Nick awoke to the ring of his cell phone. "Hello," he said with a yawn.

"Nick, where the hell are you? Do you know what time it is?" It was Brian.

"I am at Elle's loft..." Nick began before Brian interrupted.

"You didn't Nick, please tell me that you didn't."

"Geez Brian. Who do you think I am? AJ?!? I am over here sleeping on Elle's couch because Elle's sister Carrie was killed last night."

"Oh my God," Brian started. "What..who..."

"You heard me Bri. Elle's sister was killed. She got caught in between two gangs who were exchanging bullets. Elle and I found out about it right after we left the studio. I took Elle to the hospital and then back to her loft. I guess that I didn't realize how tired I was and I fell asleep."

"How is Elle?" Brian asked.

"She is pretty heartbroken. She and Carrie were pretty close because of the death of their parents. She's sleeping right now though. I will be at St. Luke's Hospital around 8 to work out things. I am not sure when I will get back to the hotel."

"When Elle gets up, will you tell her that we will meet you two at the Hospital around 9:30."

"I'll do that, see you in the morning Bri."

Nick clicked his cell phone off and looked around the room to try and figure out what time it was. When he found the clock, which was under his coat, the face read 3:30. Nick set the alarm to 7:00 and went back to sleep.

7:00 came around faster than Nick had anticipated. When the alarm went off, it took Nick 15 minutes to actually open his eyes and crawl off the couch. He walked into Elle's room, Elle was wrapped in the covers on her bed. Nick looked at how she looked so cute despite her puffy eyes and tear stained face. He stood their a moment longer and then walked over to Elle's bed and attempted to wake her up.

"Hi Nick," Elle said, trying her best to wake up.

"What time did you get here?"

"Actually Elle, I sorta, kinda, fell asleep on your couch." Nick said. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be. I am glad that you are here. What time do we have to go back to the hospital," Elle said, trying to hold back her emotions.

"How does an hour sound?" Nick asked. "If you get ready, I'll even cook for you."

"Nick Carter, a chef? What's the specialty today?" Elle asked while climbing out of bed.

"I was thinking toast and watermelon. Now, there's something that even I can't mess up." Nick was trying his best to keep things cheery.

While Elle was getting ready to go back to the hospital, Nick made breakfast. At 7:45, the two left the loft and climbed back into Elle's car.

At the hospital, Connie helped Elle made the funeral preparations. They both decided that Tuesday would be the day that Carrie would be laid to rest. This gave Elle just enough time to call relatives and for them to fly out. It was then that Elle realized that by tomorrow, she would no longer have a home. Next, Elle made her first appointment the grief counselor at St. Luke's Hospital. After everything was in order, Nick led Elle outside to where the rest of the Backstreet Boys would be meeting them in less than five minutes.

AJ, Kevin, Brian, and Howie had rented an eight person van for their short stay in New York before heading back to Florida. When the van pulled up in front of St. Luke's Hospital, the group of four were somewhat amazed at the difference in Elle's character today. Howie was the first to exchange a hug with Elle and the rest soon followed.

"How are you doing?" Kevin asked Elle.

"Better than last night," Elle answered. "This whole thing is unbelievable. I don't even remember if I told Carrie that I loved her yesterday morning."

"I'm sure she knows. That's what you have to count on when you lose someone." Kevin said.

"I know. It's just so hard. It's like, by me not being there for Carrie, I let her die. I could have been there for her, but I wasn't. And I paid the ultimate price."