Sitting on the soft cool sand beneath them, Junsu and Yoochun sat quietly watching the waves calmly crash upon the shore and basked in the glow of the full moon and twinkling stars above them. Feeling the sweet and comforting sea breeze blow across their faces, the two friends reveled in the peacefulness that surrounded them.

“This is so nice.” sighed Yoochun with a smile.

“Very.” agreed Junsu “I could stay here for the rest of my life.”

“Me too.” agreed Yoochun “Too bad we’ll have to leave in a few days.”

“Don’t remind me.” sighed Junsu “This is the first vacation I’ve had in eight years.”

“Eight years?” questioned Yoochun with a frown “That’s really a long time. You shouldn’t do that to yourself.”

“I know.” yawned Junsu “It just sort of happened.”

“Are you sleepy?” asked Yoochun “You look it.”

“Yeah.” yawned Junsu. “I guess we should head back.”

“I guess.” sighed Yoochun as he slowly stood up and offered Junsu a hand up “Let’s go.”

Yoochun helped Junsu to his feet and after taking one more look at the dark and calm sea, the two friends slowly headed up the beach towards the house. As they walked, Junsu thought about everything that had happened in their lives over the last few months and how they were becoming more and more like a real family as time went on. For someone that had always felt as if he was truly alone in this world, to now have such trustworthy and caring brothers, made Junsu feel really blessed and gave him hope. The peacefulness in his heart that he now felt was something that he’d never thought he’d feel and it made him want to protect them more and more every day. His new family meant the world to him and for the first time in his life, he was truly happy.

As they made their way up the beach, Junsu suddenly stopped as his attention was caught by a sound being carried on the wind. His look of contentment instantly faded and turned into a look of confusion.

“What is it?” questioned Yoochun as he stopped and turned to look at Junsu “What’s wrong?”

“Did you hear that?” questioned Junsu in a fearful tone.

“Hear what?” asked Yoochun “What did you hear?”

“It sounded like Jaejoong.” replied Junsu.

“I must be hearing things.” dismissed Junsu as he rubbed his temple “Man, I need some sleep.”

“Well come on then.” smiled Yoochun.

When Junsu and Yoochun reached the small steps, buried in the sand that led to the back gate of the beach house, they suddenly heard Yunho scream Jaejoong’s name and a large splashing sound coming from the other side of the fence.

“!” yelled Junsu as he heard that ever familiar sound of desperation in Yunho’s voice and knew something was terribly wrong. Junsu sprinted up the steps, with Yoochun dead on his heels, and swung open the back gate as hard as he could. Running to the pool’s edge, they came to dead stop just as Yunho’s head broke the surface of the water with Jaejoong in his arms.

“Dear God.” cried out Junsu.

“Help me!” said Yunho as he coughed up water.

Yoochun and Junsu immediately knelt down at the pool’s edge and grabbed Jaejoong's limp body by the arms and pulled him up on the deck. As they settled Jaejoong on his back, Junsu immediately began to shake him and pat him on the face trying to get him to come to his senses, while Yoochun reached down and pulled Yunho up out of the water.

“Jae, wake up!” cried Junsu as he continued to try and rouse the unconscious Jaejoong.

“Su, that’s not helping.” sighed Yoochun as he scooted around to the other side of him to get a better look at Jaejoong “Lay him down flat.”

After catching his breath for a quick second, Yunho immediately reached down and check to see if Jaejoong still had a pulse. As the sensation of his waning heartbeat registered with Yunho, he suddenly remembered his CPR training he had learned when he was a kid. Yunho quickly leaned in and listened to see if Jaejoong was breathing. Yoochun, recognizing what Yunho was doing, waited with baited breath on his condition. When Yunho’s eyes suddenly dropped Yoochun knew immediately that something was extremely wrong.

“Damn it.” growled Yunho.

“What?” questioned Junsu in a fit of sheer panic.

 “He’s not breathing.” replied Yunho as he glanced up at Yoochun.

“I got you Yunnie.” assured Yoochun as he interlaced his fingers together and placed his palms on Jaejoong’s chest “Go!”

Without another moment’s hesitation, Yunho quickly leaned in, took a deep breath, pressed his lips against Jaejoong’s and breathed in as hard as he could. Pulling his head back for a millisecond to take another deep breath, Yunho breathed into Jaejoong’s mouth again and then again, then looked up at Yoochun who immediately began chest compressions. With no signs of change, Yunho and Yoochun resumed the next rotation of CPR while Junsu looked on in horror. With still no signs of change, Yunho leaned in once more and as his lips touched Jaejoong’s he felt a strange sensation crawl all over his body mere seconds before he heard Jaejoong gurgle. Pulling his head back slightly, Yunho felt a sense of relief as Jaejoong suddenly coughed up the water in his lungs and began gasping for air. As his coughing intensified, Jaejoong instinctively rolled over on his side and clutched Yunho’s thigh as he tried to calm his panic and catch his breath.

“Thank God.” sighed Junsu as he reached out and gently rubbed Jaejoong’s back.

As Jaejoong continued to harshly gasp for air and cough violently, Yunho’s worry for him grew and grew.

“He still can’t breathe.” stated Yunho as he grabbed Jaejoong by the shoulder “Chunnie help me sit him up.”

“Ok.” agreed Yoochun.

Pulling up Jaejoong to a sitting position, the three friends looked on waiting for Jaejoong to calm down. Yunho, fearing that Jaejoong was having a panic attack, reached out, brushed the soaking wet hair from Jaejoong’s eyes, and grabbed his chin. Pulling it up to make Jaejoong’s eyes meet his, Yunho’s fear was quickly justified as he looked at Jaejoong’s face. Jaejoong’s once lively and lovely face, was now pale and sickly and full of uncontrollable panic.  

“Jae, everything is alright.” smiled Yunho “You’re safe now.”

“Breathe slowly, Jae.” added Yunho as he motioned for Jaejoong to breathe with him “Nice and slow.”

Without at word uttered, Jaejoong complied and after a few moments of copying Yunho’s breathing, he seemed to calm down. Just as Yunho thought that the worst was over, Jaejoong suddenly started shaking violently all over. Fearing that Jaejoong was just simply cold from the evening ocean breeze, Yoochun got up quickly and grabbed a large beach towel from one of the nearby lounge chairs, and wrapped it around Jaejoong tightly.  Jaejoong’s shaking and shivering didn’t subside.

“We need to get him inside and dried off.” ordered Junsu confidently “It’s too cold out here.”

“Agreed.” replied Yunho as he stood up and slowly began to pull Jaejoong to his feet. Before he could even get Jaejoong to an upright position, Jaejoong's legs suddenly gave out and he collapsed back down onto the floor.

“This isn't going to work.” sighed Yoochun.

Yunho knelt down beside Jaejoong, leaned in close to his ear and whispered “This might be a little embarrassing but it has to be done.” seconds before he scooped up Jaejoong in his arms and picked him up off the cold pool deck. Readjusting Jaejoong in his arms, Yunho slowly made his way around the pool and headed towards their bedroom. Coming in through the open doors, Yunho walked over to Jaejoong’s bed and gently sat him down on the edge. Junsu immediately knelt before Jaejoong and began to check him over.

“Something’s wrong.” informed Junsu “He’s shaking and shivering like he’s freezing but his running a high fever.”

“His color doesn’t look good either.” added Yoochun “Maybe we should call a doctor.”

“We need Doctor Jeon.” replied Yunho as he glanced up at Yoochun.

“But he’s all the way in Seoul.” argued Junsu as he wrapped Jaejoong in another towel.

“Actually…” started Yunho.

“Right!” said Yoochun as he snapped his fingers together “We ran into him this morning didn’t we Yunnie? He’s staying at the resort with his wife for the week.”

“Come on.” ordered Yoochun.

“Su, look after Jae. We’ll be back.” said Yunho sternly before he ran out of the room, down the hallway and out the front door as fast as he could, with Yoochun close behind him.

As Yoochun and Yunho ran up the long path towards Doctor Jeon’s beach house, Yunho couldn’t help but worry about Jaejoong. He had never seen him looking so sick and he still couldn’t understand how Jaejoong had ended up in the pool. All he could remember was that something had startled him out of a dead sleep. When he looked over at Jaejoong’s bed and noticed it was empty, he ventured out onto the patio to see if Jaejoong had slipped out for some fresh air. He searched for Jaejoong and couldn’t find him.  It was only when he heard an air bubble break the surface of the pool’s water , did he realize that Jaejoong had fell into the pool.

As those terrible moments flashed through his mind, Yunho quickened his pace into an all out run and made a beeline for the doctor’s beach house. As he came to the door, Yunho frantically knocked and called out for help. When Mrs. Jeon answered the door, the look on Yunho’s face frightened her. Who was this man and why was he beating on their door in the middle of the night? Before she could close the door in his face, her husband rounded the corner and recognized Yunho instantly.

“Let them in honey.” ordered Dr. Jeon “I know them.”

Yunho rudely pushed past the doctor’s wife and looked up at him with worry.

“What is it?” questioned Dr. Jeon “Is someone hurt?”

“It’s Jae.” informed Yunho as he tried to catch his breath “He’s really sick.”

“He fell in the pool and almost drowned.” added Yoochun “And now he’s really pale and shaking really bad. We need your help.”

“I’ll get your bag honey.” replied Mrs. Jeon as she took off across the living room headed for their bedroom. Moments later she returned to her husband’s side, and with a nod, she told him “Let’s go.” Yunho, Yoochun, Dr. and Mrs. Jeon raced back to the beach house. As they ran, Yunho and Yoochun told Dr. Jeon everything that had went on today and what had happed that night. When they arrived, Yunho ran into his bedroom to find Junsu kneeling beside Jaejoong’s bed. While they were gone, Junsu had managed to get Jaejoong completely dried off, changed into warm dry clothing, and had him resting comfortably in bed. As soon as Yunho entered the room, Junsu immediately jumped up  in surprise.

“That was fast.” said Junsu “Did you find the doctor?”

“Yeah.” answered Yunho as walked over to Jaejoong’s bedside and grabbed his hand gently “How is he doing?”

“Still the same.” answered Junsu.

“Has he said anything?” asked Dr. Jeon as he walked into the room.

“No.” replied Junsu “He’s done nothing but shake and shiver this whole time.”

“I really don’t think he’s all there right now.” added Junsu “He won’t answer any of my questions.”

“Alright.” answered Dr. Jeon “All of you, go wait outside while I tend to him ok?”

“Honey, you stay here and help Me.” ordered Dr. Jeon softly.

“Of course.” replied Mrs. Jeon.

Junsu and Yoochun walked out of the room and out onto the patio, but Yunho didn’t move. He had already felt terrible about leaving Jaejoong’s side to get Dr. Jeon and was suddenly struck with an uncontrollable desire to stay by his side. Mrs. Jeon, noticing the look on Yunho’s face, motioned towards him as she nudged her husband, who was digging through his bag. Dr. Jeon reached out and placed his hand on Yunho’s shoulder before flashing a reassuring look.

“Don’t worry.” said Dr. Jeon as he gave Yunho’s shoulder a gentle squeeze “I will take good care of him. I promise.”

“Please, Yunho.” added Dr. Jeon “Go outside and let me do my work.”

“Alright.” agreed Yunho with a deep sigh as he slowly released Jaejoong’s hand “Please help him.”

“I will.” confirmed Dr. Jeon with a nod “Now, go.”

Yunho dropped his head in self defeat and shuffled out of the room and onto the patio. Without a word uttered, he made his way to the corner of the patio and slumped down on a lounge chair. As his worry began to overtake his sensibility, Yunho buried his face in his hands and started to cry softly. Yoochun and Junsu watched Yunho quietly from across the patio. Even though they were both extremely worried for Jaejoong, they knew that their feelings were nothing in comparison to Yunho’s right now. Yoochun looked up at Junsu, who just flashed a sad look in his direction, and then slowly made his way to Yunho’s side. Sitting down on the lounge chair next to Yunho, Yoochun reached his arm out and reassuringly patted Yunho on the back.

“He’ll be alright.” comforted Yoochun “He’s a tough kid.”

“This is all my fault.” admitted Yunho.

“Preposterous.” dismissed Yoochun “How could this be your fault?”

“This morning, on the dock, Jae said he wasn’t feeling well.” revealed Yunho “I thought he just said that because he was nervous about going sailing, so I blew it off.”

“Don’t think like that.” grumbled Junsu as he appeared in front of them “He was fine all day. I’m sure this has nothing to do with that.”

“So,” added Junsu. “Stop torturing yourself.”

“Right.” agreed Yoochun “There’s no need to be so hard on yourself. Let’s just wait and see what Dr. Jeon says.”

Yunho nodded in agreement and leaned against Yoochun shoulder with a sigh. The three friends sat together quietly for an hour before they heard Dr. Jeon call for them from the patio doors of Jaejoong’s room. Yunho immediately shot up to his feet as ran across the patio to their room. Clearing the door in record time, Yunho ran across the top of his own bed as he hurriedly made his way to Jaejoong’s bedside.

“How is he?” questioned Yoochun as he watched Yunho quickly grabbed Jaejoong’s hand “Will he be alright?”

“He will be ok.” informed Dr. Jeon “Falling into the pool and nearly drowning didn’t cause this. Jaejoong has a serious case of heat exhaustion. That’s why he’s running a fever, and shivering, and that’s also why he fell into the pool. He fainted.”

“All that sun exposure he had while on the boat today, combined with lack of fluid consumption, has also made him dehydrated. Which, just made it worse.” continued Dr. Jeon.

“Does he need to go to the hospital?” questioned Junsu.

“No.” answered Dr. Jeon “I’ve treated him with some medication to help re-regulate his internal body temperature and to ward off any nausea, infused him with two doses of Vitamin B12, and ran a double IV.”

“The vitamins and medication will take care of his dizziness and, in a few hours, should stop his shaking and shivering as well. The IV will reconstitute his electrolyte levels.” said Dr. Jeon “After the medications have done their job, and he’s had some rest, he should feel right as rain.”

“Yunho?” questioned Dr. Jeon.

“Yeah?” answered Yunho as if he had been stunned out of a daze.

“You will need to watch him closely for the next few hours.” said Dr. Jeon “He will continue to feel extremely cold, so make sure to keep him warm. Don’t give him anything to eat. Give him only fluids, water or juice, and until the medication for his dizziness starts to work, he shouldn’t get out of bed for any reason.”

“Understood.” acknowledge Yunho.

“Once his IV’s are finished, you can disconnect them by pulling this tab here.” added Mrs. Jeon as she pointed to the pick line in Jaejoong’s hand.

“Here’s my number.” added Dr. Jeon as he handed his business card to Junsu “If anything happens or if Jaejoong starts to feel any worse, call me immediately and my wife and I will come at once.”

“We will.” answered Junsu with a nod.

As Dr. Jeon and his wife walked out of the room, Yunho grumbled something inaudible under his breath as he stared down at Jaejoong’s face.

“What is it?” questioned Junsu “Is something wrong?”

“Never mind.” dismissed Yunho “It’s late. You two should go get some sleep.”

“But?” protested Yoochun.

“Don’t argue.” interjected Junsu as he grabbed Yoochun by the arm and gently tugged “Come on.”

Yoochun and Junsu slipped out of the room without another word and flipped off the light switch before they shut the door behind him. As the gentle light of the table lamp illuminated the now darkened room, Yunho reached out and softly ran his hand through Jaejoong’s hair lovingly. Even though Dr. Jeon had reassured them all that Jaejoong would be alright, he couldn’t help but still worry. Watching Jaejoong shiver uncontrollably as he tried to sleep made Yunho’s heart sink. “How could such a wonderful day have ended like this?” thought Yunho as he continued to watch Jaejoong attentively “I should have never booked this trip.”

A few hours later, Yunho, who had dozed off sitting on the floor next to Jaejoong’s bed, was pulled out of his shallow sleep by the feel of Jaejoong shaking him gently. Yunho immediately opened his eyes and looked up at Jaejoong who still remained shaky and pale.

“What’s wrong?” questioned Yunho.

“Cold.” stuttered Jaejoong softly as he looked up at Yunho with a wounded look.

“Help… please.” Jaejoong pleaded softly.

Without a second thought, Yunho stood up and climbed under the covers with Jaejoong. Slipping his right arm under Jaejoong’s pillow, Yunho smiled at Jaejoong and said “Come here.” Jaejoong hesitated for a moment until Yunho gave him a reassuring nod and said “It’s ok.” Without another moment’s hesitation, Jaejoong clutched Yunho’s shirt and buried his face deep into Yunho’s chest, as his desire for warmth overpowered his sense of decency. Yunho let out a soft chuckle as Jaejoong settled into his arms. Pulling the cover over them, Yunho hugged Jaejoong lovingly.

“Sorry.” whispered Jaejoong softly as he continued to shake.

“It’s alright.” sighed Yunho with a smile.

“Sleep.” added Yunho as he closed his eyes, curled his right arm around Jaejoong, and patted him gently on the head “Just sleep.”