Liam sat at an old table in the corner of the storage room, letting his feelings just flow out. He was hurt at the sight of Katie, the love of his life and Kendall kissing but there wasn't anything he could do about. Katie made it clear that she didn't like him that way, no matter how much he tried to make it change. He understood Katie's feelings and what she was going through; how much she just needed a friend and he agreed but still it was all too much. It had been over a year, almost 2 years since Katie told Liam how she felt so he figured things could have changed, especially since she and Kendall spent a lot of time together in LA he presumed.

He was jealous to say the least but he wanted the best for his friend and tried to remain strong. He tried to clear his mind and just get back to work; he wanted to forget about the sight he saw but it wasn't going to be easy. He thought that maybe he should quit, it wasn't going to be the same working around Katie if she was taken, he couldn't picture her being with someone else. It would take some getting used to for sure but he didn't want to put in the effort only to end up hurt. He decided to avoid her as much as possible; he was going away for the holidays and sometime in February, Katie was going back to LA for who knows how long which would make it easier on him.

Liam was just getting himself settled when he heard the kennel door slam open and Kendall yelled his name. Liam's heart jumped at the call and his mind buzzed with possibilities; he thought maybe he was caught and Kendall wanted to lecture him or maybe Kendall wanted to claim Katie as his and was confronting Liam. He stood up and exited the room to face Kendall man to man only to be greeted by panic in his eyes. Liam dropped his defense a bit and looked to Kendall in wonder.

"Liam, I need your help! Something's wrong with Katie, she's fainted and she's not responding!" he said, upset clearly in his voice. Liam's eyes widened at what he said.

"What?!" Liam responded.

"Hurry up!' he pleaded before leaving the kennel. Liam followed Kendall quickly after a few seconds and soon caught up to him at Katie's office and he slid into the door frame to see Katie lying on the floor unconscious; just like Kendall said. Kendall was a nervous wreck and had no idea what to do and just stood behind Liam as he inspected her and worked her over.

"Shit..!"

"What!?" Kendall asked panicked.

"She didn't take her meds. Call 911, Kendall, hurry!" Liam ordered. Kendall fumbled with his phone as he dialed the three digits and got to the right station.

"Come on Katie, stay with me!" Liam continued, giving her a shake and a few taps.

"I need an ambulance or something to the…uh…!" Kendall stammered. He was at a loss for words as to where he was . The name of the place was on the tip of his tongue but he was just too panicked to get it out. Liam took the phone and recited all the information as he pushed Kendall towards Katie to keep an eye on her. Liam was walked through a few steps to take and Kendall gave him his space to work. Liam told him to go wait at the front door and watch for the medics, since he was of no help right now as he paced the room looking over Liam's shoulder.

It seemed like forever until the medics arrived, the driveway was long but Kendall was fast. As soon as he heard the sirens in the distance he ran to the gatehouse and the security guard let the medics in without question. Kendall met them half way and waved them over before running away back to the main building. The trucks parked haphazardly and they filed out quickly, grabbing their gear and other supplies and then met Kendall at the door, to receive their directions. Straight down the hall and down the first left, they found Liam and Katie. Liam backed off and let the medics do their thing. Kendall appeared around the corner and peeked through the door frame cautiously yet curiously to see what was going on as he still wondered what happened.

Right after Liam left, Katie pushed Kendall away softly and he broke from her immediately. She was getting a little tense at the whole situation and Kendall understood; he took a chance by kissing her but he wanted to show his affection. He felt it was a little too much after the fact and probably should have went with just a peck. He saw her get a little red in the face and then she went pale as she started breathing heavily . He put his hands on her upper arms and asked if she was ok. She just wanted to sit down for a minute and he went to help her but she took only a few steps before she became dead weight in his arms and she slowly went down. He grabbed her as best he could on such short notice and slowed her descent to the floor. He tried a few times himself to get her to come to, trying a few techniques from the set for when people pass out or faint but this was beyond him and he knew something was definitely not right.

She was rushed to the hospital and in only an hour, she was ready for visitors. She was overworked and collapsed out of exhaustion however she had been so busy that she hadn't been keeping up with her medication for a genetic disorder that was almost cured. Liam knew about the condition but Kendall didn't; he wasn't sure how he felt about that. He learned that it was fairly serious, if let untreated it wouldn't do any harm but it would eventually kill her or develop into something more serious down the road. It was being treated with some medication that she was finally responding too but with all the work of being on 2 shows, plus her own work at the academy put on so much stress that she was really taking steps backwards rather than forward.

Kendall stayed by her side for as long as he could each day before he left. He had no where to go though and when he left, he really just slept in his rental car. She ended up missing Christmas altogether but it wasn't a big deal, it was a day like any other to her; she didn't have any gifts waiting for her back home. Her parents did visit when they could, they both worked after Katie told them long ago that she wasn't going to just let them sit around with her millions all day. Kendall was with her during the day and at night when her parents got off work, he left her with them. He talked a bit with her parents off and on, mostly her mom; he learned that Katie really liked him, for a long time now. Her mom was happy that she had made friends and got to meet her idol; she told Kendall how much Katie used to smile all the time and that she missed seeing it.

He had new hope that maybe she'd come around and return her feelings and he was willing to prove that he did love her. He knew it would take some time and he was willing to work at it. After a few days, Katie was good as knew; a little stiff from being in bed but she was her chipper old self. She was back on her medications although know it was a stronger dose and it would be another year before she'd be cured. Kendall was constantly over her to be sure that she did take her medicine; he stayed in Stonington for the remainder of his vacation, living in the dorm with the other students at the academy. He was liked by her parents but not that much that he was allowed in the house, although they werent to fond of him staying at the academy, a place they weren't allowed to go. Kendall assured both of them, as did Katie that nothing was going on that anyone would regret but it was just the principle of the fact the two were always together that bothered her parents. Kendall made himself useful and worked hard, Katie showed him no favoritism and gave him the harder chores, Liam at his side. Liam was a little cold to Kendall at first so he cleared the air.

"You don't like me do you?" Kendall began. Liam was caught off guard at his question and just stopped his work to think.

"I don't know. I mean I get that Katie likes you but I don't see it."

"Oh. I see. I'd like to be friends, you obviously mean the world to Katie and you know more about her than I do."

"Its true, I do know more about her than you, but I'm not going to tell you everything."

"I wasn't expecting you to. Why are you so cold towards me?"

"I'm jealous alright!" he yelled. Kendall took a step to the side in surprise as he stared wide eyed at Liam. "Look, I've known Katie for so long and I love her but she could never return my feelings. I care about her so much and know all of the pain and hardships she has been through. I'm the only person she talks to but yet I still don't know everything that's boiling in her head; there is more in her heart then she leads on. When she told me that she was going to LA to start a career in acting, I was a little shocked at it to say the least. Deep down I didn't think she would make, nor did I want her to but that hurt me to think that I wanted someone I love so much to fail."

"But she came back when she wasn't filming."

"But it wasn't enough! I wanted her here with me. I didn't want to give her up to the world and have to fight for her attention. I didn't want to fight for her love, I wanted to be the one that she loved and when she denied me I didn't want anyone to have her. And now, she has you and she'll probably no longer need me…"

"That's not true! As cheesy as it sounds, you're someone that I cant replace. Katie needs a friend like you to talk to. Regardless of who she falls in love with shouldn't matter, what matters is that she's happy and has the life that she deserves."

"Easy for you to say, you know she loves you." Liam began "I heard Mrs. P talking with you, she told you how much Katie adored you before she even met you. It's true, she talks about you a lot, how it was her dream to be friends with you or to have a boy friend like you."

"Doesn't sound like she ever said she wanted to date me though."

"But now that she's famous she can date just about anyone she wants. If she wants a guy like you, what's stopping her from getting you." Liam continued. Kendall didn't know how to respond, he knew what Liam had said was true. "I saw you guys kissing a few days ago anyway, it's clear she's made her decision. But like you said, as long as she's happy, I shouldn't stand in her way." he sighed. He turned to Kendall who looked at him curiously before extending a hand. "Take good care of her, Kendall. Be the man that she needs and deserves." he half smiled. Kendall took his hand firmly and smirked back in appreciation.

"I will. Thanks, Liam." Kendall said.