Marissa was allowed to stay home from school that Monday, just two days after the accident that had torn her life apart. She knew she couldn’t face the crowds at school.

So, she had lay around the house all day long, moping. Her parents had both gone off to work that morning, leaving her alone. Although she usually was a people person and hated being by herself, the silence and privacy that surrounded her now was comforting.

Flipping rapidly through the TV channels, searching for something to keep her occupied, to take her mind of Luke, Kaelyn, Shawn, Nick, and everything else, she came to MTV and saw that TRL was on. That was good enough for her.

Unfortunately, as she laid down the remote she heard Carson say, “Now we’ll check back in with John Norris, who is in Atlanta, Georgia, where the Backstreet Boys are holding a press conference. Rumor has it that the Backstreet Boys have some news about Nick, as well as their current Black and Blue tour. John, what’s been going on so far at the conference?”

“Well, Carson, I’m here in Atlanta at the Backstreet press conference. Just minutes ago, the Boys gave us some bad news. As many of you fans know, the youngest member of the Backstreet Boys, Nick Carter, whose twenty-first birthday was just yesterday, was not present at the Superbowl yesterday, where the BSB sang the national anthem. Rumors have been circulating about where he might have been, but the Boys have just cleared everything up by telling us that Nick was involved in a serious car accident late Saturday night, after their concert in Atlanta. They wouldn’t give out too much information on the extent of his injuries, but they did say he was in critical condition. They announced that because of this horrible tragedy, the rest of the concerts on their tour will be cancelled. They haven’t yet said whether or not the cancelled shows will be rescheduled, but I’m sure we’ll hear more on that and on the condition of Nick later on. Back to you, Carson.”

“Thanks, John. Well, some sad news in the music industry. Of course, we’ll all be praying for Nick and the rest of the guys as well. Now, to our number eight video…”

Hot tears rose in Marissa’s eyes. She quickly shut off the TV and began to sob.

“Excuse me, Mrs. Carter?”

Jane looked up to see Dr. Madden standing in the doorway of the waiting room, a clipboard in his hand.

“Hello, Dr. Madden,” she greeted, her hands growing clammy. Did something bad happen?

“I’m afraid I don’t have anything new to tell you on Nick’s condition. But I do need to ask you about something important,” he said.

She nodded. “What is it?”

Dr. Madden stepped closer, clearing his throat. Brian, AJ, Kevin, and Howie listened intently as he started to talk. “This is a Do Not Resuscitate order,” he said, showing her the form attached to his clipboard. “If you choose to sign it, you will be saying that if Nick’s heart should stop suddenly, we would let him pass and not shock his heart into beating again.”

Her eyes widened.

“You mean let him die?” AJ asked, glaring at the doctor.

”Well…”

“How can you even ask that?” AJ continued, his voice rising. “Doctors are supposed to save lives, not take them!”

“Calm down, Mr. McLean,” Dr. Madden said. “I’m required by law to ask the guardians of comatose patients, like Nick, this question. Mrs. Carter does not have to sign this form. It’s just an option.”

“Well, why the hell would anyone sign it?” AJ demanded, the glare not leaving his face. Jane just stared at him, stunned.

“Some patients who are in comas are injured so badly that there is no hope for recovery. The families of these kinds of patients sometimes think it would be better to let them pass if they start to die, rather then bringing them back and letting them suffer,” Dr. Madden explained.

“But that’s not the case with Nick, right, Dr.?” Jane asked shakily. “Nicky’s going to get better, isn’t he?”

“It’s still too soon to tell, Mrs. Carter,” Dr. Madden replied sadly. “And don’t worry. Nick’s heart is very strong right now. It was just something I am required to ask you. You don’t by any means have to sign the form.”

Jane shook her head. “I won’t,” she said firmly.

“Okay,” Dr. Madden said, nodding. “Thank you, Mrs. Carter. I’ll leave you all alone now.” He nodded at them, then left the room.

As soon as he was gone, Jane’s eyes filled with tears. Brian, AJ, Howie, and Kevin exchanged sympathetic glances, not knowing what to do. Brian, who was sitting beside her, rested his hand gently on her shoulder, all the while knowing that nothing could comfort her at this point.

“Jane, you need to get some rest,” Kevin said, resting his hand lightly on Nick’s mother’s shoulder, later that night. Jane had been sitting at the hospital all day, and he knew she must not have slept much the night before. She looked ready to drop.

Jane shook her head. “I’m fine,” she murmured.

Brian studied her skeptically. She didn’t look fine to him either. She looked exhausted. “Come on, Jane,” he coaxed. “Why don’t you come back to my place? You can stay with us for as long as you want.”

She shook her head again. “Thanks, Brian, but no thanks. I couldn’t leave my baby here alone, and I wouldn’t want to impose.”

“Jane, don’t worry, he won’t be alone. I promise, at least one of us’ll be here if you’re not. We need to take turns staying with Nick. You can’t be here all the time. You need sleep.”

“I can sleep here in the waiting room,” she said.

Brian raised an eyebrow doubtfully, looking around the small room, adorned with just a couple couches, a few chairs, and a TV. None of the furniture looked comfortable enough to sleep on.

“Naw, Jane, Bri’s right. You need to sleep. You can’t stay here forever. The guys and I’ll be here with Nick while you find somewhere to crash,” Kevin said.

“But-“ Jane started to protest, when Brian interrupted her.

“There’s plenty of nice hotels right around here,” Brian said. “In fact, if I remember right, there’s a Hilton less than a block away.”

Jane sighed. “Fine,” she said. “I guess I am a little tired.” She yawned, and Kevin and Brian exchanged glances.

“Great,” Brian said, smiling. “I’ll go see about getting a taxi to take you down to the hotel. Be back in a few.”

Jane smiled rather sheepishly. “Thank you, Brian,” she said kindly.

“No problem,” Brian replied, returning her smile. Then he left the room.

Less than ten minutes later, Brian had not only gotten a taxi for Jane, but had called the Hilton and gotten a room for her too.

A couple members of the hospital security staff arrived at the waiting room to escort Jane out to the taxi that awaited her in front of the hospital.

“There’s a small crowd gathered out there,” one of the security guards explained. “We don’t want you getting mobbed.”

“Okay…” Jane said, glancing worriedly at the guys.

“We’ll walk down to the front with you,” Brian said quickly, curious to see this crowd the guard was talking about.

“Not all of you,” the guard said quickly, glancing at the four men. “It’ll cause too much of a scene. Just one, at most.”

The four of them exchanged glances, and Kevin nudged Brian forward. “You go ahead with them, Rok,” he said.

Brian nodded and followed behind Jane and the guards as they made their way to the elevator to head down to the main floor.

When they reached the lobby on the main floor, Brian suddenly saw the “little crowd” the guard had mentioned. Standing just outside the hospital’s double glass doors was not just a little crowd, but a mass of people, mostly girls. Many of them held posters and wore Backstreet Boys t-shirts, and many were crying.

“Oh, dear,” Jane murmured, gazing out through the doors in awe. “How did they all find out so soon? How did they know which hospital to come to? I thought it was going to be confidential.”

Brian shook his head in disbelief. “Like I’ve said before, Backstreet Boys fans are like the Secret Service. They always know.”

“It’s nearly doubled in just the last half hour,” the guard said, his eyes widening as he stared at the crowd.

“Can we get out safely?” Jane asked worriedly.

The guard nodded. “Don’t worry, we’ve got things under control,” he said. “Let’s just go quick, before it gets worse.”

Jane nodded and followed in between the two guards to the doors. She turned to Brian quickly. “You’ll stay with Nicky?” she asked.

He nodded. “Of course,” he replied. “Don’t worry, I won’t leave him alone. You go back and get some sleep, and come back here when you’re ready. We won’t leave.”

She nodded. “Thank you,” she said gratefully.

“No problem,” Brian replied with a shrug. “You be careful.” He nodded towards the doors and the crowd gathered on the other side of them.

“I will,” she said. She turned back to the guards.

“Ready?” they asked.

“Ready,” she said with a nod. Then they pushed open the doors and hesitantly stepped outside.

The crowd seemed even more massive when Jane was out in it. A chorus of gasps rose through the throng of people, as they recognized Jane.

Jane kept her head down slightly, hurrying along with the guards to the taxi that awaited her. She was slightly afraid, knowing that, even though it wasn’t intentional, Backstreet fans could be dangerous. Especially these very dedicated ones. But she soon realized she didn’t have to worry about her safety in this crowd. They seemed to understand how serious the situation was and knew better than to scream and surround her and ask her their questions and press her about how Nick was doing. Instead, a reverent silence had overcome them, and they stood in solemnity, watching as she made her way down the path they had cleared.

Jane slowly raised her head, slowing her step and gazing at the stricken, tear-stained faces of these poor fans, who loved Nick as much as she did. She noticed several of their posters, but one stood out from the rest, catching her eye and causing her to stop a moment to glance at it. When she did, tears filled her eyes. The poster was a collage, filled with pictures of Nick, from when he was a baby, all the way up to the most recent pictures taken of him. It was like a pictorial time line of his twenty one years on the Earth. As certain pictures jumped out at her, pictures of him as a baby in the bathtub, as a mischievous toddler, as a child smiling for his second grade school picture, as a twelve old mugging for the camera, as a teenager, and as a young adult, as he was now, the tears spilled from her eyes, as her heart swelled with a mix of happiness and sadness with the memories and thoughts that tumbled through her mind.

Doing nothing to hold back the tears that nearly blinded her, Jane reached the car and climbed in through the open door. “The Hilton, please,” she said tearfully. The car pulled away from the curb and drove her off down the street, away from the crowd that stood there and the pain that stood with it.