Kevin strode down the hallway. He needed to get far enough away from his cousin that he wouldn't be tempted to go back and hit him. And at that moment that meant that he needed to be a long way away.
Without realising it, Kevin found himself outside the ICU. He stopped for a moment before walking inside, taking deep breaths to calm himself. He didn't need for Howie and Nick to pick up on his distress when he saw them.
He stopped outside AJ's room and peered in through the small glass window. Inside he could see Howie and Nick practically clinging on to each other in an attempt to stop the other from breaking down.
As he debated on whether or not to go in; Howie and Nick leaned down and each placed a kiss on AJ's forehead before turning and heading towards the door. Both men were visibly shaken by the sight of their friend looking so fragile; and both had tears streaming down their faces.
Kevin felt the anger towards his cousin pushed aside by concern for his other friends, and as the left the room he reached out and pulled them both into a hug.
Howie and Nick were surprised by Kevin's sudden appearance, but that soon melted away as they fell into his embrace; all three men clinging on to each other desperately, trying to ease their shared pain.
�He looks so fragile.� Howie whispered against Kevin�s broad chest.
�I know. But he�s strong. He�ll pull through.� Kevin replied.
�You can�t know that for sure.� Howie replied, tipping his head back to look into Kevin�s green eyes.
�I believe.� came Kevin�s soft reply.
�And he always does the opposite of what�s expected from him.� Nick added, sniffing back his tears.
�That he does Nick, that he does.�
�What are we gonna do now?� Howie asked quietly.
�Were gonna wait for AJ to prove me right.� Kevin replied.
Nick smiled softly and pulled back from Kevin as he looked around, noting for the first time Brian�s absence.
�Where�s Bri?� Nick asked.
Howie felt Kevin stiffen and they both watched Kevin�s expression darken.
�Kev? What�s goin� on?� Howie asked; confused by the contained rage he could see in Kevin�s features.
Nick looked at Kevin steadily, waiting for Kevin�s answer, but Kevin wasn�t sure what to say. He wanted to just tell them, knowing it would hurt Brian terribly as both Howie and Nick would be mad as hell at him, but he didn�t want to do it in a hospital corridor where anybody could hear what was going on.
�Not here.� Kevin told them finally.
Nick looked about to protest, but Howie squeezed his arm slightly to stop him, understanding that this was neither the time nor the place for this particular discussion, and nodded slightly.
�There�s nothing more we can do here tonight. Let�s go back to the hotel.� Kevin told them, knowing that visiting hours were nearly up, and that they would need their rest in order to deal with whatever was going to come.
�What about Brian?� Nick asked.
Kevin looked at him for a moment before answering. �He�s already left.�
Even as he said it Kevin in fact knew this to be true. He knew his cousin well enough to know that Brian would have left the waiting room by now; unwilling to wait for Kevin or one of the others to come find him and shout at him some more. Brian was running, and he wouldn�t be stopping any time soon.