Crash Course

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Chapter 22

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AJ jumped as a stretcher crashed next to him. He made a face. Why was everything so loud? Didn't they understand he had a headache? So why didn't they just shut up? People's voices echoed around him, reminding him what a busy place the ER was. Every now and then a nurse would hop to his side and check up on him. All he wanted was Howie to come back- they were wrapping his wrist up or something. Who knew.

He started banging his feet against the metal leg of the stretcher he was sitting on, gaining unhappy looks from the patients and staff around him. So what. He was bored.

"Hi, AJ!" came a voice. He sighed. The perky little nurse with the big hair was back again. Great.

"Hi."

"And how are we feeling?"

"The same as thirty seconds ago, Kelly," he returned, reading her nametag. "How are you?"

"Fine, thanks. How many fingers am I holding up?"

"Eleven."

"Funny, AJ. This is important. Come on, be serious."

"I am serious. You mean you don't have eleven fingers?"

"Headache? Nausea? Blurry vision?" She glanced down at her clipboard, pen ready.

"Does the cafeteria have a Mickey D's, Kelly?"

"I don't know, AJ," she huffed.

"Cause if it does, I'm gonna-" He was cut off as a thermometer was forced in his mouth.

"Under the tongue, honey. And don't talk."

"Where's Howie?"

"Don't talk. He'll be out here in a second. Maybe he can control you."

"But-"

"Is it under your tongue? Quiet." He slumped back resignedly and was silent until the thermometer beeped a minute later and she pulled it out.

"See, there's nothing-"

"You have a slight fever," Kelly interrupted, marking it on her chart. "We'll keep an eye on that."

"You do that. Now go a-"

"AJ!" Howie appeared in front of them and AJ grabbed his arm in relief.

"Get her away from me," he whispered desperately. Howie just smirked but Kelly took the hint soon enough and left with her clipboard to attend to some other business. "Finally," AJ muttered. He glanced down at Howie's wrist, where a cast covered around his hand and a quarter of the way up his arm. "Is it broke?"

"Fractured."

"Ooh, ooh, can I sign it?" AJ sent him a childish grin and Howie smiled back in return.

"Go for it. Nothing vulgar though, AJ, ok? I have to wear it for six weeks."

"I'll try my best," AJ said with a laugh. He looked around. "I need a marker."

"Don't worry about it. You can sign later. You'll be the first." Howie paused and looked his young friend over. "You doing okay?"

"Peachy."

"How's the headache?" he asked, noticing the creased forehead that was partner to AJ's pained expression.

"These bright lights are hell, D," AJ admitted.

"Why don't you try and sleep? You look tired." AJ sent him a look of objection, but Howie shook his head. "Just lay back," he said, patting the stretcher. "Relax, I'm not going anywhere." He grabbed a seat on the chair next over.

AJ sighed. He was tired, that much he admitted. So for Howie's sake he decided he'd try and get some sleep. He leaned back and pulled up his feet.

He was asleep before his head hit the pillow.

- - -

He decided not to uncover his eyes. Enough was enough, he didn't need to see this on top of it all. He took a shaky breath and tried to listen. What was going on now?

Poor Kevin. He was gonna miss the guy. Sure he was bossy and they didn't always get along, but he was like family to him. Nick felt his throat close up and his eyes filled. Where was Brian? He needed Brian.

He counted the seconds in his head. Thirty, thirty-one, thirty-two . . . What was going on? He must've been sitting in silence for ten minutes, at least that's what it felt like. He jumped when he felt a hand on his arm. He didn't move or uncover his eyes.

"Frack, come on."

"Nicky?"

The second voice sounded like Kevin, but it couldn't be. Kevin was gpne. He sniffled and heard Brian's voice again.

"He's okay. Give him a minute."

The couch sank beside him and Nick found himself pulled into someone's arms.

"You okay?" Kevin's voice asked. Nick sniffled again and shook his head.

"Kevin?"

"Yeah, baby."

"Are you dead? Brian, is he dead?"

"No, Frack. He's okay."

"What happened?" Nick opened his eyes slowly and wiped his face with the back of his sleeve. Was he for real? Kevin gave him a squeeze.

"Frank shot at me, but you warned me and I got out of the way in time," he explained. "The bullet got Jill instead. It only nicked my arm."

Nick let out a breath of relief. "That's good. Is Jill . . ." He trailed off and Kevin nodded.

"Yeah. She won't bother us anymore."

"Where's Frank?"

"He collapsed after he pulled the trigger," Kevin said. "He's out like a light."

Brian sighed and squeezed next to Kevin's other side, wrapping his arms around his cousin for a second silently. He pulled away and took a breath. Before he could say a word, the door banged open and three uniformed cops took over the room. Nick quickly buried his head in Kevin's arm. He could just see the situation repeating itself again with the so-called 'help'. With their luck, who knew.

"PD," the eldest of the cops said, taking in the situation surrounding him as the two younger officers went to check over by the desk. "What happened here?"

Kevin left the two on the couch and went to the cop, explaining the stituation. The cop nodded throughout the narrative and took a few notes on a little pad before looking up.

"Were you shot?" he asked, noticing the stain on the younger man's sleeve. Kevin nodded.

"Yeah, it just kinda nicked me," he said. He tried not to think about it, it made him feel dizzy. The officer nodded.

"We'll get you and the other boys to a hospital. After that, the three of you will probably be asked some more questions about what happened." He paused and turned toward his crew. "Guys, how's it coming?"

"This man's still alive," one of them said, sliding cuffs on the wrists of Frank's unconscious body. "He has a pulse."

"Take care of it." The officer turned back to Kevin. "I'll take you boys over to the Memorial Hospital in my squad car. It's the closest."

"Sure. Thanks."

"No problem, that's my job. The car's outside, I'll meet you there."

Kevin nodded and headed back toward the couch as the officer moved to the end of the room. "We're out of here, boys," Kevin said. "He's giving us a lift to the hospital."

"Can we go home instead?" Nick objected.

"Me and you have to get fixed up," Kevin told the younger boy. "But I'm sure we're gonna get a break from tour after this, before we're on the road again. So we can go home then."

Nick nodded with a dubious expression. Sure they'd have a break. Donna and the rest of management would probably fill in more dates to cover up anything they had missed instead. They'd be working forever. He sighed and got up of the couch without help, leaning his weight on his other leg. Brian bounced up next him.

"You need help?"

"No." Nick shook his head, but Kevin came to his side anyway.

"Let's get out of here."

- - -

Howie never even realized that he had fallen asleep, but before he knew it someone was shaking his arm and calling his name. He opened his eyes slowly and lifted his head. Ow, his neck hurt. A nurse he didn't recognize stood in front of him, so he assumed the shifts had changed.

"Yeah?" he asked groggily.

"We have an extra room with beds for you two," she said softly. "You didn't look that comfortable . . ."

He smiled. "Yeah. Thanks."

"No problem. That one right there," she directed, pointing over to her right. Howie nodded and thanked her again. He stood up from his chair and went to AJ as she continued on with her job. The kid was in a curled up position resting on his side and Howie hated to wake him, but knew he'd be more comfortable in a bed anyway.

"Aje? Wake up . . ." Howie touched him in the side lightly and AJ jerked away, immediately awake. He was caught off guard until he saw it was Howie by his side.

"Oh hey, D."

"Hey. We got beds if you want. I can't sleep in that chair. You coming?"

"Yeah." AJ slid off his resting spot with a groan. "My head hurts . . ."

"Try not to think about it," Howie suggested as they walked toward the room the nurse had shown him.

"Damn, why didn't I think of that?" AJ said sarcastically. "Doesn't work, D."

"Sorry. You can go back to bed."

"Yeah . . . Sorry, Howie. I'm just kinda sick of all of this," AJ said as he laid down on one of the beds. Howie took the other one across the room and sighed.

"I know, AJ. I am too."

"I hope the guys are all okay," AJ continued, staring at the ceiling. He started counting the water stains up there. Three, four . . . "Do you think they're out of the cabin?"

No answer came and AJ turned his head to the side. Howie was sound asleep. Oh well, good for him. He needed sleep anyway. It seemed like he was always the one awake through all of this. AJ turned his attention back to the ceiling.

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Chapter 23

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Brian leaned forward and rested his chin on his hand. He had no idea what time it was but he was wide awake, the bustling of the ER like a movie around him. He watched patients slide back on forth on stretchers, the hallways like a highway for the nurses and doctors passing each other with distracted expressions on their faces.

He was watching an older woman making her way across the room with a walker. She went slowly, but the determined expression never left her lined face for a second. It was funny the way one room held so many people of varying histories, illnesses, and problems, yet they were all holding on to the same thing.

Hope.

Some soap opera was playing on the television that hung from the corner of ceiling. The volume was turned low, but over the hustle and bustle Brian could hear a woman proclaiming her dedication toward one of the men on the screen as sappy music played softly in the background. How far from reality could you get.

Brian chewed on his fingernail distractly. It was a nervous habit he'd never let go of over the years. He looked down at the floor where mismatched beige and white tiles shined up at him. It was a wonder they kept this place so clean.

The seat next to him suddenly sank and Brian turned to see a little boy climbing up next to him. He smiled at the light-headed boy easily. "Hey."

"Hi! Who are you waiting for?" The child couldn't have been more than five and was nothing but smiles.

"Two of my friends."

"Oh, are they okay?"

"They will be." Brian smiled back. "Who are you here for?"

"My ma."

"Is she okay?"

"She's having a baby," the little boy said proudly, his young voice suddenly serious. "I wanna little brother."

"Oh you do, huh? Well, I hope you get one."

"Me too."

"Mr. Littrell?"

Brian looked up as a nurse called his name and saw her motioning him closer. He immediately scrambled up from the couch and gave the boy on the couch a smile. "Good luck, kiddo."

"Thanks!"

"Are they okay?" were the first words out of Brian's mouth upon reaching the late shift nurse. The older woman eyes crinkled and she nodded.

"Yes, they're fine. Actually I wanted to ask you something. You have two other young men in your group, yes?"

Brian nodded and his voice fell. "Yeah, but I don't know where . . ." He watched as she raised her eyebrows in amusement and his heart skipped a beat. "Do you?"

The nurse smiled at his eager voice. "McLean and Dorough?" Brian's head bobbed up and down. "Room 221." She pointed a little way down the hallway.

"Thanks!" He spun to go, but she caught his arm.

"Could you do me a favor? My daughter's a huge fan of you boys." She smiled. "Would you mind giving an autograph. . .?"

"No problem." He wanted to get to the guys but took the piece of paper and the pen that she offered. "What's her name?"

"Angie."

Brian scribbled a short message on the paper and recapped the pen, handing it back to the woman. "There you go." As she thanked him, his eye caught on her name tag. Angie. He grinned, thanked her again and took off running, ignoring the staff's objections to slow down.

- - -

Howie was in a peaceful sleep, his thoughts free from worry, when out of nowhere someone jumped down on top of him. His eyes flew open to see who had tackled him so suddenly. It was Brian . . .

Brian?!

"Howie!!" Brian exclaimed, shaking his shoulders. There was a huge grin on his face. "Oh my God, Howie! I missed you guys so much. Where're you been? Are you okay?!"

"Brian!" Howie grinned and gave the younger man a hug. He sat up and put his feet on the floor, pushing Brian off of him gently. Brian was almost bouncing in excitement. "Are Kev and Nick around?"

"Yeah, they're getting fixed up. Kevin got shot," Brian said absently. Howie's mouth dropped open, but Brian ignored him and ran over toward AJ.

"AJ, wake up, wake up!"

"Bri . . ." Howie objected, but AJ was already up and rubbing the sleep from his drained face.

"Hey Brian! Where'd you come from?"

"A cop dropped us off."

"A cop? A cop found you at the cabin?"

"No, not exactly . . ."

"How was Kevin shot?" Howie was asking. He came over and squeezed in to sit on the bed the other two occupied. "Is he okay?"

"Yeah, he's fine-"

"Kev was shot?" AJ's jaw dropped. "By the cop?"

"No . . . Not exactly . . ."

- - -

"Don't come near me. That's right, stay where you are."

"Look, son, we need to take care of your leg. You've lost a lot of blood and might have an infection," the shiny headed man started in a soothing tone. He tried to be patient. Why did he always get stuck with the arguing teenagers anyway? "If you just-"

"No, stop. Get away. Are you even a doctor?" Nick ran a hand through his blonde hair, keeping an angry eye on the man wearing the glimmering stethoscope. It was probably a fake one.

"Yes, son. Don't I look like a doctor?"

"Looks are nothin'," Nick answered petulantly. "Show me your diploma to prove it."

The man sighed exasperatedly. "It's hanging in my office. If you're not difficult, this visit can only take a few minutes."

"Go get it."

"My office is not at this hospital. It's at my private practice."

"I'll wait for you to go get it then," Nick answered. That would give him enough time to get out of there anyway. The emergency part of the hospital had curtained rooms with brown cushioned examining tables. Nick crossed his arms and shifted on the table he was sitting on. He didn't like being alone with this guy.

The doctor moved closer and Nick's guard immediately went up. "Son, let me take a look at your leg," the doctor said patiently. He kept coming closer.

"I'll scream . . ." Nick warned. He began to get nervous and could hear his heart beating.

"I'm not going to hurt you," the bald man said, still coming.

"Stop!" Nick yelled. "Don't touch me!" He kicked the man away with his good leg, catching him in the stomach a couple times. The doctor let out a growl and stormed out through the curtains. Nick sighed. Now maybe he'd listen.

Instead, he was back in about ten minutes with Kevin at his side. Nick rolled his eyes. Great, the enforcer was now here. Kevin's upper arm was bandaged with clean, sterile linen under his t-shirt. No sling or anything. It didn't look like much.

"Hey, Nick," he greeted, moving to Nick's side. "What's the matter?"

"He's not a doctor."

"Nick, come on, buddy. Sure, he is . . . "

Nick eyes turned away, past Kevin. "Get out!" Nick yelled, his attention suddenly focussed on the doctor standing silently at the side of the room. "Why can't you just get out and leave me alone?!"

Kevin rested a cool hand on his head easily. "Hey now." His voice was verging on being irritated, but Nick ignored it and kept glaring at the doctor until he left. "Calm down. Behave yourself," Kevin said softly when they were left alone. "I know you feel like crap, but relax."

Nick just pressed his lips together and stared at him silently. After a moment, his shoulders slumped and he looked away. Kevin sighed and gave the table top a pat with the palm of his hand.

"Lay back," he directed. Nick shook his head. "C'mon, Nick. Lay back." Nick set his jaw and silently did as told. He had learned over the years not to argue with that tone. "Now breathe, okay? Relax." Kevin looked at him a minute before he was satisfied. "I'm gonna call the doctor back in and let him look at your leg." He didn't wait for an answer and disappeared from his side for a minute.

There was no way out. Nick breathed in deeply and tried to be calm. It seemed like a few minutes passed before Kevin came back through the curtain with the so-called doctor. Nick turned his head to the side and tried not to glare or make any remarks.

"Are we ready?" the man asked, sounding tired. Nick read his name tag silently. Burns. Doctor Burns. He committed it to his memory. That was the name that would go on the lawsuit when-

"Ow!"

"Easy there. I'm going to unbandage this," Burns said smoothly, face unmoved. "It might hurt a little."

Might? A little? Nick silently cursed the man and grabbed onto Kevin's arm, digging in. The older man didn't make a remark, but Nick felt his hand on his head again and shut his eyes. Counting backward from hundred, he tried not to think about his leg and the pain. He bit his lip not to make any noise.

"Okay . . ." the doctor said suddenly.

"Okay what?" Nick demanded, opening his eyes. Kevin was looking at the wall.

"This is gonna need stitches."

"I think we all knew that," Nick muttered. "Damn doctor wannabe."

"I'll be back in a moment," Burns said, not hearing the statement and pulling away through the curtain. Nick let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding.

"You holding up, Nicky?" came Kevin's voice.

"Yeah," Nick said softly.

"We'll be out of here soon."

"Yeah."

"Okay!" They heard some rattling and saw the doctor returning with a nurse and a tray of instruments. Nick's eyes widened and he suddenly felt dizzy. "Let's get this over with, shall we?"

How reassuring, Nick thought. He just nodded and looked away. What was this, major surgery? He took another deep breath and wondered why he was suddenly feeling weak.

"Alright, first I'm just going to give you this shot to numb your leg. And then this one is to fight any infection that you might have picked up, alright?"

Could he say no?

- - -

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Chapter 24

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He was tired. Suddenly he just felt drained from everything that they had been through. Kevin came out of the examination area of the ER wearily and glanced around the waiting area for Brian.

Okay, no Brian.

He groaned. Why couldn't that kid just stay in one spot for once in his life? Did he ever listen? He was tiredly debating how to hunt him down and kill him when someone called his name. He spun around.

"Mr. Richardson?" the nurse repeated.

"Yes?"

"Looking for your friends?"

"Yeah," he admitted. "Do you happen to know where they wandered to?"

"Room 221." She pointed down the hall and sent him a smile. "Why don't you get some rest too?"

"Yeah, I will. Thanks." He returned the smile gratefully.

As Kevin walked through the door of the room the nurse had directed him to, he suddenly found arms wrapped around him in a tight hug. He was caught off guard and for a second a thought went through his head that he'd gotten the wrong room by accident until he heard AJ's voice.

"Kev! You're back!"

Kevin grinned and returned the embrace, lifting AJ off the floor for a second. "Hey, buddy!" he exclaimed. He was so relieved to see the guys in one piece. "You okay? Hey Howie," he greeted, releasing AJ to give to other a hug.

"Kevin," Howie grinned. "Are you okay?" he asked, looking at the older man's arm. Kevin nodded.

"Yeah, just scraped me," he said, wrapping an arm around AJ easily. "How my boys doing?"

"Good."

"Where's Nicky?" Howie asked.

"Sleepin'."

"He okay and all?"

"Yeah, he's a tough kid. He'll pull through," Kevin said. "He just needs some rest and relaxation."

"You look tired, Kev," Brian spoke up. "Why don't you sleep too?"

"I just might take you up on that," Kevin answered with a laugh. He pushed AJ away lightly and headed toward the other bed with out another word. He could sleep forever.

- - -

When Nick opened his eyes, he finally found himself in a nice, clean, white bed. He hadn't realized how much he had taken sleeping in a bed for granted before this. He let out a sigh of relief and rested his head back against the pillow.

It was then he realized he didn't feel any pain. Or his leg.

He started to panic. They said stitches, not amputation. What if something went wrong and they had to-

Stop, he told himself. Nothing happened. He lifted up the sheet and sure enough, his leg was still there. The shot they had given to him probably hadn't worn off yet. Like novacaine or something like that. He was thankful for the temporary relief.

It certainly had take a lot out of him though; he could barely move his arms he was so exhausted. He hadn't felt this way since their first tour when he wasn't used to all the performing. He was just plain tired.

Nick vaguely wondered what time it was. He had no idea if it was even morning, noon, or night. It was like when you were sick and you slept for a real long time so that when you woke up you found that even though it felt like only minutes, the whole day had gone by while you were sleeping. That surreal feeling that was almost depressing.

A knock came at the door and a nurse poked her head in. When she saw that he was awake, she bounced right in.

"Hello, sweetie, how are we feeling?"

Nick just shrugged.

"Alright. Now stick this under your tongue," she directed, pulling out a thermometer. Nick silently did as she said, waiting a minute until it beeped. She pulled it out of his mouth and glanced down at it, writing on her chart. "You do have a fever. Do you feel your leg?"

He shook his head.

"Alright. I'll be back within the half hour to check up on you," she said, disappearing out the door as quickly as she had come.

As she promised, she was back within the half hour. Several times in fact, much to Nick's dismay. It felt like every five minutes she was back, knocking and sticking her curly head in the door. So many times, Nick was getting tired of it.

The next time he heard a light knock, he was finally fed up. "I'm sleeping!" he yelled.

"Then why the hell are you answering?" came an amused voice. Nick sat up straight.

"AJ! AJ!"

"Hey, little man, what's up?" AJ grinned as he came to the younger man's bedside. He ruffled the kid's hair playfully and Nick knocked his hands away.

"Where'd you come from? Is Howie here?"

"Yup. We ran into Brian and Kev a little while ago. You were sleeping for like two hours, man."

"Yeah well, it hasn't helped." Nick was grinning at seeing him. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, pretty much," AJ answered. He pulled a chair up to the side of the bed. "How's the leg, baby?" Nick just shrugged absently. "What's that mean?"

"I don't know. I can't feel it. They gave me something to numb it awhile ago and I still can't feel it."

"Well that's good then. No pain."

"Yeah, it's all good. Where are the guys? I wanna get out of here."

"They're all like sleeping in the other room," AJ said with a shrug. "Brian and D are like making fun of some soap opera on TV. They were a little while ago at least. So I left to come bother you."

"Let's go to the other room then," Nick said. He wanted to see the other guys all together.

"How? You can't walk if you can't feel your leg."

Nick shrugged. "You can carry me."

"I probably could but I'm too tired," AJ said with a small smile. "Just stay here."

"I don't wanna stay here . . ." Nick whined. "This nurse keeps coming in every ten seconds."

"They're bothering you too?" AJ laughed roughly. "And I thought it was just me."

"C'mon." Nick sighed. "I wanna go home, Bone."

"Me too, Frack." AJ leaned back and shut his eyes. "I could go to sleep right here . . ."

"No, don't sleep," Nick objected. He didn't want to be alone again. Things bothered him more when he was alone now. "Talk."

"About what, kid?"

"About . . ." Nick trailed off. He tried to think. "About . . . what happened to you and Howie after you left the cabin."

"You really wanna hear?" Nick nodded. "Okay, it started when D and I got picked up by a car on the highway . . ."

- - -