Hey, guys! I'm sorry it took me so long to upload this chapter, especially considering how the last one ended. In this chapter, you'll finally get to see things from Carlos' perspective, and let's just say... it may not be what you're expecting, yet.

I hope you enjoy.

He can hear voices around him, feel the weight of something lightly being pressed against his forehead, but it's for such a brief moment that he almost thinks he has imagined it. There's a voice saying something close by, and it feels like it's being said directly to him, but his brain is so fuzzy, he has trouble making out what it is that the person's saying. The voices around him sound muffled, unrecognizable. He desperately wants to say something in response, but it's as if his mouth has been glued shut. His lips don't part; no noise comes out.

It's not long before the voices around him are gone and everything goes almost completely silent. The only noise he can make out around him is that of an annoying beeping sound that won't stop, no matter how much he wishes that it would. There's no noise indicating that there is anybody around him, but he can sense the presence of someone close by, even if he can't hear or physically feel them.

There's a weight on his chest a moment later. He tries opening his mouth again, but is unsuccessful. He then tries opening his eyes, but his eyelids feel like they each weigh a ton.

Despite this, he doesn't give up.

He tries again, and again, and again. Until finally, his eyelids part slightly, and he's met with a blinding white light that forces him to close his eyes again. He leaves them closed for a few seconds, before opening them once more, this time a bit wider than before. He groans at the light coming from somewhere above him, and the weight on his chest is all of a sudden gone.

"Carlos?"

He recognizes that voice.

"Oh my God. Carlos—Carlos, can you hear me?"

Another groan slips past his lips. It takes him a moment, but his eyes then shift in the direction of where the voice is coming from. There, sitting beside him, is Logan, with tears rolling freely down his face.

What's going on?

What happened?

Where am I?

Why are you crying?

These are all questions he wants to ask, but no matter how hard he tries, he is unable to form one single word. Suddenly, he's very much aware of the sensation of there being something in his nose. He attempts to reach for it, but as he does, he realizes that his hand feels extremely heavy. He's only able to lift it about an inch, before the heaviness becomes too much and he's forced to put it back down.

"Hey, it's okay," Logan is saying, his hand now holding his in a gentle grip. "Everything's gonna be alright, just try not to move."

He hears voices in the distance, which soon get closer and closer. His eyes are locked on Logan's, until Logan is forced to move out of the way, his fingers slipping from Carlos'. There are now other people around him – people he does not recognize or thinks he has ever seen in his life.

"W-wh—"

"Carlos, can you hear me?" There's a woman in front of him that he can barely make out because she is holding what appears to be a flashlight in front of his eyes. "If you can hear me, can you blink twice for me, please?"

It is after a moment that he blinks twice.

"Okay, good."

The flashlight is set down, and his eyes meet dark brown ones. The woman appears to be around her late thirties, with dark brown skin and curly black hair that is pulled back in a ponytail. She gives him a small, warm smile as their eyes meet, before grabbing the chair Logan had previously been sitting on and taking a seat.

Shifting his gaze to the right, he sees another woman and a man, who are both wearing scrubs. Taking in their appearance, he realizes he must be in the hospital.

The woman sitting beside him scoots the chair closer to his side, takes the clipboard the other woman is now holding out to her, and places her hand on top of his.

"Hi, Carlos. My name is Dr. Walker. Emilia Walker," the woman says, her smile slowly fading. "You are in the hospital. Do you remember what happened? You can blink twice for 'yes' and once for 'no.'"

He blinks once, trying to take in the information she has just given him.

Dr. Walker gives his hand a small squeeze, pressing her lips tightly together. "You were in an accident nine days ago," she says after what appears to be a moment of hesitation, her voice softening. "You've been unresponsive for all of those nine days, because when the accident happened, you were hurt pretty badly. You hit your head, broke one of your legs and a couple of ribs."

She pauses then as his eyes go wide and his mouth opens and closes, but no words come out. He feels like he might be sick.

"You're getting better, and with therapy, you should be able to use your leg like before, but we need to keep monitoring you for the time being."

Despite her reassuring words, he feels his chest tighten. If I was in an accident, then why can't I remember?

"It might take a while for your memory to come back," she says, as if having read his mind. "Your motor skills, too, due to the blow you received to your head, as well as the fact that you just woke up from a coma. This is normal, but I can understand if you're scared."

He feels his eyes well up with tears. Everything is fuzzy and he feels disoriented. He doesn't understand what's happening – doesn't understand how he ended up here.

After asking him a few more questions and jotting down the answers on the paper attached to her clipboard, the doctor rises from her seat, her expression unreadable.

"You have family and friends that have been waiting for you to wake up. They've really missed you. Your friend, Logan, is here, and I think your parents are too. I can have them come in, if you'd like to see them."

A few seconds tick by before he blinks twice, feeling confused, lost and paralyzed by fear.

"Alright. I'll come in to check up on you in a bit, okay?" Dr. Walker says, pressing a hand to his shoulder. He watches her and the other two nurses walk out of the room, and lets his eyes drift shut for a moment.

A few minutes later, the door opens and his parents walk in, their faces looking ashen, exhausted, with blood-shot eyes and weak smiles.

Logan's hands are shaking as he exits Carlos' hospital room and reaches for his phone. His mind is reeling – this moment does not feel real. He finds Kendall's contact and calls him then, waiting impatiently for it to stop ringing and for Kendall's voice to come from the other end.

"Hello?"

"K-Kendall," he chokes out, his eyes tearing up. "Kendall, you're not gonna believe it, but Carlos—"

"What happened to Carlos?" Kendall cuts him off in a panic. "Did he—"

"Carlos is awake," Logan says tearfully. "He's awake."

"He–He what?"

"He woke up." Logan's surroundings become a giant blur of colors and unrecognizable shapes morphed together. He has to lean against the wall to stop his knees from giving out from underneath him.

"When? How? The doctors said—"

"A few minutes ago," Logan responds. "I don't know how, but one of the doctors is inside right now."

He hears rustling in the background, followed by Kendall shouting something that's out of earshot. The background is then filled with a commotion of voices, before Kendall gets back on the phone and says, "We'd just left the hospital. We'll be right there."

"Okay," he says, before ending the call and stuffing the phone back into his pocket. He paces in front of the hospital room for a while, his hands tangled in dark brown strands of hair, feeling antsy and relieved, but also slightly shaken up. They had hoped for a miracle, and somehow, they had gotten it. It's something that's hard to process, even though he had seen Carlos awake with his own two eyes not even five minutes before.

"Logan!"

Kendall and James are rushing to his side, Carlos' parents, Katie, and Mrs. Knight following closely behind them.

"He's awake? Is it true?" Sylvia says as she comes to a stop in front of Logan, her cheeks looking damp and hands shaking in front of her.

He nods his head, unable to speak. He swallows hard, reaching for the wall again to steady himself.

The door beside him suddenly swings open, and out walk two nurses and the doctor that had entered the room when he'd been forced to wait outside. The nurses hardly glance in their direction as they walk past them to attend to other patients, but the doctor stops in front of them, clipboard in her hand.

"Hi," she says, having met them all on different occasions when Carlos' primary doctor had been gone for the day. "As I'm sure you already know, Carlos is finally awake." Her smile is wide, but there's something about it that makes Logan's heart sink in his chest.

"Can we see him?" Antonio asks, relief evident on his face.

"Of course." The smile on her face slowly vanishes, her hand moving to rest on Sylvia's shoulder when her eyes start welling up with tears. "But, before you go in there," she says, looking at Sylvia, and then at Antonio, "I want to give you both a warning." She then surveys the group of seven and smiles slightly, with her lips pressed firmly together. "Give all of you a warning."

"Is something wrong?" Logan asks, even though it's evident by her change of tone and facial expression that something is definitely wrong. "He's–He's not responsive, is he?"

"Not completely," Dr. Walker says, biting softly on her lower lip. "He can hear you and he can understand, from what I've gathered, but it seems his motor skills are taking a bit longer to function as they normally do."

"What does that mean?" James asks, his eyebrows knitting together. "He will get them back eventually… right?"

"We think so, but as it is often with these cases, nothing is known for sure quite yet."

"How long will it be until we know?" Antonio asks, his hands moving to rest on Sylvia's shoulders.

"Could be days, weeks—"

"Weeks?"

"I'm sorry," Dr. Walker says, and she actually does look sorry. "I know that's probably not what you were expecting to hear. But, this is normal for patients who have been in a coma, so I wouldn't worry about it too much, especially taking Carlos' age into consideration, as well as the amount of time he was in a coma. He's strong, and I'm confident he'll make a full recovery."

"Is… Is that all?" Sylvia asks, looking more shaken up by the minute.

"There's one more thing… Due to the blow Carlos received to his head, it seems he does not remember what happened. But, as with his motor skills, it could take some time for him to remember the incident."

"So, what are we supposed to do?" This time, it's Kendall who has spoken. "Act like what he did never happened? Like-like he didn't try to kill himself?"

"If I were you, I would just be careful with what you say to him," the doctor tells him. "And be patient with him. I know you all probably have questions about what happened, but it's best not to overwhelm him."

"Okay." Sylvia dabs at her eyes with a tissue and looks up at the doctor. "Can we see him now?"

"Yes, go ahead," she says and opens the door, allowing Sylvia and Antonio to walk inside. She turns to the others then, a forced smile coming to her face. "You can all go in after them, maybe just two or three at a time, so that he doesn't become overwhelmed."

"Thank you," Mrs. Knight says as she wraps an arm around Katie's shoulders, who is pressed to her side with her arms wrapped tightly around herself.

"Of course." The doctor smiles, before walking past them and disappearing down a corner.

"Carlos, mi amor." Carlos watches as his mom takes a seat next to his hospital bed, while his dad takes the one on the opposite side. "Baby, we're so glad you're awake. We love you so much." She's crying, tears rolling freely down her cheeks. He feels his heart constrict at the sight of them. He doesn't understand why she's crying, or what exactly happened for him to end up in the hospital, but he feels like it's somehow his fault.

"M-Ma—" He feels tears of frustration well up in his eyes, his throat tightening. "M-Mami."

His mom's eyes widen as he speaks, her hand pressing against his. He wants to reach out and wipe away the tears streaming down her face, but he only manages to give her hand a small squeeze before he too starts to cry. The tears come silently, his hand shaking where it's being held in between both of hers.

"Pa-Papi." He turns to his dad then, his other hand opening and closing multiple times before his dad gets the hint and takes ahold of it as well. "W-what—"

"You were in an accident, mijo," Antonio says, exhaling heavily. "Do you not remember any of what happened?"

Carlos shakes his head slightly, the movement making him dizzy. He licks at his dry lips and swallows hard. The tears won't stop coming. "C-car acci-dent?" he asks, his voice breaking.

Beside him, his mom lets out a sob. The hold on his hand tightens as she leans forward and presses her lips to his knuckles. "Oh, baby…"

"Something like that," Antonio says, his voice wavering, but Carlos doesn't hear him. His eyes are locked on his mother, who can't even seem to look him in the eye. He feels his stomach churn at the realization.

"Don't-Don't cry." He feels his own body quake with sobs. "M-Mami, I'm… I'm sorry."

"Mijo, it's okay," Antonio says, laying a hand on his shoulder to comfort him. "You just… you scared us." The hand on his shoulder disappears as Antonio uses it to wipe under his eyes. "We're just happy you're alive. We love you so much. We couldn't bear to lose you."

"Te amo, mi amor," his mother says, pressing her palm against his dampened cheek. "Never forget that, okay?"

He nods and watches as she stands from the chair, his dad following her lead.

"We're gonna step out for a bit so that the boys can come see you, but we'll be right back, alright?"

"O-okay," he says as he feels the hold his mom had on his hand slip away. He watches as the two of them walk out of the room, and soon, three familiar faces are standing in the doorway.

James feels frozen. He's standing behind Kendall and Logan, and it's as if all the air in his lungs has been sucked right out of his body. Carlos is there, in the hospital bed, just as he has been for the past week and two days, only this time, his eyes are open and he's saying something, or trying to say something – James isn't sure which of the two it is because this doesn't feel real. For the past nine days, he had wished that Carlos would wake up, but he didn't think that it would actually happen.

A hand all of a sudden takes ahold of his, snapping him out of his frozen state. Looking down, he realizes that it's Kendall who is holding onto him with an iron grip.

He squeezes Kendall's hand back, and then takes ahold of Logan's, before walking towards the hospital bed on wobbly legs. He feels himself sink into a chair but doesn't even remember walking towards it. He grabs Carlos' hand, his hand momentarily freezing as his fingers brush against the bandages wrapped around Carlos' wrist. He suddenly feels very nauseous and light-headed.

"Hey, buddy." Logan takes the chair on the other side of Carlos, pulling Carlos' right hand into both of his. "God, Carlos, we've missed you so much."

James is shaking, literally shaking. His knee won't stop bouncing up and down, and he feels like he's on the verge of having an anxiety attack. He doesn't know where these feelings are coming from, and he doesn't know what to think. He thought that once Carlos woke up, he would be happy and relieved – and of course he is – but he also feels extremely on-edge and petrified.

He jumps slightly in his seat as two hands come into contact with his shoulders. He's about to turn around when Kendall kneels down next to his chair, using his thumb and index finger to turn James' head in his direction.

"Hey, you okay?" he whispers, his eyes locked with James'.

James opens his mouth to speak, but no words come out. Instead, he lets out a dry sob and throws himself into Kendall's unawaiting arms, gasping for air, even though the room seems to be empty of it.

"It's okay," Kendall says in his ear, his hand rubbing up and down James' back. "It's okay, just breathe."

He tries to do as Kendall says, but he feels like he has lost touch with reality. The room around him is rapidly caving in on him.

"J-James."

He freezes and slowly turns in the direction of the voice, where Carlos is staring at him with a pained expression on his face.

"It's–it's okay, James," he says as a tear rolls down his cheek and onto his hospital gown. "I'm… I'm okay."

But he's not okay. He's so far from okay, and James knows it.

"Carlos." He detaches himself from Kendall's body, blindly finds his way back into the chair, his chest feeling tight and head feeling heavy. His hand finds Carlos' again, his fingers tightening around his knuckles. "I'm... I'm sorry, Los."

Carlos shakes his head, his gaze moving towards the ceiling and away from any of them. The room is quiet for a moment, before Carlos turns back to look at him, his eyes wet and red. "I'm sorry," he chokes out. "I-I never meant… I never meant to hurt a-any of you."

So, Carlos doesn't remember what happened quite yet, but he will very soon, and when he does, well… let's just say it won't be pretty. I also know I didn't give much insight into what the boys are thinking now that he's awake, in this chapter, but that will definitely be explored in the next one.

Thank you for reading. I would love to hear what you all thought of this chapter. :)

~ BigTimeRush-BTR :)