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Author's Chapter Notes:

 

Nick becomes jealous of Mark which leads him to some irrational behavior

“No way,” he smiled when he looked up to her. “So you still do know what a plane is!” He joked standing up quickly so he could hug her across the desk. “How are you?” He asked when they finally broke apart.

“I‘m good, how about you?” She asked as she took a seat next to him at the desk.

“Yeah same here,” he said holding up his left hand letting her get a quick glance at the gold band on his finger, “Married now.”

“Really?” She asked trying to sound surprised, Lou had kind of kept her up to date with the happenings through email which now she was quite thankful for because if she hadn’t of known it would have been quite a blow. Hers and Marks relationship had been far from just friendship but again he had been reluctant to commit, maybe it was her? Maybe she just sought these guys out? Then again maybe if Mark was married now there was still hope for Nick, maybe he would change his mind? But what if it wasn’t just a commit thing, all the guys she had been with had rejected her in that way. Oh stop it, stop over analysing everything,” she thought to herself as Mark filled her in on what he had been up to.

“…so she’s due in September,” he beamed when he talked about expecting his first child.

“Congratulations, Rachel’s actually due in September too.”

“So you are going to be an Aunt? So how about you? I hear your dating someone famous so how do the other half live?” He asked.

“Quite well, lets just say I haven’t been flying coach lately,” she smirked.

“Oh god do you remember the trip to Nepal?” He asked starting to laugh.

“What the twelve hour flight where I was trapped between the two obese guys who stank of B.O in coach? Then there was the bloody ride on the back of the questionable looking bus whilst lugging around my backpack plus all the medical equipment? Yeah who is going to forget that anytime soon?”

“Forget what anytime soon?” Brian asked as he met her at the desk after Lou had shown him around.

“A trip to Nepal, don’t ask it’s a very long story,” she said, “Brian this is Mark, Mark Brian, Nick’s friend. Marks a registrar here kinda like a resident back home,” she explained.

“Well actually I’m a consultant now,” He said showing her his I.D badge.

“Really? Wow congratulations.” He certainly had done well for himself, he just looked so in control of his life, so happy, so un Mark like, when they had been going out he had been the other way round completely. Hell he was even considering quitting work because he didn’t know if he wanted to be a doctor, her on the other hand had everything mapped out just like always, just showed that no matter how much you planned and had goals it didn’t always mean you were going to get everything you wanted.

“For almost a year now. You still working in cardiology?” He asked.

“No ER at the moment, it’s definitely an eye opener, I wouldn’t mind getting back into this though,” she wistfully said as she looked around.

“Well we are going to Nepal again this year, I can send you the info if you’d like, we’re always screaming out for experienced nurses,” he offered.

“I’ve been out of it for a while now though, I would be so rusty.”

“Take a look at this and tell me what you see?” He said handing her the piece of paper with lots of lined that peaked and fell on them, an ECG of a patient who was obviously on the unit, or should be if the result of this test was anything to go by.

“That’s complete heart block,” she said handing it back.

“And what do we do for heart block?”

“Pace them, so was he a TGA or something?” She asked.

“Double outlet right ventricle, and you are far from rusty, at least consider it. How long are you here for? Do you have time for a coffee?” He asked.

“Do we have enough time? Is that okay?” She asked Brian knowing they had to be back for sound check.

“We’ve got plenty of time,” he smiled back. “You can fill me in about the previous trip to Nepal.”

***

Nick opened his eyes slowly and was pleasantly surprised when his head didn’t pound in distaste, he tried breathing through his nose but wasn’t as successful and he ended up nearly coughing up half a lung. Even after all the coughing he did have to admit that he felt slightly better, his head didn’t hurt, he wasn’t as bunged up and his throat wasn’t as sore as it had been. Maybe now he could give Adie the welcome he had wanted to yesterday. He knew from when he sat up that she wasn’t in the bed next to him and there was no noise coming from the bathroom so maybe she had met up with Rachel for breakfast. He flung his legs up and over the edge of the bed and that’s when he found the note on his night stand, along with the four tablets, water and nasal spray.

“Hey you big germ,

Dr ordered sleep so I left you in bed. Gone to GOS with Bri, be back before sound check will meet you at venue. Take the paracetomol and Ibuprofen, two squirts of the nasal spray and try not to talk much!!

Love you hope you feeling better.

Love

Nurse Lushtoosh!

Xxxxx

P.S drink lots of fluids!!

Drink lots of fluids? Well what else was he going to drink? Why did people feel the need to say that? He shook his thoughts from his head as he made his way to the bathroom, he grimaced slightly when he saw his reflection in the mirror, he still looked like shit, his face pale and sallow looking, he was going to be in the makeup chair for hours tonight. He did feel better though and he had already spent two days cooped up in this hotel room he couldn’t bare the though of doing it again. No he would shower, get some food in to his system and go to the hospital and meet her, he didn’t need to meet any of the kids, he didn’t need to go into any of the critical care areas, hell he could just wait in the lobby for a bit but at least he would get to spend a few hours with her.

He switched on the shower and hopped inside sighing when the warm spray hit his shoulders and slid down the rest of his body, the steam already easing the congestion in his nose. The warm water helped ease his sore muscles but was by no means as good as the massage she had given him last night, it was so good to feel her hands on him, working out all of the stressful knots that he had actually fallen asleep under her touch. “Way to go dude, you don’t see her for how many weeks and then you fall asleep on her!” He knew she would understand though, he was sick it’s not like he could help it but already with her only being her for a few hours he felt as million times better. He was just pissed off that she couldn’t get more time off work, that in two days she would be leaving again and it would be another three weeks before he would see her. Then again after Cape Town was over it meant that he would have nearly a whole two months off to enjoy with her.

When he hopped out of the shower he quickly towelled himself dry and threw on a pair of jeans, and t-shirt and quickly ran his fingers through his hair before he grabbed the nearest baseball cap.

Half an hour later he was walking in through the main entrance to Great Ormond Street hospital and spotted Adie immediately, her laughter radiating throughout the lobby, a true smile, something he hadn’t seen in a long time, not even when he gave her the ring and the promise of opening up more to her. What was even more concerning was the guy that was making her laugh, their body language seemed to mirror each others, he was too close almost invading her personal space and when he grabbed for her hand and gave it a squeeze Nick felt compelled to make his presence known.

“So I grab her just as this guy on a bike comes speed-”

“Nick,” Adie smiled cutting Mark off, but it wasn’t like her smile earlier, it didn’t quite meet her ever so expressive chocolate orbs. “What are you doing here?” She asked slightly surprised as she pulled away from Mark’s grasp, instead wrapping her arms around Nick’s neck.

“I felt better and didn’t want to waste this morning without you,” he said smiling when she leant up to kiss him on the cheek.

“You still feel a bit warm, did you take the pills?” She asked and he wanted to roll his eyes, he wasn’t a child, he didn’t need to be made to feel like one, especially in front of this doctor dude, well he was assuming he was a doctor if the stethoscope was anything to go by.

“Yeah. So who’s your friend?” he asked smiling his well rehearsed fake smile to Mark.

“Oh sorry…Nick this is Mark, I used to work with him here and Mark this is Nick my boyfriend,” she introduced noticing immediately how Nick’s eyes darkened when she mentioned Mark’s name, shit he does remember, she thought to herself as she watched the pair shake hands.

“Nice to meet you,” Mark said.

“You too,” He smiled before turning back to Adie, “Have you already been to the ICU?” He asked.

“Yeah that’s where we bumped into Mark I guess we ought to be going really,” she said smiling apologetically to her friend.

“Really? I feel like I’ve monopolised your morning you didn’t even get to see the plans for the new building, Francesca is in today as well and I know she will kill me if I don’t at least take you up to say a quick hello.”

“Fran’s in?” Adie asked and Nick could hear the obvious disappointment in her voice as if the look that crossed her face wasn’t enough. God he hated this, but he knew what he had to do after all if he didn’t she would spend the rest of the day bummed that she didn’t get to someone who she desperately wanted to.

He took her hand making Adie look to him hopefully before he smiled and said, “Stay if you want, it’s only sound check this afternoon.” The smile the crossed her face was enough to make him feel good.

“You’re sure? Cause I can see her another time,” she tried but he knew deep down she was only saying it because she felt she had to, because she didn’t want to seem to eager.

“Yeah. Meet me for dinner back at the hotel?” He asked.

“Of course. Keep taking the Ibuprofen and throat spray and rest your voice,” she told him as she leant up to give him a quick peck on the lips. She said a quick goodbye to Brian and then he watched as she walked towards the bank of elevators all the while laughing and joking with Mark, her voice and laughter ringing throughout the hallway and he couldn’t help but think that was how they used to be.

He had to get that spark back.

***

As if having a cold wasn’t bad enough, the world just seemed to be against him today. He should have known that his sudden feelings of being better would not last, that by the time it really mattered he would be feeling like shit, well he was feeling like shit now and he hadn’t even sang a note so it didn’t bode well for tonight. It was just fucking typical of him to get sick before a big show and it always seemed to be him, no one else ever infected him, it was always him infecting everyone else, then because of travelling in such close quarters it meant it would circle back around. God he would be lucky if he got rid of this stinking cold before the end of this leg of the tour.

Add all that to the fact that they were doing a full run through today because of the added pyro and cameras plus the fans sound check party, all he wanted to do was crawl into bed for the next seven days but unfourtunetly he wasn’t Nick Carter this week he was Nick Backstreet. His dampened mood did nothing to discourage him from the distressing thoughts of what Adie was doing at this precise moment with Dr fucking McDreamy, Great thanks to her obsession with Grey’s anatomy I’m now having visions of her sleeping with him just like bloody Meredith did - oh god do not let it slip to the others that you’ve watched that!” he thought to himself as he threw the tennis ball against the wall and caught it again.

It had taken all he had to tell her to stay earlier because it was the last thing he wanted. He was well aware of who Mark was, of what had happened between him and his girlfriend, there was a lot of history there and he could in all honesty say that he was confident that Adie didn’t still have feelings for him. Just the way she was looking at him today, their interaction with each other, their body language she had been like she had three years ago when they had first met and that’s when the starteling change in her occurred to him.

Yes she had gotten more serious the longer they had been together but then so had he, it was just part of growing up, of getting older but in that time she had seemed to of lost her spark, to have lost herself. He knew that it was partly to do with him, he was partly to blame for her unhappiness but then again she had a hell of lot, a lot more then most, a lot more then before they had met, so who was she to be unhappy?

“Are you angry at the ball or at the wall?” Brian asked starteling Nick from his thoughts.

“Neither,” he grumbled.

“Everyone gets sick Nick, loads of people have crappy immune systems,” he tried to joke, catching the tennis ball when Nick threw it at him.

“I’m not mad at that,” he said catching the ball when Brian threw it back.

“Aahh so you are mad at something!” Brian said raising his eyebrows. Damn it now he was going to have to talk, why couldn’t he have kept his big mouth shut?

“Maybe,” he shrugged as he carried on the little catch and throw they had going on.

“Ohh is it like a guessing game now? Who’s Nick pissed off at and why? Do I get a prize if I guess right?” He joked making Nick shake his head but smile at his goofy friend.

“Whatever.”

“It’s Adie and that Mark guy isn’t it?” Brian asked knowingly.

“How did? Oh my god your like the dude from hero’s that can read peoples minds!” Nick joked back.

“Maybe. Is there a bit of history there between them?” He asked.

“What you mean you couldn’t tell from being around them today?” He sceptically asked. “They used to date, got quite serious but he uh ended up being a bit of a player and then with her Dad’s heart attack she moved back and I guess it ended. She still loves him,” He stated.

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Brian chastised.

“Oh come on you saw how they were around each other,” Nick snapped.

“What I saw was two people who haven’t seen each other in a long time catching up, they were reminiscing about stuff, you know like you would if you ever bumped into…if you…” Brian tried. But when he thought about it all of Nick’s relationships never seemed to end amicably where they could remain friends.

“Who Brian? Paris? Mandy? Tiff? What does that say about me? How long is it going to be until Adie is added to that list?”

“Look I’m not going to sit here and let you get down on yourself. If you look back on your track record at the girls you used to date it’s not surprising none of them ended amicably, they were only for you because of your money and your status, we all know Adie isn’t like that,” Brian pointed out.

“Yeah but in that past it was always me calling the shots on when things ended, what if this time it’s her?” He asked unsurely.

“You guys are going through a rough patch, happens to every body man. You’ll get through this, just don’t go doing anything stupid.”

Little did Nick know that by this afternoon Angel’s question would be answered.

***

She walked into the sound check a little over halfway through and almost walked right back out again when she heard the song that they were singing, it couldn’t be a sign could it? Right now she wasn’t so confident. She was so terribly confused.

Being back in this city, going back to where she trained, seeing her old life, her old hospital, her old friends…seeing Mark, well it made her feel so unsure of her life, of the choices she had made to lead her down this path. Yes Mark was married now, yes he had a baby on the way, yes she knew nothing would ever or could ever happen between the pair but it hadn’t stopped her thinking what if today. What if she hadn’t of caught Mark in bed with that other nurse? What if she could have gotten past it? What if her Father hadn’t of had his heart attack? What would her life be like now? Would she have been happy or would she be feeling the exact same way she was at this precise moment? She didn’t know and she knew she never would.

The one thing she did know though was that she couldn’t stay there in the mood she was in. She needed a few hours to herself, she needed some time to think and so she quickly left, telling Marcus she would be back at the hotel. Nick hadn’t expected her to show there anyway.

***

It felt so damn good to get out of the venue, even if it was just going to be for a few hours. The run through and sound check party hadn’t gone as bad as he thought, his voice managed to hold out but he knew there would be a few snaky comments on live daily about his lack of participation and conversation during the sound check. To hell with them though, he knew there would be a lot more flack to contend with if he couldn’t perform tonight.

Marcus had decided that a “through the kitchens and depths of the hotel” route was a good idea and Nick agreed whole heartedly. He loved his fans but there was nothing worse then having to stand and smile, be happy and sign autographs when you felt like crap. All he wanted was his bed, well Adie in his bed but yeah he could live without anything else for the moment.

“C’mon dude,” Marcus said when the car pulled to a stop in the loading bay of the hotel. Nick hauled himself out of the car and followed Marcus towards the elevators, leaning up against the corner of it when they got in. As he predicted it stopped right at the main lobby but luckily Marcus had pre-empted this and stood in front of Nick, slightly blocking him from view as the two girls got in. Nick knew from the get go that they weren’t Backstreet fans though, they would have recognised Marcus right away if they had been and he knew he could relax again, so he closed his eyes and leant his head back against the mirror, listening to their conversation.

“I say if he’s saying no just accidentally forget to take them, you know once your pregnant he’ll warm up to idea. I mean look at-”

Nick’s eyes snapped open at what he heard. No she wouldn’t do that, it wasn’t her style, then again what was to stop her? She was very head strong when it came to getting what she wanted, at achieving her goals and this was a big one of hers. She might have been skipping out on them for months, ever since their argument over it, Jesus how many times had they had sex since then? It wasn’t as much as they would have if he hadn’t of been touring but still it was enough, hell one time was enough. He put his face in his hands as he contemplated that repercussions of this, he could be a father, right now she could be pregnant.

If she was she would have made it known though, there’s no way she wouldn’t have told him the second she got off the plane, then again maybe she was and she didn’t know yet. Jesus this was one hell of a fucking mess, how was he supposed to ask her something like that? “Oh honey I heard these two girls talking and their plan sounded pretty much like something you might do to trap me into having a child, so are you?” Yeah he didn’t think it would go down to well either.

Pills! I If she was taking her pills she would have them here with her, he could count them, make sure. That was the safest way forward.

“Dude you okay?” Marcus asked when the elevator lurched to a stop at their floor.

“Just got a slight headache, I’m gona go lie down,” he said as he walked towards his room.

“Sure thing, I’ll knock you half an hour before we have to leave.”

Nick waved at him and then slid the key card in the door, pulling the handle down when the light turned green, holding his breath until he could see she wasn’t in the room. Sighing in relief when he realised she was in the shower when he heard the water running, that was good it gave him time to find the pills. He quickly went to it, finding her holdall, throwing it aside quickly when he realised it was empty, she liked to unpack everywhere she went, even if they were just staying for the night. That meant one of two things, it was either in her wash bag which would be with her in the bathroom or it would be in her purse.

He took the second option rummaging through the bag, smiling when he felt his hand locate the bottle in one of the side pockets. “Please let it be the pill, please let it be the pill.”

He sighed in relief, at least there were with her, now all he needed to do was count how many were in there, there shouldn’t be many that he knew for sure, she was always due on at the end of the month and they were well into May now. He carefully opened to top and shook the contents out into his palm, concentrating so much on not dropping any and counting he didn’t hear the water stop running and he was literally caught with his hands inside the cookie jar a few moments later.

“What are you doing?”

Chapter End Notes:
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