I didn't leave Scott's side for several hours. Nurse Green came into the room to check on Scott periodically. At some point she suggested that I eat dinner. I wasn't hungry, so I stayed where I was. It was during the early hours of the night that she came in with good news for me.

Mr. Nash, there are people here to see you.

I asked anxiously. I knew that it had to be the rest of the Kliq.

At the nurses' station.

I said and practically ran out to meet them.

When I got there, the three of them were trying their best to pry information about Scott from the nurses. Sean spotted me first and rushed over to hug me. Within seconds, Shawn and Hunter were running towards me. Shawn all but shoved Sean out of the way to hug me. Hunter never got a chance to wrap his arms around me before Shawn starting firing question after question about Scott.

He's in pretty bad shape, I said and led them down the hall to Scott's room.

We got in the room and I went directly back to me position at Scott's side. As soon as Sean saw Scott he stopped in his tracks. His jaw sort of fell and his eyes filled with tears. He quickly composed himself and sat in another blue chair that was in the room. He didn't move the chair closer to Scott, though.

Hunter saw Scott and his hands flew to his face and he fell to his knees on the floor. Shawn followed Hunter into the room, and I could tell that he was shaken by the sight. However, he dropped to the floor and wrapped his arms around his sobbing lover.

Shawn left Hunter to drag the two remaining chairs to the other side of Scott. Then, he guided Hunter to his seat. Somehow, Shawn managed to hold Hunter while they were in two separate chairs.

When Hunter's sobs became less forceful, Shawn started to ask questions. I told them what I knew, and then we fell into a peaceful silence. Eventually, the others fell asleep. Hunter and Shawn used each other as pillows, while Sean had curled up in his chair.

I couldn't sleep. I sat and talked to Scott. I kissed his hand and told him how much I loved him and how I needed him to be okay. I reminded him of the great times we had together. I just kept talking until my tears got the better of me and I was forced to cry instead.

The room was quiet, except for the machines that were keeping Scott alive, when the sun began to spill through the window. The bright light woke Sean up. After a few minutes of groaning and stretching, he opened his eyes and looked at Scott and me.

Has he waked up? he asked me.

I just shook my head. Scott had been unconscious for a very long time. It couldn't be good.

Maybe the TV will help, Sean said.

It sounded like a good idea. I could definitely use the distraction, too. So, I picked the remote up off the small table beside the bed and handed it to Sean.

He had to move closer to Scott in order to see the television. He did so and started flipping through the channels. Sean found country music videos and kept it there, because that's Scott's favorite kind of music.

The sounds from the TV woke Hunter and Shawn up. They stretched and yawned. Shawn checked Scott for any changes. When he found none, he looked at me.

he said and I looked up at him. You look terrible. Did you get any sleep? he asked with worry.

I just shook my head.

You stayed up all night? Kevin, you need some sleep.

I didn't say anything, but Sean told him to leave me alone. Shawn heavily sighed and said, I'm hungry. I'll go down to the cafeteria and get us some food. And you're definitely eating, Kev.

Shawn got up and headed to the cafeteria with Hunter following him. Sean, Scott, and I were left in the room which was absolutely silent aside from the sounds of the machines helping to keep Scott alive and a quiet sad song on the TV.

My hand was still entwined in Scott's. Our hands fit perfectly together, just like the rest of our bodies and our hearts. I remembered what Scott's hands felt like when they were running through my hair and when they were racing across every inch of my skin when we made love. Scott's hands were so strong, yet so gentle.

Shawn and Hunter returned with their hands full of stuff. Shawn got himself a few cheap waffles soaked in butter and syrup, a banana, and a cup of coffee. Hunter had some sort of fruit-filled cereal and milk. They brought Sean a pack of cherry Pop-Tarts, a big chocolate donut, and chocolate milk. They got me a plastic bowl of Cheerios with milk and some orange juice.

I wasn't really hungry, but I ate all of my cereal to make Shawn happy. I drank only a little bit of the orange juice; God only knows how long that had been sitting in the hospital's storage. Sean ate his breakfast like he hadn't eaten in weeks. Hunter ate his rather quickly, too. Shawn ate most of his, but complained about how terrible cafeteria food is the whole time.

Shortly after we finished our meal, Dr. Jones came in to check on Scott. I had to let go of Scott and move out of the doctor's way so he could do his job. As soon as he stepped away, I resumed my position at Scott's side.

Is he getting any better? I asked.

No, he's not, Dr. Jones admitted. However, he's not any worse, either.

The fact that he wasn't better is what struck with me. Not being worse didn't really make me feel good. I just wanted Scott to get better.

Well, when is he going to wake-up? Shawn asked.

There's no way of knowing that, but he's been unconscious for such a long period of time that he is considered to be in a coma, Dr. Jones informed us.

At the mention of the word coma' my stomach lurched into my throat and my heart raced with fear. He said that Scott wasn't getting any worse, but telling us that Scott was comatose made it seem a million times worse. That news just devastated us.

Dr. Jones spoke again, Just remember that Scott can suddenly come back. A coma doesn't mean that he's not going to get better. Stay positive. With that, he left to check on his other patients.



TBC