"Thank you so much for having us. You seem like very nice people." Kyle's 'mom' shook Nicole's hand.

"It's no problem. I just wished Kyle.." Nicole paused, noticing her mistake. "..sorry, Noah, would have been able to remember something. It must be so hard for him, for all three of you."

"Yeah. I can still see my Noah, but there's something different in his eyes. He just seems so at home here."

"Yeah. We love having him h---" Nicole was cut off by the click of the front door opening. She knew it had to be Kyle. When no one walked by the doorway, she listened harder, while everyone else continued to talk. If she hadn't been concentrating, she would have never heard the quiet call of her name. Her motherly-instinct kicked in and she instantly knew something was wrong.

"Kyle?" She spoke, but received no response. That was when she saw the slow-moving form of Kyle lean up against the wall, then slowly slide down.

"KYLE!" Nicole raced toward Kyle, ignoring everyone and everything in her path. She flew to a falling Kyle, heart racing at the thought of Kyle being hurt. It was bad enough getting the call from Lori that Kyle had a seizure and was on the way to the hospital, but this...this was ten times worse. She was actually SEEING him in pain.

Nicole dropped down next to Kyle, grabbing him around the waist and scooting him up so his head would rest on her left shoulder, his back toward the front door. She felt him breathing against her neck, which would have been a relief it wasn't so shallow. His pulse was also weak, which made her own heart skip a beat.

She looked up at Stephen in shock. "Call an ambulance!" Nicole heard Stephen quickly race to the phone, but heard nothing of the call. She was too focused on what was happening to Kyle. She felt his chest for injuries, figuring there would be the smartest place to start, and what she found was what she hoped she wouldn't.

Blood.

Everywhere.

Kyle was still in and out of consciousness, but when she felt his right shoulder, Kyle was back.

And in pain.

He let out a pained yell and his breathing picked up. He continued to whimper, but made no effort to let Nicole know that he was aware of his surroundings.

Nicole looked closer at his shoulder, finding the source to be a small round hole, just below his clavicle.

"Oh my God. Stephen! He's been shot!" She couldn't believe it. Who the hell would want to shoot Kyle? Her thought was cut short though, by the opening of the front door. In walked Lori, Josh, and Declan, whose smiles faded as they took in the scene before them.

"Mom?! What's going on?" Lori asked, fear unhidden in her voice.

"Kyle was shot. The ambulance is on it's way." Stephen answered the question before Nicole had the chance.

"What?! How?!" Nicole could tell Josh was furious, as was Declan.

"We don't know what happened! He just came in the door and collapsed. I just found the bullet wound in his right shoulder." Nicole was getting angry, until she heard the sirens coming from outside.

'Finally.' She thought.

The paramedics rushed in with their equipment, and Nicole felt herself being gently pulled back from Kyle, her mind screaming at the thought of leaving him. She watched as the paramedics attached monitors and wires and more things of which the purpose was unknown to her. They lifted him carefully, yet quickly on to a gurney and began to rush him out the door to the ambulance. Nicole spoke up.

"I'm riding with him."

The paramedics gave her a nod and she rushed out the door and followed Kyle into the back of the ambulance. Before they reached though, she saw a panicked Amanda running toward her, yelling Kyle's name.

"Mrs. Trager?! What happened?" Amanda asked, breathless and confused.

"Kyle was shot."

"Oh my gosh." Nicole watched the tears well up in the young girl's eyes. "Um..I'll meet you at the hospital."

"Okay, hunny." She watched as Amanda raced back to her house, and her family gathered themselves into cars. A large crowd had gathered around their house, several gasps were heard as they saw Kyle on the gurney.

It was gonna be a long night.

For everyone.

To Be Continued...

A/N: Thanks for reading! Sorry it took me so long. I ended up being busier than I thought I would be when I got back from camp.. Hope you enjoyed my chapter, though! Read and Review, please!