When Nick finally did open his eyes and speak, Aaron was alone in the room with him. "Aaron?" Nick whispered, it was the best he could do. "Nick? Are you awake? Let me go get Lex" Aaron jumped off his bed and Nick weakly waved his arm around, vainly trying to grab his brother�s arm before he flew out the door. "Wait!" he said urgently. Aaron sat on Nick�s bed and held his older brother�s hand tightly. "What is it Nick?" "I wanted you to know." Nick�s eyes slipped closed for a minute, startling Aaron. "I wanted you to know, I came back for you." Aaron looked surprised and then tears came to his eyes. "For me?" he squeaked. "It would have been so easy Air, everything looked so nice there. I didn�t want to come back. I could see again there. The sky was so blue, the water was gorgeous, everything was just wonderful. I wanted to stay so bad and leave all this pain." Nick coughed and Aaron rubbed his chest for him. "Then I heard you reading to me and talking to me, telling me how much I meant to you. I couldn�t leave you alone. I just couldn�t." Aaron�s eyes filled with tears. "I love you , Nick!" He wrapped his arms awkwardly around his brother�s neck. "I love you too, Air." Nick whispered. "You mean everything to me."

Alexa entered the room a few moments later. She was briefly stunned, thinking something had happened to Nick, Aaron was crying so hard. "Aaron?" She placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. "He�s back!" Aaron smiled through his tears. "He came back for me!" The young man dropped his head to his brother�s chest again. "I love you Nick." Alexa fought the urge to cry for a moment. "Aaron?" she said after a few minutes had passed. "I need to check Nick. You can stay here if you want, or go and let the others know he is awake." Aaron climbed over to his bed, still holding Nick�s hand. "I�m staying!" he said, firmly. Alexa laughed and pulled a chair over to the side of the bed.

"Hey Nick, how are you doing?" "I�ve been better." he sighed. "What happened to me?" Alexa explained what had happened to him at the party and since then. "You aren�t going anywhere until I am satisfied that you are healthy enough, buster!" Nick smiled weakly. "I don�t think I could go very far, even if I wanted to." Alexa checked his vital signs and then pushed his blanket down slightly to check his incision. "That�s healed, isn�t it?" he asked. "They had to operate again Nick. That is why you are not leaving until it�s completely healed. Something went wrong the last time." She expertly pulled off the bandages and looked over the incision. "It looks pretty good. Still quite red..." "And sore!" Nick added, as she prodded his chest. "Yes, I expect so." Alexa re-applied the bandages and checked the IVs before sitting down again. "You�re a strong guy Nick. And a very lucky one. You�ve cheated death a number of times now." "It almost won this time." Nick whispered. "Well, I know everyone will be very happy to see you awake. Kathy has been out of her mind with worry." Nick�s forehead wrinkled up and a look of confusion came over his face. "Kathy? Who�s Kathy?" "She was your nurse in the Bahamas and came home with you to care for you." Alexa explained patiently. "I don�t remember." Nick said softly. "That�s terrible." "No, it�s normal. Your brain has been off of active duty for a bit, everything will come back and fall into place." Alexa marked some notations on Nick�s chart and stood. "I�m sure she will be in shortly to visit." She left the room and then came back in. "2 people at a time Aaron, and only for 15 minutes, got it? You�re in charge!" Aaron grinned and gave Alexa a thumbs up.

Kathy quietly entered the room after everyone had left. "Hi Aaron, is Nick still awake?" "Just barely." Nick whispered faintly. "Oh sweetie, you need your sleep. I�ll leave you alone." "No." Nick moved his hand out from under the covers and Kathy clasped it tightly. "Are you Kathy?" She was taken aback at his words. Alexa hadn�t gotten the chance to let her know that Nick didn�t remember her. "I...yes, I am." "I don�t remember you, I�m so sorry. Lex said my memory would come back." Kathy nodded. "Yes, it does, it might take a few days, but generally most coma patients do remember everything." Nick frowned. "I hate not knowing things. I hate feeling like this." "I know." Kathy comforted him. "You were just getting comfortable with your blindness when this happened. It�s so much for one person to deal with. You�re being very strong." "So you looked after me in the Bahamas?" Nick asked. "Yes, I did, I was your nurse from the day you came in." Aaron laughed. "She put up with a lot of grief from you, man!" Nick just looked confused. "I don�t remember much about being there at all." "It�s alright." Kathy consoled him. "Don�t stress yourself. You were a good patient."

Kathy sat with Nick and Aaron until Nick drifted off to sleep again. Kathy let his hand slip from hers and covered him up snugly. "Take care of him Aaron. You hear?" Kathy said as she hugged Aaron. "I will. Kathy, can I ask you something?" She looked into his earnest chocolate brown eyes. "Do you love Nick?" Kathy smiled hesitantly. Could someone so young see what all the others had seen? "He�s very special, Aaron. What makes you ask?" "You treat him better than pretty near everyone, even mom, sometimes. You�re going to still look after him aren�t you?" "Of course!" Kathy assured him. "As long as he wants me." "Good!" He hugged her back. "I�ll be back in the morning, okay, you try and get some sleep too."

Kathy parked the Durango in the garage and walked slowly to the front door. The pugs greeted her happily, accepting her as someone belonging in the house. "Hey, puppies! Daddy is getting better! He�ll be coming home soon." She sat on the couch and the dogs swarmed over her, covering her face with kisses. "Hey!" Kathy laughed. "You guys are way too affectionate!" Kathy got up and fed them their dinner before settling down to watch some television.

"And on MTV News top story, Backstreet Boy Nick Carter has come out of his coma and is on the road to recovery. We have a brief word from band member, AJ Mclean.

"Yes, he woke up this afternoon and we�ve all talked with him. He�s definitely not 100% and all our plans will be put on hold until he is."

"The fans are clamoring for a tour, don�t you think you could do something until he is healthy?"

"No fucking way! He is a vital part of this group and we would never tour that long without him. Anyway, we have to finish the album before we can even think of a tour. Our true fans will understand and be patient."

"Do you think the recovery time will be long?"

"All I know is that he won�t be leaving that hospital until his doctor says so, and she is very strict!"

Kathy laughed as AJ�s image on the screen waved and climbed into his jeep. Trust AJ to tell people straight up. "I wonder how they know so quickly what is going on?" she mused, as she switched off the TV. "They must have spies everywhere." Kathy checked the door locks and then started to prepare for bed. Once she was ready, she called out to the dogs and giggled as they jumped around her. "You know daddy is getting better and coming home soon, don�t you?" She rubbed their backs. "Yes, he is, he will be coming home soon!"