Carlos had no clue as of what was going on, all he knew was that it wasn't Trent who had called him, and Carlos knew that that wasn't a good sign. He raced in the corridors of the hospital, and, expecting the worst, quickly walked to the elevator and checked to make sure he knew where he was going.

**

Tommy saw Carlos push open the doors of ICU as he was coming back from seeing Trent. The pure determination in the Cuban's eyes was undoubtedly the way he got in.

"Where's Trent? What's wrong?" Carlos hurriedly asked as soon as he saw the sad look in Tommy's eyes.

"He's really sick Carlos, he has pneumonia." Tommy explained. "He's in a coma, they, don't know if he'll-" He couldn't go on.

Carlos pulled the teen into a hug, and, looking down the hallway, saw Katie emerging from a room.

Tommy and Carlos broke the hug and Carlos walked over to meet up with Katie. She pulled him into a hug, her gratefulness expressed in the tight embrace. She let go and wiped the tears from her eyes.

"Oh, Carlos, I'm so glad you're here," she said. "I suppose Tommy told you?"

"Yeah........ Is there any change?" he asked.

"No, the antibiotics that they're giving him aren't doing anything. The doctors are starting to lose hope, but I can't, not, not just yet."

Carlos was in shock. How could this have happened? How did Trent? It was so much to take in. He thought of the period of time that he'd been gone, and that Trent had to handle everything. Trent had needed him, and he hadn't been there. He couldn't go in there and face his partner, knowing good and well that it was his fault that Trent was lying in that hospital bed, inches from death. But if he left, he'd be deserting Katie and Tommy, something that he didn't plan on doing. He took a deep breath. "Katie, I'm gonna go in the waiting room and call Walker, he'll want to know." He started to walk into the waiting room, but was stopped by Tommy.

"Carlos, can we go to Walker's office, I need to talk to you," Tommy asked, his young eyes pleading.

Katie looked at Carlos as if to say 'he needs you, go'. So Carlos obeyed that order.

"Sure Tommy, let's go."

When the elevator opened up, Roscoe Jones stepped out. Carlos sighed with relief, knowing that they weren't leaving Katie alone.

"Pastor Jones," Carlos said as he shook the man's hand.

"Hello Carlos," He replied, "Hey Tommy."

"Hi." was Tommy's quiet reply as he followed Carlos out into the elevator.

"So, what can I do for you, Tommy?" Carlos asked once they were in the car. "And where do you want to go?"

Tommy sighed, and it was hard to tell what emotions he was expressing, and feeling. "Um, can we go to Thunder Karate?"

"Sure." Carlos turned into the road that led to the Karate Studio.

Katie embraced Roscoe when he walked in, tears falling down her cheeks. When she let go, Pastor Jones looked her squarely in the eyes. "Let's go see him Katie, the only thing right now that will help Trent is prayer."

Trent felt out of place, different. He didn't want to open his eyes, but it didn't feel like he was lying down at all. But he strained, and was met with a sight that he could barely comprehend.

He was right about not lying down; he was floating, or at least it seemed like it. He saw his earthly body lying down on a hospital bed, with machines hooked up to him. It didn't even look like him, but it was. He looked pale, and really, really skinny, but it was him! And his mother, and, was that Roscoe? Were sitting beside his bed in prayer, his mother kept wiping tears from her face.

He broke his gaze from his mother and turned to see an even more astonishing sight than ever before. Around him, there were Angels. Their bodies strong, their features masked by a brilliant array of light, he was stunned. He wanted to ask so many questions. Like, why was he here? Was he dead? Where was he? Judging from what he had read, this was not Heaven, despite the angels.

Then he knew. He had a choice. It was almost like a silent voice was telling him; it must be God. Did he want to go back, or did he want to go up to heaven with his father, God, and Jesus! Heaven sounded great, but for some reason he turned back, and saw his mom's tears, and her prayers, and he didn't know what he could possibly do.

Butch stood at the bar, wiping tables, and doing something he hadn't done in years, he was praying. It was so difficult to comprehend that Trent might die. He thought of all those times, when Trent had just sat at the bar, talking to him and Carlos. Or when he hired Kim, and when he and Carlos had brought stories of any and everything that could have happened to them. And then there was the time when Trent and Carlos had risked their lives to save him. Always a servant, no matter what it was for. He was the kind of guy that others should strive to live like. But he never took credit.

He looked up when he felt a hand on his. "Butch?"

The face he met was Kim's, full of compassion.

"They just released me, and I thought you'd be here. Do you want to come with me to the hospital?"

"Yeah, let me lock up."

Tommy was letting all his anger, all his grief, and all his bitterness into one punching bag. His force, he just kept kicking and punching and kicking and punching, never tiring out. He didn't stop; he had been at it for an hour. Carlos couldn't hear him, but Tommy was muttering under his breath.

"Stupid doctors, stupid medicine, its-not-working. All their fault, not, working, hard enough. All, all, all-" his hands dropped limply at his side. "All my fault."

****

Trent couldn't decide, but the prospect of Heaven sounded so good, he turned and started towards the angels, oblivious to the world below.

Katie didn't see her son up in the clouds, she only saw the flat line that came across the screen and only heard the loud, frightening drone of a beeeeeeeeeeeepppp.