None of them knew what was happening when Taemin jolted off the bed in the middle of the second drip, but the confusion was resolved in seconds as he grabbed the just-in-case bucket near his bed. As he emptied anything that could have possibly still been in his stomach into it, Jinki was already helping him back to sitting on the bed and Key was right there comforting him. Minho and Jonghyun both moved to take the free seats on either side of Kai, holding him back from going to help. "They are the vomit-crew. Anyone else tries to help and Taemin feels all awkward with getting sick, so they just handle it. Just stay here."

Kai glanced at Jonghyun as he spoke and then to Minho. When the rapper nodded, he hesitantly sunk back into the seat, relaxing a little to show he wasn't going to get up. "Is this normal?"

"Well, he normally doesn't get sick in the middle of it..." Minho scrunched his eyes together as he thought about that. "But on the way home, he always does. Maybe it's from the food yesterday. He ate more than he normally eats in a week." So it's my fault...

"He's not saying it's your fault," Jonghyun cut in quickly, realizing what the dancer was thinking. "Taemin just normally doesn't eat a lot anymore. And then he had a big breakfast this morning too, so the medicine has more to make him sick with. Normally he hasn't eaten yet today."

“I can hear you guys, you know.” Taemin tried to sound angry with them as he said that, but that was ruined in seconds as he was leaning over the bucket. His body tried to expel food that wasn’t even there and he was left heaving with nothing coming up. Key rubbed his back to try and comfort him as Jinki held the bucket steady for his shaking arms.

“Just ignore them.” The diva glared from over Taemin’s shoulder at the three, but it wasn’t actually angry. Just making a point. “Come on and get up whatever’s making you sick.”

“I think I’d be dead if I did.” Taemin didn’t raise his head from leaning into the bucket to make the comeback and his voice echoed slightly from it. Not seconds later, he was heaving again.

“I’m going to go get a new bucket from the nurses...” Jinki made sure Key was holding the pail before he stood from the bed, walking right past the others with a small smile and leaving the room. A minute later, he returned carrying a brand new throw-up-catcher and with a nurse in tow to take the old one.

“I’ll make sure they give you some more anti-nausea medicine before you go. Okay honey?” Taemin could barely nod at her before he was hugging the new pail and she gave a sad smile before leaving with the old one.

“I’m sorry.” Taemin’s voice was weak and wet sounding, as if he was crying. “This is really disgusting, isn’t it?”

“We’ve all seen it before.” Minho was the one to slap Jonghyun for Key then, startling Kai between them. “We have.”

“But you guys probably don’t really want to.” He paused to dry-heave into the empty bucket, nothing coming up no matter how much his body wanted it to. Key gave him a little sip of water, but that only ended up coming up a few seconds later. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize. It’s just from the medicine making you better.” None of them had expected Kai to be the one to answer, but he had been. When Taemin looked at him with teary eyes, the dancer only gave him a smile back. “Besides, this is nothing compared to living with eleven other guys. One gets sick, five get sick. There are only two bathrooms.”

Taemin gave a small smile and laugh at that. “I guess that’s pretty bad...”

“Exactly. This is nothing.” He leaned towards the edge of the chair and held his fist out, waiting a few seconds for Taemin to do the same so that they could touch them together. “Do what you have to so you can get better.”

“And, by the way, happy birthday Taemin.” Jonghyun held a plush puppy out to Taemin and with shaky hands, the boy grabbed it.

Everyone, though, was confused. “Thanks?”

“I figured it would make you happy to give it at the worst part of the day!” None of them understood Jonghyun’s logic.

They never thought they would.

Jonghyun squinted in the little light available from his iPod as he tried to make out his own handwriting on the papers in front of him. But when the light turned out and wouldn’t go back on, there was nothing he could do. In the dark, he simply closed the book and shifted to get comfortable enough to sleep.

If only sleep would come. The clock by Taemin’s bed told him that more than a half hour had passed since he had started trying to sleep, but the dreamland seemed to evade him still. And there was absolutely nothing to do.

The small form on Taemin’s bed gave a whimper and Jonghyun squinted in the dark to try and see anything. After a few seconds, it was possible to tell Taemin was moving, but he still didn’t know if the boy was awake or asleep. “Taemin?”

There was nothing, but his tossing and turning didn’t stop. Wondering if the boy just hadn’t heard him, Jonghyun stood and quietly navigated the room to the other’s bed. Looking in, he could see Taemin’s eyes were still closed, but he was soaked in sweat and whimpers still left his slightly-parted lips. “Taemin? Are you sick again?” Again, there wasn’t a response. But Jonghyun wasn’t going to risk anything and gently raised his hand, inching close to Taemin’s shoulder to shake the boy awake. The second he touched him though, Taemin’s eyes flew wide open and were huge with fright. “Tae?”

It took only a second for him to recognize the man and then he was flying into Jonghyun’s arms, forcing the singer to sit on the bed or fall to the floor. Choosing the more comfortable option for both, he planted himself on the mattress as Taemin gripped into his shirt and didn’t move, just like with his last nightmare. “I don’t want to die.”

“What? What’d you say Tae?”

“I don’t want to die. Please don’t let me die.” His sobs made it hard to understand, but Jonghyun got it now. His arms wrapped around the shaking frame instinctively and he shifted back so they were both completely on the bed. “I’m afraid. Afraid of dying. Don’t let me die.”

“I won’t Taemin. I refuse to let you die. Okay?” The youngest shook his head in the puppy’s chest, staining the shirt with tears.

“You will. You can’t stop it.”

“Taemin.” He grabbed under the boy’s chin to lift his head enough to look in his eyes. “Listen to me. You. Will. Not. Die. Okay?” Taemin shook his head again, tears rolling down his cheeks. Jonghyun pulled him back into his chest so he could hold the small and frail boy closer. “I won’t let you die. I swear on my life, Taemin. You are not dying on me.”

“It’s Monday, July twenty-second at eight-forty-seven in the morning. One week to my lung surgery.” Taemin gave a half-hearted smile to the camera. “I’d like to lie and say I’m all excited for it, but I’m more nervous than anything. What if something happens? What if something goes wrong? I might say I am not afraid of dying, but I am. I don’t want to die.” Jonghyun froze just before leaving the hallway, invisible to Taemin as he listened in. “I just don’t want to worry the hyungs, so I have to act like I’m not afraid. Because if I am, they will be even more. But my dream last night... I died and they had kept saying they weren’t going to let me, but they did. I died and none of them cared. I don’t want them to be upset, but they will care, right?”

Jonghyun felt wrong for listening in on Taemin’s private thoughts, so he took a few steps back to the door and made sure to close it loudly before taking slow but loud steps forward. “Someone is coming, so I’m going to go now.” The camera clicked off right before Jonghyun entered, but Taemin still sat facing the screen, trying to wipe his tears away before facing the elder. And when he finally turned around, it was obvious he had been crying. Jonghyun chose to ignore that. “Hi hyung.”

“Morning Taemin. Is Key up yet?” There was a small shake of his head. “Do you want to go get some breakfast out with me then? I’m starving.”

“Sure... I just have to get ready.” Taemin stood and started to walk towards the doorway where Jonghyun was, pausing only after he had passed the elder. “Oh yeah! Hyung, why were you in my bed this morning?”

So he doesn’t remember? Jonghyun wished he’d had the acting experience of anyone of the others as he tried to keep his expression neutral and hoped his amateur skills were enough to pass. “I’d had a nightmare last night and couldn’t sleep myself. I didn’t want to wake you though and Key threw out my bear.” He had hated the diva for that, but now he only had that to thank for the perfect excuse.

And Taemin nodded, believing it. “Okay then. Next time, you could just wake me. Since, I always seem to wake you with my nightmares.”