Hi, everybody! This story is for The Greatest Fear Challenge from the BTR Writers' Support and Plot Adoption Forum, which I was able to run :) For this challenge, authors were asked to write a story about a characters' greatest fear, so I decided to write about Kendall and what I think would be his greatest fear: the fear of losing those he loves or seeing them in pain. A huge thank you to BigTimeRush-BTR for offering to look through this for me and check for any mistakes!

Also, if you want to join the greatest fear challenge, there is still time! This challenge ends on the 31st of August. If you want more information on it, you can go to the forum and find it there, or you can message me. We will also be having a Halloween challenge starting in September and we would love to have you all join :)

The sound of the ambulance is still ringing in his ears, even two hours later, as he sits in the hospital waiting room, head in between his hands. He checks his phone for what seems like the hundredth time, his eyes scanning over the last message he received from James.

We're on our way. We'll be there soon.

That was almost twenty minutes ago, and there still isn't any sign of him, Carlos or Logan. He's alone, in the waiting room – or, alone in the sense that there's nobody else there with him. There's an elderly couple sitting a few feet away from him, a little boy sitting in between them, but he doesn't know them.

He wants his mom. He wants Katie. But they can't be there with him because they're the sole reason he's here to begin with.

"Kendall!"

He looks up at the sound of Carlos' voice. He doesn't register the fact that his feet have guided him towards him, until his body collides with Carlos', arms wrapping around the smaller boy.

It's not long before James and Logan have joined in on the hug as well, their arms embracing him tightly as the tears finally fall.

"What happened?" James asks a moment later as Kendall pulls away from the hug, rubbing at his reddened cheeks.

He's vaguely aware of the presence of someone else close to them, but he doesn't look up as his gaze remains cast downward, glued to his shoes.

"Car accident," he says, hardly managing to get the words out. "Mom, Katie and I were heading home, from going to pick up Katie from school, and I guess… another car collided with ours."

"Wait, so this happened a couple of hours ago?"

Kendall nods slowly.

"Why didn't you tell us sooner?" Logan asks and moves to take a step toward him. "We could've gotten here sooner. Are you hurt? Someone should probably check you out."

Kendall shrugs his shoulders and finally looks up, his eyes red and teary. "I'm fine. I wasn't hurt, just shaken up. And... I don't know. I think… I think I was in shock. And I also didn't want to ruin you guys' evenings."

"Mi amor, you shouldn't have to worry about that," Sylvia, Carlos' mom, says as she steps into view, Carlos' dad following close to her. "We will always be here for you."

A sob slips out as she pulls him toward her. His heart hurts so much. He wants this all to be some kind of sick, twisted nightmare that he can awaken from, not real life.

"She's right, mijo," Manuel, Carlos' dad, says as he hugs him too. "Whatever you need, we'll always be here."

"Thank you." He manages to smile through the tears now swimming in his eyes. "It means a lot. I guess I just… thought I could handle it on my own."

"Well, you're never alone," Carlos says, frowning where he stands. "You're never gonna be alone."

"Have they told you anything?" Logan asks, moving to take a seat on one of the waiting room chairs.

Kendall shakes his head and takes the seat beside him, with Carlos taking the one on the other side, James taking the one that follows, and Carlos' parents taking the ones after James'.

"Just that they had to do emergency surgery on Mom, and that I'd be able to see Katie soon… but that was over an hour ago."

"I'll go and try to find out what's going on," Carlos' dad says and rises from his seat. Kendall watches him go with a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. He's not sure he wants to know what's actually going on. He's too afraid that whatever the doctors have to say about his mom and sister's condition will be bad news.

"They're going to be okay," Carlos tells him reassuringly, placing a hand on top of his shaking one. "Whatever happens, they'll get through it."

He's not so sure he can believe that quite yet, but he gives Carlos a small smile either way and nods his head. The words, although meant to make him feel better, do little to comfort him. He knows that he won't actually feel any better until he knows for sure that his mom and Katie are no longer in harm's way.

There's so much fear built up inside of him, so much dread for what is to come. This is one of his worst nightmares come to life, and he doesn't know what to do to stop the fear from completely taking over.

"Kendall?"

He looks up as Carlos' dad stops in front of him, the expression on his face unreadable.

"Are they okay?" he asks shakily, rising on wobbling legs. He's grateful Logan stands up along with him, because he's sure that if it wasn't for Logan holding onto him by the arm, he would have plummeted to the ground below him.

"Your mom's in a pretty serious condition," he says slowly, his own voice sounding choked up. "They didn't give me full details, but she's out of surgery and is resting in the ICU. They said you can't see her quite yet, but that you can see Katie."

"Is… Is Katie okay?"

"She sustained minor injuries," Manuel says and moves to rest a hand against Kendall's back. "She should be fine, and may even be able to go home by tomorrow."

"But not my-my mom..."

He doesn't feel well.

He feels the hold Logan has on him tighten. He's whispering something in his ear, but Kendall doesn't hear him. His thoughts are too preoccupied with images of his mom lying on a hospital bed, wires and machines all around her, like the ones that can be seen in those medical dramas she likes to watch so much.

"It's going to be okay." Logan's voice finally comes drifting back to him, his hand lightly tugging at Kendall's arm. "Come on."

"Can-Can James and Carlos come too?" Kendall asks, to which Carlos' dad nods his head.

"Of course. Katie may still be asleep, but you can all stay there, until she wakes up."

"Okay." Kendall gives him a small smile, looks back to make sure James and Carlos are following them, and then starts walking alongside him and Logan. He feels unprepared and nervous, and even slightly nauseous, but he forces his feet to move, each step feeling like it's going to end up with the ground suddenly opening up and swallowing him whole.