance and started working on their friend, using a defibrillator to bring him back.

They all watched in horror as the medics shock the teen multiple times before one of them shake their head and allowed the rest to stop working. Enraged and delusional, Kendall hopped inside the ambulance and screamed at the paramedics to keep trying. His friends agreed with their leader and joined him. James and Kendall fought off some of the medics while Logan tried to resurrect his friend in any way possible.

Katie, who had been standing next to Rich as he was being treated, watched as the police grabbed a hold of them and tried to pry them away while she could only watch them struggle back. The preteen's eyes drifted to the motionless teen, feeling sadness overcome her.

Until she saw his hand twitch.

"Carlos!" She exclaimed, running over to her fallen friend. She watched his expression turned from peaceful to a pained one as he began to become more animated. He let out muffled cries of pain as he forcefully gripped his side where the bullet wound is, which happening to be gushing out even more blood. Katie snapped her neck to the still fighting people. "HEY!"

They all stopped and turned to her. She didn't need to say anything when everyone's eyes landed on the pained Latino, who was letting out pained screams. Instantly, the medics were by his side.

"His wound is getting infected and he's going to go into shock soon!" Logan exclaimed, though he was ignored. Paramedics quickly started putting pressure on the wound and began assessing the situation.

"One of you could come with us," one of them said in a hurry. The boys shared glances before they decided the leader to go. Kendall nodded at the silent decision before hopping inside the ambulance. The other three watch the door close and the ambulance drive away at a high speed.

"Come on!" James exclaimed. They quickly ran back to the Palm Woods, took the BTR mobile, and drove off.

(End Flashback)

Katie shuddered at the memory. At his screams. She had never seen him in so much pain, though she supposes it was a first time for everything. Katie looked to her left.

Kendall, James, and Logan were looking at everything but the figure in front of them. It had been the same since they first came inside. The police decided not to press charges from their earlier actions after Mrs. Knight convinced them that they were "blinded by grief".

Katie remembers Gustavo and Kelly arriving earlier that day, had already been told what had happened to the Latino as well as the entire Palm Woods. Everyone was pretty shocked and upset when they heard the news and eventually word had gotten out to Big Time Rush's fans.

They were beyond saddened and sent gifts to the Latino practically every day so when he wakes, he can plan with his gifts. BTR appreciated the presents however they refused to share any details with the media. Rich had stopped by once earlier to thank the boy band for believing him and allowing him to be free from his captor, but they told him to come back and tell their friend that, to which he agreed.

There was a thought haunting Katie's brain and she feels like the others had the same question- what if he doesn't wake up? She hated that question and more so the answer. Her mind kept reverting to the filler answer of "Everything will be okay! He'll wake up and everything will go back to normal" but she knows how unrealistic it would be.

"We're going to have to keep an eye on him when he wakes up," Logan suddenly spoke, though it was quiet yet loud enough to hear. They all turned to him slightly then continue to look back to their original spots. "Based on what they treated him, he'll have to take short walks, not lift anything heavy, take some medicine to pacify his wound, and maybe even some therapy. It would be normal if he has mood swings varying from anger to depression, or anxiety. He'll also start having nightmares again so we'll need to keep stay with him when he rests."

"...We'll be there for him every step of the way," Kendall curtly nodded. His eyes glanced at the genius but nothing more.

"When will he wake up?" Katie asked, making everyone stare at her with the deadest eyes she had ever seen. It made it even more unsettling when they turned to her at the same time.

"Doctor said he'll wake up when he wants to," James mumbled. "Stupid. I mean, why wouldn't he want to wake up? We're all worried."

"The doctor means that Carlos needs time for his body to heal," Logan clarified. "But it shouldn't be long. Don't worry Katie, soon our little Carlitos will be up and talking to us again."

"I sure hope s-" Katie stopped her talking as her eyes landed on the body in front of her. The boys raised eyebrows and focused their attention on the body as well. Their eyes traveled from the bottom up until they all froze when they saw wide brown eyes staring directly at them.

For a split second, they were creeped out. That was quickly replaced by joy and relief.

"Carlos!" They all exclaimed, standing up from their chairs. The noise made the boy wince.

"God, we were so worried," James let out a relieved laugh, placing a hand over his heart.

"You almost gave us a heart attack," Logan smiled.

"You have no idea how glad we are to see you awake," Kendall followed. He placed a light hand on his friend's shoulder, though retracted it when the boy flinched. Everyone furrowed his eyebrows.

"What's wrong?" Katie spoke up. Carlos looked at her and hesitantly opened his mouth.

"Hot," he rasped, then going into a coughing fit. Logan quickly grabbed a bottle of warm water from the side and helped the teen drink it. Once the teen was satisfied, he looked back at the girl. "You're not hurt?" He asked in a clearer voice.

"No, thanks to you and Rich," she smiled at his concern. Carlos looked back at his friends. There was a pause.

"I'm sorry," he told them, getting quite a shocked reaction.

"What do you mean? You have nothing to be sorry for!" Kendall lightly exclaimed.

"I'm sorry for being mean to you guys for those three weeks, and I'm sorry for saying that word to you Kendall," he looked down. Kendall sighed.

"Dude, you have nothing to be sorry for. You were under a lot of pressure and as for that word, I deserved it after I hit you, so I should be sorry," he said sincerely, making the teen look back up. "And I want to thank you for taking care of Katie- it really shows us how responsible you are."

He smiled.

"So, uh, when can I get out of here?" Carlos asked. He tried to sit up but immediately regretted it as he wrapped his arm around his abdomen. "Ow."

"Easy," James helped the Latino back down. "You are not going anywhere for a few more days."

He pouted. "Have you seen this room, James? It's so boring that it could even make chess look fun. There isn't a TV in here!"

"But~" Katie sang. She stepped aside to expose a stack of gifts making the Latino's eyes lit up with glee and curiosity. "Fans heard what happened and sent you get well soon gifts."

"Gimme," he whispered as outstretched his hands like a child. They laughed at his child-like personality. They sure did miss it.

"Not until the doctor comes in and checks upon you. Then you could get a toy," Kendall smiled. He went out of the room to grab a nurse. Logan went to look at the monitors and was happy that Carlos didn't need any tubes stuck inside him- well, he had it earlier but after the doctors and nurses concluded that he could breathe on his own, they took it out.

James grabbed a plush from the basket and examined the creature. It was an averaged sized grey elephant. It was soft, fluffy, and made for kids. James looked up from the toy and locked eyes with the Latino's.

James knew Carlos wanted the elephant.

Carlos knew Carlos wanted the elephant.

It was a battle that James was put in. Either put the elephant back and wait until Kendall returns or give it to his friend. Then, what James really hated, was for the teen to pout his lip with the biggest puppy dogs even he could manage. James didn't stand a chance before he sighed and gave the teen the stuffed animal.

He smiled as Carlos hurriedly snatched the elephant and buried his face into the soft fur. As would a child.

Kendall had come back with the doctor, his eyes landing on the elephant his friend had. He deadpanned at James, who quickly looked away and began whistling. Kendall rolled his eyes as the doctor cleared his throat, grabbing the attention of everyone.

"Mr. Garcia seems to be doing fine though has a road of recovery to be near the way he used to," the doctor reported. "Where he was originally shot-"

Carlos flinched and hugged his toy harder.

"-his large intestine seemed to have been the main artery that was effected but was taken care of in surgery. He'll need to rest regularly, not push himself so much though get enough exercise to work his blood clots and help heal faster. He'll also need to go onto a dietary plan, such as no heavy foods. You mentioned that he works in the musical industry- he can sing until he tires himself out before he causes pain but no dancing is permitted as it might re-open his wound… Um, let's see… ah yes. Mr. Garcia, do you feel anything out of the ordinary? Like what you usually wouldn't feel?"

"I feel really hot and my stomach is hurting," he shrugged a bit, before burying himself in his elephant again.

"As I thought, the 'hot' feeling is because of the residing thought of being in the fire," the doctor notified. "It is a physiological effect on his brain. That event at the refinery is seen as a traumatic event for him so the fire would be his natural fear at this current time. Therapy is the best chance to recover and lighten his fear of the element."

"Thanks, doctor," Logan nodded, allowing the man to leave the room.

"I don't want to do therapy," Carlos pouted. He face then twisted to a mix between disgust and anger. "Crazy people do therapy."

"Well, if you want to recover faster and not have a constant fear of fire, then you need it," the genius shrugged with one shoulder as he sent an apologetic smile to the teen, but the wounded one didn't seem comforted. He smiled though, not wanting his friends to be putting up with his nonsense.

Though he was able to keep up the act as he deadpanned a moment later. "I'm not afraid of fire," he laughed nonchalantly. He rolled his eyes a bit. "The doctor has it all wrong! If anything, I'm afraid of being stuck here in this room for another minute."

"How about this," Kendall spoke up. "We can do a stay-home therapy sessions every month so you'll be comfortable and not be with random strangers-"

"-Crazy people," Carlos preferred. Kendall smiled a bit.

"But you'll have to tell us what's going on in that Garcia head of yours. That is until you feel better. Deal?"

Carlos lifted his chin and narrowed his eyes, thinking the plan over. There seemed to be a long pause because Katie checked her watch and sighed in slight annoyance.

"How about the guys join you in your private therapy sessions?" Before any of the others could protest, Carlos had already agreed to the deal. They facepalmed at the idea of four guys sitting in a circle and talking about their feelings. They turned when Carlos yawned fairly loudly.

"Get some rest 'Los," James whispered, seeing the boy's eyes droop. When soft snores admitted into the room, they smiled at their peaceful friend and let the Latino be, leaving to the Palm Woods to notify everyone that he was awake.

The End