Kevin opened his mouth to ask that very question, but was interrupted as the door to the waiting room opened and a Doctor walked into the room. Kevin immediately stood, and Howie and Nick both looked up, a mixture of pain and hope etched on their faces.
�Doc? How is he?�
The Doctor looked at the four men in the room for a moment and sighed.
�He is stable, for now.�
Kevin let out the breath he didn�t even know he was holding, whilst Howie sobbed with relief as he fell back in his seat. Nick said nothing, instead reaching over to comfort Howie, but the relief was evident in his eyes as they locked with Kevin�s for a brief moment before Nick broke the gaze to glance at the remaining member of the group.
Kevin focused back on the doctor for a moment, needing to find out more.
"So he's going to be okay then?" Kevin asked hopefully.
"Well..." The Doctor began, causing the others to all stop and look at him.
"... At this moment it is impossible to tell. You see, whoever found him did so just in time. Another hour or so and the sleeping pills he ingested would have dissolved enough to have put him beyond our help. But the pills had dissolved enough to put him in a critical condition. He is unconscious, and to be honest, we have no way of telling when he is going to wake up, and until he does so, there is no way to predict any damage that may have been caused already."
Kevin felt the blood drain from his face, his already pale face turning even whiter still. Howie collapsed; his sobbing loud in the quiet room. Nick wrapped his arms around him, as if trying to pull him into his body.
�Can we see him?� Kevin managed to choke the words out.
�He�s being moved up to a private room. I�ll have a nurse come and get you as soon as he is settled.� The Doctor spoke softly to them, recognising the pain they were all in. He spared a glance to the young man sitting on his own in the room, who had shown no reaction except to drop his head into his hands when he had heard his friends� condition. Shaking his head softly, the Doctor turned and left the room.
Kevin stood for a moment longer, staring at the door the Doctor had just exited through before collapsing back in his own seat, tears falling silently down his face.