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The small private waiting room was quiet, the only sounds hear was
the soft breathing of the six occupents and the endless tick of the
small round clock on the wall. Every once in a while someone would
shift into a more comfertable position, causing a soft russle of clothing.
Cassie glanced up at the clock and noted that it had been a little less
then a half hour since they were led to the room and told to wait.
Of course that short time span had seemed like a much longer to the
people who waited. Every second ticked away had seemed to go by at
the pace of a snail as they waited for news.

Cassie pulled her eyes away from the clock and looked at the people
around her. The first person her gaze landed on was Jc. The dark
haired man sat on the floor in front of the wall, his knees bent in front
of him. Elbows were rested on his knees and his head was bent down.
Usually one of the strongest of the group Cassie�s heart had sunk
further in her chest when she had seen him before. Worry shined
through his blue eyes as he had offered her one of the shakiest smiles
she had ever seen in her life. From the man on the floor the next
place her eyes stopped was on Lance and Sara. As soon as Joey had
been loaded into the ambulance he had pulled out his cell phone to tell
her what had happened and to cancel the date that they had set
earlier in the day. Now he sat with his head tilted back, one arm
wraped around Sara�s shoulders as she leaned her head on his
shoulder. In his lap his hand held hers, his thumb subconciously
rubbing against the back of her hand. Standing with his back leaning
against the wall was Chris. His arms were crossed in front of him and
his head was tilted up. Suddenly his arms un-crossed and a hand was
brought up to run over his face before his arms were once again
crossed.

Finally her line of vision landed on Justin. The young man was hunched
over in his seat, his elbows rested on his knees and his head held in
his hands. She watched as he took a deep breath, his body rising with
the intake of fresh oxygen. One hand dropped and the other one ran
through his hair, throwing the curls in every direction. He leaned back,
and his eyes opened. He looked at the clock and then around the
room, just as she had done moments before. Finally his eyes met hers
for a breif moment before she turned her head.

SHE was the reason that Joey was there, all because she didn�t get
there fast enough.

A small voice in the back of her head told her that no one would blame
her for what happened, she had tryed to stop him from going, but a
louder and stronger voice kept repeating that it was her fault. She
should have been there sooner. She contunied to stare at the wall as
that one thought ran endlessly through her head.

Sara lifted her head from where it was resting on Lance�s shoulder and
looked up him. She still almost couldn�t believe that they were there in
the hospital, waiting for the news on Joey. Earlier when she had gotten
the call from him about Joey�s accident, she almost didn�t believe him.
No, it wasn�t that she didn�t believe him, it was that she didn�t want to
believe him. She and all four of Lance�s bandmates were close. They
looked to her as a little sister of sorts, and she looked to them as older
brothers. To hear that one of them was seriously injured... it wasn�t
something she wanted to believe. She lifted her face to kiss him lightly
on his jawbone and at the contact he looked down at her, offering a
weak grin as he brought up their clasped hands to kiss the back of
hers.

�Lance, what if there�s something that�s really wrong?� She
asked as she fought to keep her voice steady. He shook his head and
kissed the back of her hand once more before lowering it to his lap
once again.

�Joey�s strong and he�s a fighter.� He was assuring himself as
well as her. �He�s gonna be fine.�

She nodded as she looked around the room, viewing the same scene
that Cassie just had. Cassie herself sat in the very corner of the room,
her body twisted to the side, facing the wall. Her arms were wraped
around herself as if to ward off the cold. Sara wasn�t sure if Cassie
herself was ever aware that she was rocking back and forth slightly.
She pulled her hand from Lance�s and scootched forward in the plastic
chair as she patted his leg. He gave her a questioning look.

�Where are you going?�

She nodded her head in Cassie�s direction. �I�m just going to talk to
Cassie.� She offered him a smile as she stood up and stretched. �I�m
not running away or anything. Your not THAT lucky Lance Bass.� His
chuckle followed her across the room untill she stood in front of Cassie.
�Hey.� She greeted as she took the seat directly next to her.

Cassie tore her eyes away from the wall to view the woman who now
sat next to her. �Hey.� She managed to whisper back in greeting
before turning back to the wall.

Sara frowned. There was something wrong with Cassie, and she
wouldn�t be able to help her with what was wrong unless Cassie told
her.

�Cassie, he�s going to be ok.� She tryed to comfort as she placed
a hand on the girls back. �You know Joey, there�s no way he�s going to
leave us all here when he knows there are still girls out there to flirt
with.�

Blonde hair wiped softly around her face as Cassie shook her head
before leveling her eyes on her friend. The look in her eyes and the
next three words out of her mouth confused and scared Sara.

�It�s my fault.�

�What are you talking about? It�s not your fault.� Cassie didn�t
say anything more, just turned her head back to the wall. She didn�t
know what was going on, but Sara was scared. Scared for Joey, and
scared for Cassie now too. She cleared her throat. �Lance, can you
come here for a minute?� There was the sound of shuffling clothing,
footsteps and then Lance�s presence. She looked up at him, her eyes
expressing her worry. He seemed to get her unspoken message and
he kneeled in front of Cassie.

�Cassie?�

She blinked as she turned to face him. The concern on his face
surprising her. Shouldn�t he be hating her now? Shouldn�t he be yelling
at her and telling her to leave?

Jc lifted his head, immediatly noticing the small group of three people
in the corner. He stood up from the floor and crossed the room in time
to hear Cassie�s reply.

�It�s my fault. I didn�t get there fast enough.�

Jc was confused by her words for a moment, but things quickly clicked
and he immediatly spoke. By this time Justin and Chris had also
noticed the group of people, and had joined them.

�Cassie, what happened isn�t your fault.� Jc tryed to calm her,
his voice smooth and conferting. She turned to look at him, tears
burning in her eyes. She opened her mouth to speak, but he shook his
head �no� and her mouth closed once again. �It was already to late.
You tryed to stop him, but no matter what it was to late.�
Cassie nodded, Jc�s words making her see. It wasn�t her fault. She
looked down at her hands before looking up at everyone around her.
All five people had concerned looks on her faces, and she was glad she
had these people in he life. She opened her mouth to speak but before
she possibly could, all attention was turned to the door, which was
opening. When it was opened fully, a tall man in a white doctor�s coat
stepped into the room.

�Family of Joey Fatone?� He questioned as everyone in the room
nodded. Maybe they weren�t family by blood, but they were family to
him all the same. The doctor took a deep breath before he began to
explain Joey�s condition. �Well folks, here�s the news...