To be honest, Nick almost dreaded facing her after the night before, but he knew he had to. That day marked the beginning of a new sort of journey for Claire, one that not only going to be long and difficult, but dangerous as well, possibly even life-threatening. If she rejected Kyle’s bone marrow, or, worse, contracted an infection after the transplant, when her immune system was virtually knocked out, she could die.
He knew she was scared, and he was scared for her. And he vowed that no matter what happened, he would be there for her. She was his friend, and he wanted do for her what she had done for him.
Before taking the familiar route upstairs to the oncology ward, Nick stopped by the small gift shop on the main level and browsed through it, looking for something to bring her. There was a case of flowers in the back, and he immediately gravitated toward it, his eyes scanning the various floral arrangements. Immediately, he was drawn to a large bouquet of roses, all in striking shades of yellow, orange, and pink. The bright colors made him think of Claire and her bandanas, and he immediately opened the door of the glass case and picked it up off the shelf.
“That will be $39.95,” said the cashier at the counter. Nick handed her two twenty dollar bills.
“Thanks,” he mumbled, as she handed him a nickel in change.
“Have a nice day,” she said cheerfully.
“You too,” he said with quick smile, then picked the vase of roses up and carried it carefully out of the shop. He quickly cut across the lobby to the bank of elevators that would take him to the fifth floor. Juggling the large bouquet in one hand, he smacked the up button with the other and waited impatiently for an elevator to arrive.
“I hate elevators; they always take forever,” sighed a voice behind him, and Nick spun around, startled, to see a young girl standing a few feet away. When had she walked up?
“Yeah,” he replied, “I know.”
The girl, who looked about twelve or thirteen, clutched a cup that held two scoops of chocolate ice cream. While she waited, she dug a small plastic spoon into the dark, sticky mound and took a small bite.
“That looks good,” Nick said, as she swallowed and licked her lips. “Where’d you get that?”
“Spotted Cow,” she replied, taking another bite.
“Spotted Cow? Where’s a Spotted Cow?”
“Back that way,” she said, motioning vaguely somewhere behind her. “Kinda by the cafeteria.”
Nick blinked. “They have a Spotted Cow in the hospital?”
“Uh-huh.”
Well, how had he missed that? Then again, he’d never actually been anywhere near the cafeteria... despite having been at Tampa GeneralHospital all too frequently in recent months, he hadn’t been anywhere inside it except the ER and Oncology. Maybe he’d have to do a little exploring someday and uncover all of its mysteries. But not today. Today he was there for Claire, and Claire only.
“Finally!” the girl exclaimed, heaving an exaggerated sigh as a pair of elevator doors slid smoothly open with a soft ding. Nick let her go in first, then stepped in after her. “What floor?” the girl asked, immediately taking over the control panel.
“Um, five.”
“Five...” she repeated, her eyes traveling to a spot above his head. He turned to see a large sign mounted on the wall behind him, containing a listing of all the floors of the hospital and what departments they contained. “Oncology?” she read. “Isn’t that for people with ca-“ She stopped suddenly and looked at him, her face reddening. Closing her mouth, she quickly turned away and punched in the number 5 and then the number 3.
“I’m visiting a friend of mine,” Nick spoke up. “How about you?”
“Oh... my little sister’s having her tonsils taken out,” the girl replied. “So is that who the flowers are for? Your friend.”
“Yup.”
“They’re pretty.”
“Thanks. So you think she’ll like them?”
“Yeah. So is she your girlfriend?”
He laughed. “No, not my girlfriend,” he answered quickly. “Just a friend... who happens to be a girl.”
She grinned. And then, all of a sudden, an expression of recognition crossed her face, as if a light bulb had just flickered on, and it had dawned on her who he was. He had half-expected it, based on her age. He’d found that most little girls around the age of thirteen recognized him. But, of course, that was when he looked... well, normal. She was good.
“Are you... are you Nick Carter?” she breathed, suddenly gazing at him in awe.
“Yeah, I am,” he admitted, blushing slightly. Why he was embarrassed to be recognized by a thirteen-year-old was beyond him, but it was the first time he had really had a close encounter with a fan since the world had found out he had cancer. And the way the girl was looking at him now was beginning to make him uncomfortable. “Um... do you want an autograph or anything?” he offered kindly.
“Uh...” She hesitated, and he realized neither of them had a paper or pen. He took a quick look around the elevator, as if it would magically contain a random scrap of paper and writing utensil for him to use.
“Nothing to sign with,” he said, defeated. “Well, would a hug do?”
The elevator lurched to a stop on the third floor, and the doors slid open. Clutching his bouquet in one arm, Nick opened his other arm to the girl, but at this gesture, her eyes widened, and she quickly backed up.
“Um, n-no thank you,” she said, smiling in a forced way. “This is my floor, gotta go, nice meeting you!” she called in one breath as she darted out of the elevator. The doors closed behind her, leaving a very confused and slightly hurt Nick behind.
“What, do I smell or something?” he asked, annoyed, to no one in particular, as the elevator began to rise again. But then he realized... she had been afraid. Afraid to hug him.
“I don’t blame her,” he muttered dully as he caught a very distorted version of his reflection in one of the stainless steel walls. Pale and bald underneath his baseball cap, with the shrunken appearance of a large man who has lost a lot of weight in a short time... who would want to hug him? He was absolutely gross-looking.
The elevator came to a stop on the fifth floor, its doors sliding open with another cheerful ding. His shoulders slightly slumped, Nick carried his roses out of the elevator and plodded down the hall to the nurses station, having no idea where he was to find Claire now that she had been moved to a new room.
There were two nurses sitting behind the round counter area, and neither were paying a bit of attention to him. One was hunched over the counter, her gray-haired head bent over some paperwork as she wrote furiously, while other was sitting in front of a computer, her eyes fixed on the screen, her fingers flying a mile a minute over the keyboard as she typed. He started to approach the older, gray-haired nurse, not wanting another encounter with the young redhead at the computer like he’d just had in the elevator. But then, taking another quick survey at the attractive young nurse, he recognized her. He’d met her the last time he’d been admitted to the hospital... she was a fan, he remembered. And what was her name? Something with an S... Sarah? Stephanie?
“Um, excuse me, Samantha?” he asked, just able to read the nametag pinned to her scrub top.
Her head bobbed up, and her eyes went wide when she recognized him. “Hi!” she squeaked, maybe a little more excitedly than she had intended.
He smiled and swallowed back a chuckle. Well, at least someone still liked him... “Hey,” he said back. “Uh, I was wondering if you could help me. I’m looking for a friend of mine, Claire Ryan? She’s been here all week, but she was supposed to be moved to a new room today, and I don’t know-“
“Oh, sure, Claire! That’s right, I forgot you two were friends. Anyway, yes, she was moved into isolation this morning. But, um, technically, only family members are allowed to... to visit her...” Samantha bit her lip and looked up at him apologetically.
“Yeah, that’s what she told me. But, um, technically, only family members are allowed to visit people in the ICU too, right? And if I remember correctly...” He trailed off, raising a nonexistent eyebrow and hoping she’d remember how she’d bent the rules and let Claire come see him when he was in ICU. And sure enough, her face went bright red. Taking full advantage of his, he flashed her the Carter half-smile and watched in amusement as her cheeks darkened another shade.
“Okay, okay, you got me,” she relented finally, throwing her hands up in defeat. “I’ll call Claire’s room and ask her, okay? And if she says you can come, then-“
“Thank you!” Nick exclaimed, smiling broadly.
“But you owe me!” she insisted with a grin and a blushing wink.
“Anything,” Nick promised with a chivalrous tip of his head. “Hey,” he said, testing her now, “how about a hug?” Setting the roses down on the counter, he stepped back and opened his arms, waiting to see what would happen. Samantha cast a nervous look in the direction of the older nurse, who was still lost in her paperwork, and then jumped up from her seat. Trotting around to the other side of the counter, she just about flew into his arms, taking him by surprise. Laughing, almost in relief, he hugged her and let her hang on to him for quite some time before she got a grip on herself and pulled away.
“Thanks,” she said coyly, offering him a sheepish grin.
“Hey, no problem, babe,” he replied flirtatiously, giving her his most charming smile. “Thank you.”
***
