GAH! I keep finishing my stories! *hugs stories* Makes me saaaaaad and happy at the same time!

Anyways, it's been a looooong ride. Longer than I thought it was going to be, lol. Thanks for everyone who brought me to 100 reviews! I LOVE YOU ALL! Poppy Seed, hope your birthday was amazing. :)

Enjoy!

...

"Logan Mitchell? Kendall Knight?"

Carlos stirred in the chair at the names. He didn't even realize he'd fallen asleep, but James nudged his shoulder as they all sat up and faced the doctor anxiously.

"How are they?" Ms. Knight asked.

"Mr. Mitchell," the doctor started, "was the better of the two. He suffered some bruising and lacerations, but nothing serious, as well as burn marks up his arms and neck."

James flinched next to Carlos, and Carlos would've done the same if he didn't feel so hollow.

"Mr. Knight…" The doctor sighed heavily, and that told Carlos everything he needed to know. "He has two broken ribs, massive bruising on his chest area, burns on his arms, neck, back, and chest, and some internal bleeding. We were more concerned about his crushed larynx, which look like it could pose a problem if the swelling continues to increase. We're trying to keep it down now, but it'll be touch and go from here on out."

"His larynx?" It was Katie who spoke, looking worried. "Will that interfere with his singing?"

The doctor hesitated. "Most likely, yes. If it does not heal correctly, he may never be able to talk again, let alone sing." He noticed the panicked looks on everyone's faces and amended, "But that is worst case scenario. We're doing all we can."

"When can we see them?" Ms. Knight requested.

"Mr. Mitchell is ready for visitors," he replied. "Mr. Knight is just out of surgery. He will be a few moments while we prepare him for ICU, and we'll see from there."

"Thank you," Ms. Knight said, giving the man a smile. He returned it, and called a nurse to show them to Logan's room.

"Hey guys," Logan greeted from his bed. He was propped up against some pillows, arms and head bandaged. But he definitely looked better than when they last saw him—kicking and screaming as he was torn away from them.

Carlos sat down next to him. "Are you okay?"

Logan shrugged one shoulder. "Been worse."

Carlos didn't know about that. He bit his lip, wondering what to say, when Logan grabbed the remote.

"Look," he said, turning on the television. "We're on the news."

The sound was turned down, but Carlos could see his picture, along with the others', flashing up on the screen. The bank was shown, as well as Kendall being tossed out in front of everyone and the police officers dragging Logan out—James on a stretcher and Carlos following behind. He didn't like seeing himself up on a tiny screen while the reporters pretended to sympathize. They must've had a field day with that one.

"It's been playing on eight different channels," Logan commented dryly. "That's how I knew you guys were okay. Nobody would tell me anything."

"We're fine," James promised. Carlos turned, realizing that James hadn't really spoken much at all.

Logan nodded. "How's Kendall?"

"He just got out of surgery." James sounded like he was picking his words carefully. "He got the worst of it, the doctors said. We're going to see him next."

Logan threw the covers off of his bed. "I'm coming with you."

"No," Carlos said, eyes widening as he stood up to block him. "Are you crazy? You're not allowed out of bed! You'll rip your IV, and—"

"I'm not leaving you guys again," Logan snapped. Carlos watched as he carefully maneuvered his IV line onto a metal pole with wheels.

"Well, come on," he said. Carlos and James looked at each other, and then followed him out into the hallway.

They found Kendall's room easily enough—Freight Train was standing in front of the door looking particularly nasty.

"Logan," he said in his oddly high voice, "you shouldn't be out of bed."

"Had to see Kendall," Logan grunted. "Why are you in front of his door, anyways?"

"One of the robbers said he wanted to see Kendall," Freight Train said, looking displeased. "Don't worry—the cops are with him. But I'm here for extra measure."

Carlos' stomach dropped to his toes. "One of the…"

James shoved past him and threw open the door. Standing in front of Kendall's bed was David—shoulder bandaged and handcuffed. He turned, the two cops flanking him almost pulling their guns, spotting James and then Carlos and Logan.

"Hey," he said softly. "Sorry to intrude. I just wanted to say I'm sorry."

"Sorry for what?" Logan said challengingly.

David lifted his good shoulder in a shrug. "Getting you into this mess," he admitted. "Letting Rick go too far. I wasn't kidding when I said I had nieces who love you. And even if I didn't, it was wrong." He looked down at Kendall, who was still unconscious, and said, "I don't know what else to do to make it right."

Carlos stepped past James and stood in front of David. He looked up at him, biting his lip. "You saved my life," he said finally. "You saved all of our lives."

David looked away, embarrassed.

"He's right," Logan said. He looked at James. "He did give us the pocket knife."

James started to nod. "I guess that more than makes up for it." He surveyed David. "What's going to happen to you now?"

David shrugged. "Probably go to jail now, heal my shoulder and such. Depends on the trial."

Carlos' eyes lit up. "What if we put in a good word for you?"

"Carlos—" James started.

"No, seriously," Carlos said, waving him off. "I've heard my dad talking about this. If we testify in the trial, we can get you a lighter sentence. Maybe even get you off the hook."

David stared at him. "You would do that for me? After everything we did?"

"You didn't do anything," Logan said firmly. "Except save us. Carlos is right. We could get you a lighter sentence."

"I…" David looked overwhelmed. He gazed at Carlos. "Thank you."

Carlos nodded and gave him a small smile. The cops decided that that was a good time to escort David out, so they did. Soon the four were left in silence.

"Nice guy," James said finally. He sounded like he meant it.

Carlos sat down by Kendall and took his hand. The blonde's eyes were open, fixing on Carlos as the Latino smiled at him.

"How long have you been awake?" he asked him.

Kendall struggled to speak, managing only wisps of breath. Carlos shook his head. "Never mind," he said. "Don't talk. The doctors said the bruising needed to go down."

Kendall nodded, but he didn't look happy. James and Logan came around to look at him. His throat was the most notable thing about him, aside from his bandaged arms, bare chest, and wrapped ribs. Under his chin was an explosion of color—bruises blue and purple and yellow in some places.

He caught the flinches from his friends and his expression said, It's bad, isn't it?

"It's not that bad," Carlos assured him. "You'll be back to normal in no time."

Kendall smiled at him.

Carlos' eyes lit up. "I know! Be right back, okay Kendall?"

An amused, slightly bemused look came on Kendall's face, but Carlos was gone before he could see it. James shrugged when Kendall shot a questioning glance at him.

Carlos returned an instant later, Becky by his side. "She knows sign language," he explained. "Maybe she can teach you some stuff?"

"If that's okay," Becky said shyly.

Kendall gave her a smile and a nod.

Two hours later the sun was starting to set. Becky had tutored the boys until they had gotten a hang of the alphabet, numbers, and a few basic words.

A knock on the door interrupted their almost-conversation. A nurse popped her head in, smiling softly. "Visiting hours are over," she said. She caught a glimpse of Logan and her smile turned rueful. "There you are, Mr. Mitchell. You know you shouldn't get out of bed."

"And I won't," Logan said quickly. "But there's room in here—can I just be moved into this room, with Kendall?"

He gave her such a look that she melted on the spot. "Oh, I guess so," she said reluctantly. "Just wait here and we'll see."

"I should go find my mom," Becky said as she stood up after the nurse left.

Thank you, Kendall signed to her.

See you tomorrow, she signed back, smiling. They both waved at each other and she slipped out the door.

"Feel a little better, Kendall?" Carlos asked.

Kendall nodded. He thanked Carlos, too.

"For what?"

Kendall spelled out Becky's name, and Carlos grinned. "For bringing in Becky?" At Kendall's nod he said, "You're welcome. I'm glad you can sort of talk now."

Kendall held up his hand in front of his chest, thumb and pinkie fingers extended while the others were clenched in his palm. He shook the hand back and forth. Me too.

"Get better soon," James said. He mock punched Logan's shoulder, ignoring the mock hiss of pain Logan exhaled. "You too, Logie."

"See you guys tomorrow," Logan said.

The nurse came back then, pushing a bed into the room for Logan to sleep on. Carlos and James were kicked out, but before they left they each gave the sign for "I love you" to each other, leaving the nurse confused at the silence.

…

Four months later

"Two months community service," Kendall said, arching his eyebrows at David. "That's not bad."

"Thanks to you guys," David said, shoving his hands into his pockets. He breathed in a cool breath of fresh air. His brown eyes were soft when he opened them again. "Seriously, though, thank you. For everything."

"We wouldn't be here if it weren't for you," Carlos said happily, swinging an arm around Kendall's shoulders.

Kendall laughed. He enjoyed the sound it made. For two months he didn't talk, only communicated through sign language and a pad and paper. He and the others were getting good at ASL, and promised Becky they would continue even after Kendall got better.

Two months after that and David was released from custody. His trial went smoothly, especially with Kendall, James, Carlos, Logan, and Becky all testifying to his bravery when he tried to help them escape. The jury was won over, however, with Carlos' wrenching story of how David saved his life. David had been let off the hook.

Now they were walking about in the park, reporters ditched as they took the back way out. David turned to the boys and said, "You know, I bet my nieces would love to meet you. It might be awkward, but…" His voice trailed off and he ran a hand through his blonde hair. "I owe it to them," he admitted. "After everything I put you through."

"If your nieces are anything like you," Logan said, "they'll forgive you pretty quick."

David smiled at him. "Trust me, they're nothing like me. They're twin sixteen-year-olds; definitely a handful."

"Hold up," James said, holding up a hand to pause him. "They're twins?"

"And sixteen?" Carlos put in.

"I'm in," James announced.

David looked at Kendall and Kendall rolled his eyes. The blonde man laughed. "Alright, alright," he said. "I guess that's a yes?"

"Definitely," Carlos said.

Logan shrugged. "Couldn't hurt, right?"

They all turned to Kendall. He sighed, and then put on a rueful grin. "What could go wrong?"

...

A/N: I know some people didn't like David, but I did. XP Also, I noticed that Kendall is very easy to whump. It's kind of alarming, actually. Anywho, I hope you liked! Thanks again everyone!