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Downtime - Chapter 14

It all happened in slow motion. Brian saw Nick falling down on the ground. His first impression was that Nick was playing a prank on him again, weird timing, but then Nick’s timing had never been that good. Then he saw that the teen was laying curled into a ball, hands towards his stomach. Completely lifeless. This was what scared Brian the most as he sank down next to his friend on the grass.


"Nick, oh my God, Nick," Brian whispered as he felt his friend's clammy forehead. Turning towards Kevin who had come running to see what happen he said with fear in his voice, "He fainted."


Kevin, always keeping his head level, sank down next to his cousin, gently patting Nick's pasty white cheek. "Come on buddy," he whispered softly, trying to get Nick to wake up. Never in his life had Nick passed out before, he had been close several times when he was so tired that he was exhausted. But the 15 year old usually managed to stand with both feet on the ground. The pale face, covered with slick sweat scared them. This was not the little brother they were all used to seeing. There was something seriously wrong with the teen. Brian grabbed Nick's lifeless hand and felt panic surged up inside him when he felt how cold the hand was.


Kevin was doing his best to wake Nick up, but his attempts to wake his brother up was futile, "Come on little man." When the tall man received no response he sat down, a worried frown on his forehead. "We have to call an ambulance."


Brian nodded. The whole situation felt too surreal. It had all happened so fast. Although that he had suspected all day that Nick was not feeling one hundred percent, the teen had been up, running around, playing ball like always. The next second Brian looked at Nick; he saw how he suddenly sank to the ground, holding his stomach like he was in serious pain. Then his eyes rolled back and he passed out. And now he was lying on the grass completely motionless.


"Come on little buddy," Kevin cajoled, not giving up his attempts to get Nick to wake up. It failed once again. Brian's eyes stung. What if there was something seriously wrong? He had only known Nick for 3 years but he had never seen him act this badly. People were swarming around them and Brian felt cold. Nick was not waking up.


"What happened?" Jackie called out as she came running, her husband, Brian's brother and Kevin's mom in a tight pace. Sinking down next to Nick she asked as she felt his forehead, "What happened? Did he hurt himself?" Turning to her youngest son she asked with panic in her voice, "Brian what happened?" Her son was pale as a ghost, shivering violently.


"I do..don't..kn..know," the young man stuttered as Kevin offered an explanation.


"Nick was playing ball when he suddenly grabbed his stomach and sank down. We've been trying to get him to wake up, but he won’t wake up."


"Should we call the paramedics?" Brian's brother asked, while Jackie waved him off. Turning to the crowd she asked, "Did anyone see how it happened?" They all shook their heads; they had all been too engrossed in the game and trying to catch the ball.


Kevin's brother offered, "I think Nick was aiming for the ball when he suddenly sank to the ground, clutching his stomach." "You think that he might have sprained a muscle?" Kevin's mother, Anne asked her sister in law. She too looked at the pale teenager that lay on the grass. ”Maybe we should move him," she suggested.


"No!" Brian's brother said, "We don’t know what's wrong with him. I’ll go in and call the paramedics." With that the older man straightened his legs and walked in towards the house.


"You don’t think that we are jumping to conclusions?" Anne asked Jackie as the two of them were checking Nick over.


"No," Jackie shook her head, "I knew that Nick wasn’t feeling too good today, but to pass out from being sick, especially when he isn’t running a temp is something I wouldn’t want to mess with. The boy needs to go to a doctor."


"Oh boy," Brian muttered. "Nick will love this."


"What did you say?" she turned her head against her son.


"Nothing." There was no need for his mother to hear the fear that Nick had for doctors. Jackie shook her head as she whispered, "Nick was complaining that he didn’t feel well earlier." Putting a hand to her mouth she mumbled, "Oh Lord, I wish I would have listened to him." She stroked the teen's pale face.


Seeing how sad his mother looked Brian held an arm around her. "Mom, it wasn’t your fault that Nick passed out. I knew that Nick wasn’t feeling well."


"You two sound like the boy is dying," Harold Jr. interjected, "I’m sure it is just a bout of the flu."


"Like you faint from that?" Brian sneered back.


"Actually you can if you tax yourself too much," Kevin filled in with a frown.


"Let’s hope that it is all it is," Harold said as he came back. "The paramedics are on their way."


"Good, maybe we should move the boy to the house," Anne added, "he'll get cold laying on the damp grass."


"No mom," Kevin interjected, "We shouldn’t move Nick until we know what is wrong with him."


Ann nodded, "I guess you are right son." Around them people were coming up with all sorts of suggestions what could be wrong with Nick, and they were all willing to give their advice on what to do.


Jackie felt on Nick's hand, "Oh he is so cold." Turning towards her husband she said, "Hand me that coat of yours." Without hesitation Brian's dad took off his coat and put it over Nick's body. Jackie lifted his head into her lap. Nick moaned silently.


"He's waking up." Kevin said as they all saw Nick stir, not so much but it was definitely there. The teen was starting to wake up. They breathed sighs of relief.


> The words triggered a lot of commotion and people moved in closely on them. Brian was there again, bending over his sick friend. Stroking Nick's forehead he noticed that it was very sweaty and clammy and judging from the wrinkle on the young teen's forehead he still appeared to be in pain.


The sound buzzed around Nick and it felt like he was swimming under water. Everything was just one BIG blur. Slowly he was waking up, struggling to open his eyes. The pain that had blinded him earlier was now replaced with a dull ache. A strange uncomfortable feeling filled his stomach and he moved his hands instinctively towards his abdomen. As he tried to open his eyes he found that his eyelids were so heavy like they weighed several pounds. Yet he forced them open just to be met with a pair of concerned blue eyes staring down at him. He had seen those eyes before and they belonged to his best friend in the world.


Brian!


"Hey Buddy," Brian called out as he smiled widely. "How are you feeling?" He hugged his friend's hand, tightly.


Blinking, a bit confused, Nick tried to get his bearings. He looked around noticing that a lot of people had gathered around him. And they all looked concerned. Opening his mouth he tried to say something, but the words seemed stuck in his mouth.


"Wha..What happened?" Nick mumbled hoarsely. He was still confused what had happened. All he remembered was a pain, worse that anything he ever experienced, ripping through his gut. Then he got very dizzy and the last thing he saw was that the ground seemed to come closer toward him.


"You fainted," Kevin said as he also hunched beside the teen.


"Oh!" Nick blinked with his eyes several times as he shifted on the grass. His stomach still hurt, but there were also another uncomfortable feeling in the back of his throat.


"How are you feeling?" Jackie asked with a concerned look in her eyes. "Where does it hurt? Your stomach? Your head?"


The questions were many.


Nick shook his head weakly. "Just my stomach." He moaned as he shifted on the grass one more time.


"Yes Nick, but where does it hurt? In the middle or by your side?" Jackie was gently pressing Nick's abdomen and the sick boy groaned as her hands smoothly pressed down on his stomach.


"Does it hurt there?" Brian asked as he saw Nick grimace when his mother was doing the quick examination.


"Mhm..A bit." The bad feeling in the back of his throat was making him nauseated and it felt like he would throw up any second now. The nausea came on pretty fast and the tingling, burning sensation down his esophagus made him sick.


"The paramedics will be here soon son," Harold said comforting, but that didn’t relax Nick at all. He tensed.

"No... No," he mumbled, tossing with his head back and forth like he was in panic. "I don’t need to go to a hospital." He tried to sit up, "In fact I am all better now, see." He smiled palely towards the worried faces. Nick had taken acting lessons and was a good actor, but he was NOT such a good actor that he could fool two mothers.


They looked down at Nick with disbelief, "Young man you lay down again. Fainting is not something to take lightly." Anne tried to get Nick to lie down again, but the teen was stubborn.


"Maybe it is just the flu or something," he said as he gave away another pale smile. There was no way that he was going to reveal how shitty he felt and he did his best to act like whatever had been bugging him was gone. When his body betrayed him! It started in the back of his throat and before he could say or act he felt thick sour liquid burn and as he opened his mouth to warn the people beside him that he was going to be sick, his stomach decided to jump out of his body and he puked projectile style on the grass.


"Nick!"


"Oh my God!"


"He's throwing up."


The comments were many and it was clear that this was something that disgusted most of the guests and Nick felt his eyes burn as he let go of the contents. His stomach heaved over and over again as he threw up violently. When he was regaining breath again after hurling over and over again he stuttered hoarsely, "I’m s..so..sorry." Tears burned in the corner of his eyes, making it difficult for him to see.


"Oh honey there is no need to apologize," Jackie mumbled as she held Nick's shivering shoulders. People had naturally moved out of his way. It turned out that when he started to heave so violently both Jackie and Anne had waved them all away. "Are you feeling any better?" Anne asked as she stood up.


"Yes," Nick nodded, "Maybe that's what I that needed. I feel so much better now. My stomach doesn’t hurt as much as before." He licked his parched lips. Just as he uttered those last words the pain in his stomach made him fall back again. Jackie steadied him and laid him back down again, whispering soothing words to him. Nick closed his eyes. He wished that his mother was there taking care of him.


"When are the paramedics arriving?" Brian asked as he was pacing impatiently. He was just as pale as his friend on the ground.


"Calm down buddy," Kevin said softly, putting an arm around Brian's shoulder, "You are getting all worked up, and if you don’t relax you will end up as sick as Nick."


The teen peered up, "Yeah Frick, take it easy," his smile was weak, but it was still there.


"They are here," Harold Jr. came running, "the paramedics have arrived." He was followed by two men.


"Finally," Jackie breathed a sigh of relief when Anne stood up to meet the men to explain what was wrong with her guest. Nick groaned on the ground. His eyelids were closed and he could feel tears trickling down his cheek. He did his best to try to wipe them away when Jackie leaned over him whispering, "No baby that is okay. Let them all out." She bent over and kissed him on his forehead. Just like his mom used to do when he was little and sick.


"Hey buddy," one of the paramedics said as he hunched down beside him. He was black and his brown eyes were comforting. "Nick is it?"


"Yes." Nick felt his eyes widen with fear. He had only been at a hospital before for something and that was when he broke his arm riding a bike. That was when he was 13 and he happened to do that when he was free from shows and concerts. Downtime never was good for him.


"My name is Joe," the man said as he said, "Mrs. Richardson says that it’s your tummy that hurts. Right?" Nick nodded. He felt too sick to answer and the bile burned in his throat again. "Can you tell me what happened?" Nick nodded and then started to tell in as small sentences as best he could how the pain had started and how much it had hurt when he fell down on the grass. Joe listened all the time, taking notes on a pad in front of him. Meanwhile the other man named Phil was feeling his pulse and taking blood pressure.


When Nick felt like he had nothing more to say Joe said, "I want you to answer some questions while I feel your stomach. Okay?"


The teen nodded again, shifting a bit uncomfortably as the man pressed down on his stomach. "Does it hurt when I press here?" Joe pressed down gently onto Nick's stomach.


Nick shook his head. It was uncomfortable but it didn’t hurt. In the corner of his eye he saw Brian and Kevin standing there, biting their lips, looking shocked. Especially Brian.


He gave thumbs up to them to tell them that it was all fine, when Joe pressed down again and it hurt so much that he let out a loud scream. Joe instantly turned towards his partner, "Rebound pain," he stated in an authoritative voice and his partner opened up a bag. Turning back to Nick he said, "Listen Nick, we have to take you in to the hospital." Nick’s eyes went glazed. Jackie stroked his cheek, comforting.


"Wha..what is wr..wrong with me?" he asked stuttering, his lips quivering as he was on the verge of crying again.


"It is nothing dangerous, but we think you have appendicitis," Phil said kindly, as he continued, "Nick this will poke a little, but I need to put an IV into you."


Nick bit on his lip as he tried to be brave, closing his eyes hard he didn’t want to see the needle. It stung a little but not too much for him to handle. When it was done and he had an IV dripping into a line in his hand he looked up to see Brian's concerned blue eyes looking down at him. "Hi," Nick mumbled as he reached out to grab his best friend's hand.


"Hey little man," Brian smiled back. "You'll be okay, don’t you worry." Tears pricked in Brian's eyes.


"I know," Nick said strongly, looking at Kevin he said, "Now we both had had our appendix taken out."


"Yeah," Kevin grinned and Brian added, "Count me in too." He smiled. "Now we have a certain bound." The three boys laughed silently.


"Will he be okay?"

"Yes," Joe nodded, "But I am afraid that it is about to burst because I don’t like the way his stomach is distended." Turning back to Nick he said, "Did you say that your stomach suddenly hurt really bad?"


"Yes there were like a snap." Upon hearing those words there were suddenly action on the ground. The paramedics said something to each other and before Nick knew what happened he was carried over to a stretcher. The movement made him feel even more nauseous and he gagged violently. He could feel himself being moved to the side and Joe rubbing his back as he was rushed towards the ambulance. Nick could feel his stomach hurt with each heave and he had hard time breathing. Never had throwing up felt so bad. The pain was back in his stomach again and he moaned silently. Suddenly feeling all dizzy.


"How are you doing buddy?" Joe asked as they shoved the stretcher into the ambulance.


Nick wanted to say that he felt okay, but that would have been a lie because he suddenly felt all strange in his body. He was starting to shiver constantly. It was like chills wracked his body and no matter how many blankets they covered him with he still shivered. The nausea returned with a vengeance and on top of everything his vision felt all blurred and strange. He feared that he was going to pass out. The feeling like he was under water returned and he could hear the voices around him yelling something.


"He's going into shock," someone yelled in a far away distant voice before he lost all feeling in his body.