As usual... we disclaim. Oh, and Rocky can feed jello to Katy anytime he wants.

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Lilian frowned, shoving the last few personal items of hers into her duffel bag, not even bothering to make sure her clothes were folded neatly.

"So, Lilian, how are you feeling?" She spun around when she heard Dr. Andrew's voice, smiling tightly for the doctor, waving her hand side to side to let him know she felt okay. "Any pain in your throat?" he asked, bringing his hands up to her throat, gently massaging the area. Lilian shook her head. "Open wide," he instructed, peering down her throat.

He nodded his approval. "Still red and swollen, but that's expected," Dr. Andrews finally said. "So for the next five days you aren't going to talk, right?" Dr. Andrews asked, crossing his arms slightly and smiling at the blonde.

Lilian shook her head again, giving Dr. Andrews what she hoped was an innocent smile. "Okay, I'll see you on Monday, then."

She smiled again and then walked out of the room. Letting out a huge sigh, she leaned against the wall and headed off the nurses station so one of them could call a cab for her.

"Need a ride?"

Lilian turned to see Dwayne standing there dressed in a pair of jeans and gray t-shirt with some sort of band logo printed on it. She glared at him. Shaking her head, she gave him the finger, trying not to break Dr. Andrew's rules already, at least not in the hospital.

Dwayne frowned. "Lil," he said, walking towards her. "Please, just let me take you home so you can save some money. I will drive real careful so I don't hurt your throat. I'll take you wherever you need to go. If you want something to drink, just let me know and we'll make a stop."

She scoffed and shook her head again. Lilian turned to the nurse's station, only to have Dwayne step in front of her. "She won't be needing a cab," Dwayne spoke up, smiling at the nurse on duty.

"Okay," the nurse said, all but melting at the megawatt smile Dwayne sent her way. Lilian turned back to Dwayne, glaring at him sharply. He simply ignored her look, placing a light hand on her shoulder, shaking his head when she shrugged his hand off, leading the way to the elevator.

"Can I at least carry your bags?" Dwayne asked, rolling his eyes when Lilian again flipped him off. "I take it that's a no," he muttered, jabbing the button for the ground floor.

He led the way out of the building, taking Lilian's bag from her. She opened her mouth to snap at him, remembering that she wasn't supposed to speak. Instead, she settled on an indignant look. "Wait here, Lil. I'm going to go get the car," Dwayne said.

She briefly considered running away, but remembered that her apartment keys were in the bag. Oh, well, she could always kick him out later…

He opened her door, attempting to help her inside. Lilian took notice of the way his jeans fit just right on him when he walked around the front of the car to the driver's side.

"Do you want anything before I take you home?" He looked over at her, starting the ignition.

Lilian shook her head, not bothering to face him.

"How are you feeling?" he asked once the car was pulled out on the street.

She shrugged. She felt fine, the pain pills were working wonders, on her mouth that is. Something about the medicine wasn't sitting right with her stomach. Lilian tried to push the gnawing pain to the back of her mind.

Seeing that she didn't want to really communicate, Dwayne sighed, focusing on the busy New York traffic. He couldn't stand the silence, so he flipped on the radio, turning to a rock station. A song by Guns and Roses came on, Dwayne singing softly along.

She glared at him, but he was oblivious to her look. How could he forget that singing in the car was something she really enjoyed… something that she couldn't do thanks to the surgery. 'Insensitive jerk,' she thought, bringing her attention back to the road.

'Oh, God,' she thought, her hand flying to her mouth when she felt the bile rising up her throat. "D, stop, please," she croaked out.

He looked over and gasped. Quickly, he jerked the car over to the shoulder of the road just in time for Lilian to swing the door open.

Dwayne followed suit, rushing over to her side. He pulled her hair back. "Oh, Lil, it's okay," he soothed, rubbing her back. "God, your throat!"

Lilian finally sat back up with her eyes closed. Her one hand was clenched around her stinging throat. 'What did I do to deserve this?' she thought pitifully. Resting her head back on the cool, leather seat, she closed her eyes and tried to focus on something other than the pain in her throat.

"Do you need anything?" Dwayne asked, brushing stray hairs out of her face when he realized she was finished vomiting. "You probably just want to go home," he commented, and she nodded repeatedly. "Are you sure you don't want to go back to the hospital?" Dwayne fretted.

"No, home," Lilian managed, regretting the action when her aching throat stung from speaking.

"Okay, home it is," Dwayne said softly, leaning in and kissing her on the forehead gently before running back over to his side of the car.

As he drove to her apartment, he cast worried glances over to her. Lilian's eyes were shut, a thin sheen of sweat evident on her forehead. Without thinking, Dwayne placed a hand over hers, relieved when she didn't pull away. After a few more minutes, he pulled into the parking garage to her apartment.

"Lil, we're home," Dwayne said softly, squeezing her hand. However, she merely turned her head, leaning against the window, oblivious to his voice. "Great… you're sleeping."

Sighing, but smiling as well, he scooped her into his arms and gently carried her into her apartment. He was relieved to see that she hadn't woken once he laid her down in bed. Dwayne watched her for a moment and then decided to head back out to his car and get her bag and medicine.

When he returned inside, Lilian was no longer laying in bed, but instead she was hunched over the toilet in her bathroom. Dropping her things, he ran in with her to pull her blonde hair out of her face.

Lilian leaned back against the wall with tears streaming down her cheeks from the stinging pain in her throat.

"I'm sorry," she managed to rasp, collapsing against Dwayne when he gently pulled her up and against him. "I'm so sorry."

"Shh," Dwayne whispered, settling down on the floor, pulling Lilian into his lap, surprised when she tucked her small frame into his chest rather than pulling away. "Don't talk… it's going to be okay… I promise," he soothed, running a hand over her back.

Lilian continued crying, wrapping her arms around his waist and pressing her face into his shoulder. "It's okay," Dwayne repeated, allowing her to cry for several long minutes. "Come on, let's get you back to bed," Dwayne said with a sigh, brushing tears away from her eyes.

He stood carefully, being sure to avoid hurting his own injured foot, supporting Lilian's light body as the exhausted blonde wrapped her arms around his neck. He carried her to the bedroom, laying her down on her bed.

"D, I-" she managed to croak out.

"No, hang on a second," he said, silencing her. He got off her bed and left the room in search of a notepad and a pen. After getting what he was in search of, he quickly returned back to Lilian's room, handing her the pad.

She wrote slowly, but when she finished, she handed the paper over to him. 'I'm really sorry, D, I don't know what is making me sick. But whatever it is, it's making my throat hurt even worse. Can you please get me some water or something?'

Dwayne smiled softly. "Of course," he told her. "I'm not going to put ice in it though. I don't think something cold will help you." She nodded in agreement. "Okay, I'll be right back."

True to his word, Dwayne returned a few moments later, a glass in his hand. He settled down on the bed next to her, helping the little blonde to sit up. Holding the cup up, he supported her as she drank the water slowly, rubbing a hand across her back as he did so.

"Better?" he asked. Lilian nodded, smiling gratefully at him as he helped her to lay back down, covering her carefully with the comforter. She picked up the pad and paper, scribbling something before holding it up for him to see.

"I'm sorry."

"Lilian, you don't have to be sorry. I'm sure it's just the painkillers. I'll have to call Dr. Andrews in a few and see if he can get your painkillers changed."

Lilian shook her head, frowning as she wrote.

"I'm not talking about that."

His brow furrowed. "What?"

Lilian looked at him and started to write again.

"Oh!"

She put her pen down, looking up at him with a face full of sorrow.

"Lil, you don't need to be sorry. It's okay," he assured, smoothing his hand through her hair.

'No, it isn't okay. I was a bitch. You helped me. I should've been thanking you, not yelling at you,' she wrote.

"It's fine, I promise. I understand. I would've acted the same way. But you're here and your throat is going to be perfect again, that's all that matters."

Lilian smiled up at him, happy he wasn't angry at her… because Lord knows that she deserved for him to yell at her for the way she had been acting the last few days. She set the pen down, taking his hand in hers and squeezing it gently.

"Are you hungry?" Dwayne asked softly, lacing his fingers through hers and squeezing back. Lilian shook her head no and Dwayne nodded in understanding. "Is your stomach upset?" She nodded in response, burrowing underneath the covers even further.

"Okay," Dwayne said with a sigh. "Why don't you try to sleep? I'm going to call Dr. Andrews and make some jello." Seeing the look of disgust on Lilian's face at that, he laughed. "Don't give me that face, missy," he said. "I know jello isn't your favorite food in the world, but it'll make your throat feel better."

Lilian nodded in agreement, grabbing the pen and paper again. She wrote for a few seconds, then shyly held up the paper.

"Will you lay down with me after you're done?"

"But of course!" He flashed her with that million-watt grin and leaned down to kiss her forehead. "Now, would you like lemon, grape or cherry flavored jello?"

Lilian made another face and wrote, 'Lemon.'

"Lemon it is," he said, standing up.

She grabbed him by his arm and quickly scrawled across the paper, 'I don't keep that nasty stuff in my kitchen.'

He chuckled and nodded. "Okay, I'll run to the store and get it." He paused and looked across the room to the TV. "Do you want the remote?"

She nodded and he handed it to her. 'Thanks,' she mouthed.

"It's no problem, and you know it," Dwayne replied, bending down to kiss her forehead again. "I'll be back in a few okay?"

Lilian nodded, mouthing, "Okay."

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She was walking on the stage of the Ford Center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. She stared out among the crowd, watching as everyone stood when she made her way to center stage. They began chanting, Lilian smiling widely when she realized what they were saying.

"Lilian! Lilian! Lilian!"

She gestured to her drummer to begin playing, nodding her head to the beat of the track. She opened her mouth to sing, but nothing came out. Lilian stared out to the crowd in horror, shocked when they began booing her lack of singing.

Lilian sat up with a start, her hand immediately going to grasp her throat. She immediately became aware of her surroundings… she wasn't in Oklahoma. She was home… in New York.

"Lil? What's wrong?" Dwayne asked as he walked into the room, seeing the agitated look on her face.

She shook her head, trying to catch her breath. Realizing she had such a tight grip on her throat, she relaxed a little.

"No, you were thrashing around like crazy. What happened?"

She shook her head again, writing down with a shaky hand, 'I'm fine, nothing's wrong.'

He looked into her eyes for a long while before she finally broke down into tears again. Dwayne sat down next to her, pulling her back into his arms. "You're okay, shh," he said quietly, rocking her back and forth. "You want to talk about it? Wait, scratch that. Don't talk. You want to write about it?"

Lilian shrugged, wiping away her tears with the back of her hand. With a sigh, she grabbed the pen and paper, writing for a long time before turning the notepad for him to read.

'I just had a nightmare, D. I was getting ready to sing in front of an Oklahoma crowd and when I opened my mouth, nothing came out. And then they started booing me because I wasn't singing. I just don't know what all that was about. It kinda scared me.'

"Why does it scare you?"

Lilian frowned, shaking her head as she wrote again. 'I just don't know why the polyps regrew, Dwayne. And I'm scared that this surgery may cause permanent damage to my throat. Last time I was back to speaking almost immediately, even though Dr. Andrews said not to talk. I'm still raspy and it hurts and I don't know why.'

"Oh I get it," he answered. "Lil, this isn't permanent right now. As rude as this might possibly sound, you are older, although you don't look it," he joked, earning a smile from the blonde. "But your body isn't going to be able to heal quite as fast as it did a couple years ago."

She nodded, still sniffing. 'I'm so stupid. I should have gone to the doctor when my throat first began to hurt.'

"You aren't stupid, don't say that about yourself. You have a performer's mentality. Believe me, going to the doctor was the last thing I wanted to do when I hurt my foot. When I realized it was injured, I just thought it was a sprain and I'd ice it and I'd be fine, obviously not."

"I feel like such a baby. You had major surgery and I'm whining over something that will only keep me out for about two weeks.'

"People deal with pain in different ways, Lil," Dwayne replied, running a thumb over the brace on her left wrist briefly before continuing. "The most important thing is that you heal well."

Lilian nodded, setting the pen and paper down. "Thank you," she murmured softly.

"You're welcome," Dwayne replied softly. "Even though you're not even supposed to be talking, you sound better." Lilian smiled, nodding in agreement. "Are you hungry?" She nodded again, noticing for the first time her stomach seemed to be settling. "How about some jello? Or soup?

She turned up her nose and sighed dramatically. She shrugged and reached for the paper.

"How about I'll bring you a little bit of both?" Lilian nodded. "But no hot sauce," he added, causing her to frown.

'Why?' she wrote frantically.

"Because, the doctor said to keep your Latina self away from it."

She jutted her lower lip out, pouting. Her shoulders slumped forward in defeat.

"You'll survive, I promise. After you're better, I swear that I will take you out for those...tee...things. I always want to call them testosterone."

She grinned and wrote down, 'Tostones?'

"Yeah, those. And for some pastries."

'Pasteles!'

"Geez, I'm sorry," Dwayne said with a laugh, holding up his hands in defeat as he stood. "I can sense that temper flaring even on paper!"

Lilian grinned at him, waving him away jokingly. "I'll be back, Lil," he told her, leaving her bedroom.

Lilian leaned back against her headboards, flipping through the channels before she was delighted to see 'Finding Nemo' was on. Yes, she thought to herself, smirking when she realized that Dwayne was going to be less than happy to see the movie on. Oh, well. I'm sick and we're watching what I want to.

"Oh hell no!"

Lilian turned to see Dwayne standing in her doorway with a tray in his hands. She grinned and wiggled her eyebrows.

"I refuse to watch a movie about animated fish, Lilian."

She pursed her lips together and sucked her cheeks in, giving her face a 'fish' look. She moved her lips back and forth and then grinned.

"Lilian…" Seeing her pouting again, he shook his head. "Okay. You win. But after this we're watching The Terminator."

Lilian's jaw dropped and she scrambled frantically to find the remote to change the channel. Dwayne laughed, stating, "That's what I thought!"

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End Part 4