Fight for your life

Part 7

James didn't know what to do. He was at a complete loss, and even though everyone was assuring him that everything would be fine, he couldn't believe it until it was fine. Glancing up when the paramedics requested that they all get checked out, he nodded slightly before ducking his head again to close his eyes momentarily. Wiping at his face, he finally picked himself up enough to climb the embankment to the road, a little embarrassed to be standing on the side of a highway in his underwear with various blood types on his hands, face and chest. Glancing down at himself, the back toward the rest of the group, he spoke softly. "I look like a mad man."

Andy had been in the process of cursing at the blank paper for not magically producing lyrics when he heard Matt from the living room. Furrowing his eyebrows, he stepped cautiously into the living room. "What did you do?" He questioned, then looked toward the TV. With Asking Alexandria flashing across the ticker tape, he didn't need any more answers than what he could deduce himself. Grabbing his phone, he quickly called Jake's, and when he got no answer, he tried again. And again and again before finally frantically trying to get Danny instead.

Danny swallowed back his tears as he slowly climbed into the ambulance, covering his face in his hands as he sobbed softly. He didn't pay attention to the paramedics as they asked if he was okay, instead he kept his face hidden, unable to look at anyone. Especially anyone that wasn't one of his brothers. He slowly began rocking as his eyes traveled to the wedding band he wore proudly on his finger. "He has to be okay." He mumbled, shaking his head as he slowly began to rock back and forth. "Got to be okay"

Sam sighed softly as he watched James and Danny climb in the ambulance. He stopped in front of Cameron, leaning in to press a quick kiss to his lips. "I love you" he mumbled against his lips before he climbed in, taking a seat next to Danny. He could faintly hear a phone ringing, but it sounded a bit muffled. He felt his pockets, shaking his head. His phone must have fell out sometime during the wreck. He reached over, grabbing the phone from the fingers pocket. He let his eyes slip closed, his hands shaking slightly when he saw Andy's name flashing across the screen. Knowing no one else would be able to tell what happened, he answered the call, mentally trying to prepare himself for this conversation. "Hello?"

Matt was immediately by his husbands side, sliding an arm around his waist. He knew Andy was worried & he was too. He loved all those guys like brothers & hoped they were all safe.

Cameron stopped outside the ambulance, moving his hands up to either side of Sam's face while he looked at him sadly. "I love you so much," he mumbled softly, catching Sam's wrist to turn him around for another kiss, letting it linger against his lips for a second. "I can't lose you," he whispered softly, finally letting him go to climb in as well, wincing at the pull in his side. He looked up when he heard the phone ringing, then from Danny to Sam, back to James. Cameron moved over to sit in front of Danny while he laid his hands on his shoulders to still him. "Danny, look at me, mate. Look at me," he requested, meeting his eyes when he finally looked up. "He won't leave you," he promised, trying to convince them that Ben would be okay.

James watched in a daze as the scene unfolded, curling into himself while he pulled his knees up and hugged them tightly, pressing his face against his thighs to hide behind them.

Andy looked down at the phone, putting it on speaker for Matt to hear as well. "Sam? Sam, what's going on? Are you guys okay?" He questioned quickly. His hands shook a little when he fully realized that it was Sam answering Danny's phone and not Danny, and the worst immediately crossed his mind.

Danny didn't bother looking up, the tears still streaming down his cheeks. He'd never felt so lost in his entire life and while he wanted so desperately to believe what Cameron was saying, he couldn't get Ben's face out of his head. That once beautiful face, bloody and bruised. He'd never really considered what he'd do if anything ever happened to Ben, and now it seemed to be all he could think about. He let his eyes slip closed as he jerked away from Cameron's touch, leaning back. He took in a shaky breath as he brought his hands up once more to cover his face.

Sam extended an arm, lightly running across James back as he tried to regain his composure. He took a shaky breath as he shook his head. "Andy, it's bad" he started, glancing at Cameron. The last thing he wanted to do was tell Andy anything over the phone, but right now, he reevaluate didn't have a choice. "We're on our way to the hospital now...." His voice trailed off as tears threatened to spill at any moment.

Cameron sat back when Danny jerked away from him, and while normally he'd have been offended, he couldn't really blame him. He couldn't even imagine what Danny was going through right then, and he didn't want to. He closed his eyes slowly, scrubbing his hands over his face. As the paramedics closed up the back of the ambulance, two took their places inside while one leaned in to examine his side. Explaining that they weren't sure how deep the glass went, if it had hit any major arteries or anything, they didn't want to remove it, so instead Cameron lifted his shirt to let them bandage his waist with gauze wrapped tightly around it to stabilize the glass and keep it from moving any deeper.

James leaned against Cameron slowly, looking up when he mentioned Andy's name. His breath caught in his throat, and just as he was about to compose himself, he lost it all over again. He hadn't considered that someone needed to tell them, that they'd find out eventually, and someone had to be the one to break the news to them. While he was immensely thankful for Sam, he felt a pang of guilt at not being the one to do it.

Andy's stomach sank and his eyes closed tightly while he slid down the wall to sit on the floor. "Where's Jake?" He questioned, scared to hear the answer, figuring that if something weren't badly wrong, they'd have already handed off the phone. While he was worried about his friends, Jake took priority in his mind.