Kendall spent most of her time in the hospital room where Gordon was in critical condition. No body wanted to admit it, but there was a good chance that he would die.
"Kendall?" Amy walked in, seeing Kendall laying her head down on the bed.
"He's going to die and there's nothing I can do about it." Kendall whispered.
"Kenni, he is NOT going to die. He's young, but you know Gordon! He's a fighter! He's trying his best, and he needs his big sister's love." Amy said, sitting besides Kendall.
"I sure hope you're right." Kendall sighed, a tear rolling down her cheek.
"Listen, you've been here since 7 in the morning, and it's almost time for you to leave, anyways. You need a break, Kenni. He's going to make it. Come on, I have a surprise for the guys, but you can't tell anyone, ok?" Amy smiled.
"What?" Kendall asked half-heartedly.
"You remember Wickett, their dog?" Amy asked, eyes sparkling.
"Who couldn't? Didn't she die from Taylor running over her in the driveway?" Kendall giggled.
"He's a blonde. He doesn't know any better." Amy laughed.
"Yeah, anyways?" Kendall smiled.
"I got Mrs. Hanson's permish, and I'm going to the Humane Society to get them a puppy. Do you want to help?" Amy smiled, seeing Kendall's expression.
"Would I!" Kendall grinned, kissing her brother goodbye, then jumped up and walked out of the hospital room.
The Humane Society was just a few blocks down from St. Mary's, so the two walked down, all the while talking about what kind of puppy they wanted to get.
"You know, we should really just see what they have." Kendall pointed out, after the two walked in.
"May I help you?" a woman asked them.
"Yes… Could we possibly take a look at your dogs? We're going to get a gift for a few of our friends." Amy explained.
"This way." The woman lead the girls into the back, where there were around 50 dogs, and around 20 cats, plus various birds and reptiles.
"Are you looking for an older or a younger dog?" the woman asked.
"Younger." Kendall answered, looking around.
The woman brought them to a hall of cages where many smaller dogs were, including a young aftgan.
"How old is this dog?" Kendall pointed to the larger puppy.
"Ceecee is about 4 months old. We found her abandoned on the highway." The woman explained.
"Could we possibly pet her?" Amy asked, also interested.
"Sure." The woman took out a key and unlocked the cage, and the happy puppy bounded out of the cage, wagging her tail eagerly.
"Well she's certainly friendly!" Kendall laughed as Ceecee licked her palm.
"Hey there girl!" Amy petted Ceecee on the back. "How much?"
"We're asking for an $80 donation." The woman explained.
"We'll take her." Amy handed her a hundred dollar bill *Hey K, we're loaded!*.
The next hour involved a phone call, Mrs. Hanson, a car, and some very happy faces.
"Hey guys! We've got a surprise for you!" Mrs. Hanson yelled up the stairs where everybody was.
Mackie, Zac, Jessica, Avery, Taylor, Zoe, then Isaac came bounding down the stairs. Mackies sqealed when he saw Ceecee, along with the other smaller kids. Jessica, Zac, Taylor, and Isaac smiled as the petted her.
"Thanks, Mom." Taylor smiled.
"Don't thank me, thank Amy and Kendall." Mrs. Hanson said.
"You guys…?" Isaac asked.
"Yeah, it's our ways of saying thanks."
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During the next few weeks, Gordon grew progressively worse. He was moved back down to the ICU, where nurses monitored him 24 hours a day.
Kendall refused to except that her brother, the only family she had left, was dying.
On December 4th, 2000, Gordon died of heart failure. His funeral was on the 7th, private and a secret to the public. Only 50 people attended, including family friends of the Carter's and a few teachers of Gordon's. His friends were there, along with their parents and family who had known Gordon.
Kendall refused to eat, and rarely ever talked. It was obvious that she missed her brother, more then words could say.
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The holidays came and went, with Isaac turning 20, and before that Zac turning 15. Amy's 15th birthday was spent in L.A., while the guys started working on a new record, due out that fall.
"Hey Kendall… What do you think of this song?" Zac handed Kendall a sheet of paper. Kendall slowly read it over, her facial expression never changing.
"I like it." She answered, handing it back to him.
"Good. We'll record it." Zac smiled, walking away.
The final song line up was like so;
Last Chance, Isaac
Addicted to you, Taylor
Just Because, Isaac
Lonely Again, All
Smile, Zac
I Want, You Need, Taylor
Run, Taylor
Ever Since, Zac
If Only, Isaac
Desire, Zac
(Bonus Track) We Are Family, All
The whole family would sing on 'We Are Family', along with Kendall and Amy. It was originally their idea to put that on the record, and it was the bands idea to have everyone sing on that particular track.
During the recording sessions, they suddenly decided to have solos for all of the brothers, Zac's being Ever Since, Isaac's Just Because, and Taylor's I Want, You Need.
"I though only the Backstreet Boys had solos!" Zac laughed when he saw the paper.
"Same here." Kendall laughed.
"That doesn't matter, you are not part of the boy band craze, you are a real live band that plays their own instruments." Mr. Sabec reassured them.
"Yeah guys! You are REAL, not those cheap pieces of cardboard!" Amy grinned, crossing her arms.
"Actually…" Isaac beginning, pretending to push himself over.
Kendall started laughing so hard that she choked on the water she was drinking.
"Oh, by the way Kendall, Amy, if you guys are interested in showbiz, I'm got a few commercials you could do." Sabec handed Kendall some papers, then winked at Zac.
"For GAP… Pepsi… Man, these are heavy duty labels! How'd you know…?" Kendall asked.
"Let's just say a little birdy told me." Sabec leaned back in his chair.
A week later, Kendall had auditioned for a GAP commercial, and the results were just being announced.
"Patti Walker, Heather Piper, Kendall Carter…" The announcer read, ever name bringing a little shriek of happiness.
"Oh my God, I made it!" Kendall was screeching. Zac laughed, giving her a hug.
"I'm proud of you!" he smiled.
Once the commercial was aired, a few other commercial deals were accepted, then Sabec was sent a script.
"Kendall, can I talk to you for a sec?" he asked, motioning for her to join him in his office.
"A guy from Fox sent me a script for a movie…" Sabec started, then pausing to see Kendall's expression. Her mouth had dropped, and her face turned white.
"You're kidding?" she said, not believing what she heard.
"Nope, not at all. Some big actors are going to be in it… Jennifer Love Hewitt, Paul Walker… Here, read this over and in a few days tell me what you think. Production starts on the 21st of June." With that, he escorted her out of the office.
Later, in the hotel room, Kendall was going over the script with Amy.
"Looks like a horror movie…" Amy commented.
"I'm pretty sure it is… Chris says I'd be playing the role of Emily." Kendall pointed to the highlighted areas.
"No, really?" Amy pretended to gasp and fall back onto the floor.
"Really." Kendall rolled her eyes, helping Amy get back up.
"Cool." Amy said.