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<h1 align="center">Chapter Sixteen</h1>

<br><br>
Jess was standing in the bathroom in Nick’s room when she
heard a noise, ”pop....pop.....pop......pop.” As she turned
to go out into the room to see what was making that noise,
she heard scuffling and a man’s voice yelling, ”I shot him,
I shot him.”<br><br>

Jess hurried out into the room to find a man on
the floor with the security guard pinning him down and
trying to put handcuffs on him. Brian was off to one side
of the room, his face was pale, he looked shocked. When
Jess turned her focus over to Nick’s bed, her heart nearly
stopped.<br><br>

Nick had his hand clutching his chest, blood was
pouring out between his fingers. He looked over at Jess his
eyes were wide with fear and pain. As she ran over towards
him, he collapsed. She reached up above his bed and pulled
the code blue switch. A team of nurses and resident
physicians poured into the room. They didn’t waste anytime
putting Nick’s bed flat and starting CPR.<br><br>

Jess backed away from Nick’s bed and stood with
Brian. They held one another while they watched the medical
team work frantically on Nick. A nurse came over to Jess
and Brian and asked them to come with her out into the hall.
Jess didn’t want to leave.<br><br>
“It would be better for you to wait out in the
hall. You don’t need to see this.” The dark eyed nurse
looked at Jess sadly.<br><br>

She walked with Jess and Brian and went into the
hall. As they stood there, people were rushing in and out
of the room. It seemed to Jess that they were working on
Nick for hours when it actually was only minutes. Finally,
a doctor appeared in the doorway and walked over towards
Jessica and Brian.<br><br>

“I’m sorry, we did everything we could for him,
but we lost him. He took too many gunshots to the chest.”
The doctors words didn’t make sense to Jess.<br><br>
“No, no, no....” Jessica started to scream.
Brian held her tight. She wanted to run back into the room
and find Nick sitting in his bed playing Nintendo. After a
few minutes, Jess asked the nurse if it would be possible
for her to go and see Nick.<br><br>

The nurse led Brian and Jess back into the room.
She quietly told the people that remained in the room to
give them some time with him to themselves.<br><br>
Jessica walked up to the bed and looked down at
Nick’s face. He looked as if he was sleeping. She touched
the side of his cheek and noticed that his skin was starting
to get cold. Brushing the hair from his forehead, she bent
over and kissed his cheek. Blood had soaked the sheets and
had spilled onto the floor.<br><br>

Jess cried when she thought about how Nick was
trying so hard to get better. “This isn’t fair, how could
this have happened?” Jess stammered through her tears.<br><br>

Brian didn’t speak, he just held her tight. Tears
were streaming down his face as he sobbed. <br><br>

“Hey, goofball, wake up.” Jess was puzzled, why
would Nick talk to her like that. He was still laying still
in the bed. “I said are you gonna stay asleep all day?”<br><br>

Jessica jumped. She opened her eyes and realized
that she was sitting in a chair in a lobby near the
elevators. Howie was standing over her.<br><br>

“Ohmygod, Howie, you scared me.” Jess still
wasn’t sure if this was a dream she had had or not.<br><rb>
Howie laughed at Jessica’s reaction to him. He
hadn’t been back to see Nick in a few days mainly because it
was difficult for them to come to the hospital without being
recognized and mobbed.<br><br>

“Shall we go in and see how Nick is doing?” Howie
asked Jess as he held his hand out to pull her up from the
chair.<br><br>

The MTV live interview was going to air tonight
and one by one, the boys had come to the hospital to prepare
for this. While Brian was helping Nick get cleaned up, Jess
had decided to escape and took a quick nap. That was why
Howie had found her asleep in the lobby.<br><br>

When they walked into Nick’s room, they found Nick
sitting in his wheelchair dressed in jeans and a Miami
Dolphins football jersey and white tennis shoes. Jess was
happy to see Nick out of a hospital gown.<br><br>

“Boy, you look good Nick. You clean up well.”
Jess teased as she kissed him on the cheek. <br><br>

“Thanks.” Nick smiled. He was glad to wear
something normal for a change. He was getting stronger with
the physical therapy so getting in and out of the wheelchair
was no longer a challenge for him. The dressing required a
little help and he was glad Brian was there for him.<br><br>

“The crews have come already and are starting to
set up in the conference room on the first floor.” Howie
said. “Hey, Nick, when Kev and AJ come, do you feel up to
practicing a song for the interview?” Howie was hoping that
Nick would feel up to it. He knew that MTV would want them
to possibly sing a song during the interview.<br><br>

“Yeah, I guess so.” Nick was excited about the
interview, but he didn’t know how his voice would be. He
was afraid that it had been affected when he had the tubes
in his throat. He had not tried to sing.<br><br>

Kevin and AJ entered the room. AJ looked like he
had been running.<br><br>
“Man, it’s getting worse out there, I can’t
believe it. That crowd can be scary.” AJ stated as he
slumped into a chair. “Holy shit, Nick, did you get more
stuff again?” AJ said as he looked around the room.<br><br>

“Yup, I am loved.” Nick simply replied.<br><br>

“What song do you think we should do for the
interview?” Howie asked.<br><br>

Everyone seemed to look at Nick when the question
was posed. They didn’t know if Nick would be ready to sing.<br><br>

“Let’s try “I want it that way.” Nick replied.
He figured this was the best time to try as any.<br><br>

The guys pulled chairs around by Nick and they did
a silent count to start. When the song came around to
Nick’s portion, his voice was shaky. Embarrassed, Nick
cleared his throat and asked if they could try again from
the top.<br><br>

“I guess I’m outta practice.” Nick apologized.<br><br>

“Hey buddy, don’t worry, it takes time.” Brian
stuck up for Nick. “We’ve got plenty of time to practice,
nobody says we have to sing anyway, if you’re not ready,
don’t worry about it.”<br><br>

“Thanks Bri.” Nick was trying to feel comfortable
about the lack of response from his body. He wasn’t used to
not being able to sing when he wanted to sing. He was
mentally going over the lists of songs that they sing
thinking if there were one that wouldn’t be too noticeable
if he didn’t participate. All of the songs they did he
either had a major part in it or a major vocal.<br><br>

After they practiced the song for an hour, they
decided that Nick was doing the best that he could. They
tried to encourage him to sing tonight and reassured him
that his voice sounded great. They noticed a little
weakness in it, but were sure that it would be nothing the
fans would notice.<br><br>
They watched TV while they waited for the time to
arrive for them to go down to the conference room. MTV ran
the music video of “I want it that way.” The guys sang
their parts along with the video except for Nick. He was
watching himself intently wondering if he would be able to
walk across a room again, or even dance. He was starting to
feel let down.<br><br>

Jess put her arm around Nick and kissed him.
“You’re gonna be okay.” She knew that he was starting to
feel uncomfortable.<br><br>

There was a knock on the door. Jessica got up and
opened it up and stuck her face out. She was the one that
always answered the door since her face was the one that
would be unfamiliar to fans.<br><br>

“Guys, they want you downstairs now to set up.”
Jess said as she closed the door.<br><br>

Kevin pushed Nick and the rest of the group walked
around him like they were protecting him. Nick had asked
earlier if Jess could put something on his face to conceal
the bruised eyes and face but both Jess and the guys agreed
that it would make things look too noticeable. People were
going to be looking at him closely and if he were to have
something on like that, they would think he was in worse
shape than he truly was.<br><br>
As Nick entered the conference room, he saw the
table set up with five chairs. Off to the left, there were
five microphones in front of five bar stools. Nick looked
up at Jess.<br><br>

“I could see sitting in a chair at the conference
table, but I don’t think I can sit by myself in a bar stool
and not fall over.” Nick whispered.<br><br>

“I’ll talk to Kevin and see if he can change that
arrangement.” Jess whispered back. <br><br>

Just as they were getting towards the table, they
were greeting by a tall red headed woman with a deep voice.<br><br>

“Hi, I’m Anne from MTV, we put cards on the table
so you know where we want you to sit. If you have any
questions or need anything, please don’t hesitate to ask.”
She talked fast as if she didn’t want to be bothered with
any questions.<br><br>

“Um, I think we need to change the bar stool
thing.” Kevin stated. “Could you put chairs in there
instead?” <br><br>

Jessica hadn’t had the chance to talk to Kevin
about Nick’s concerns, he had brought this up himself. She
smiled when she thought about how these guys really did look
out for one another like a family.<br><br>

“Why, what’s wrong with the stools? You guys
always use stools.” Anne seemed puzzled. She didn’t look
as if she would compensate Kevin’s request.<br><br>

“It wouldn’t be too comfortable for Nick to sit
like that without back support.” Kevin partially lied to
her. True, he needed back support, but the main part was he
would have to be lifted up to the chair to even sit there in
the first place.<br><br>

“Oh, well, I guess we could put folding chairs
there or something.” Anne replied.<br><br>
“Thanks, that would be great.” Kevin smiled at
Anne.<br><br>

Brian had taken Nick up to the conference table
and pulled the chairs around his aside. They had Nick
sitting in the center of the table with Brian on his right
and AJ on his left. Nick didn’t hesitate to move his body
from the wheelchair to his seat. He was getting better with
his upper body strength and was able to move himself around
with more ease.<br><br>

Jessica found a chair by the cameras out of the
way. She always enjoyed watching these guys do an
interview. It was fun being behind the scenes and seeing
the things that go on during commercial breaks.<br><br>

Carson Daly from MTV entered the conference room
and Jess knew by the look on Nick’s face that he must have
seen her mouth drop open. She always thought that Carson
was hot and Nick always seemed to be annoyed when she would
say anything about Carson being so damn hot. She smiled
weakly at Nick and winked and mouthed I love you. Nick
smiled back.<br><br>

Jess watched the guys tense up as they counted the
seconds down to the live airing. Each of them had funny
little quirks before they performed and Jess knew every one
of them.<br><br>
“Hi, Carson Daly here for a live special interview
with The Backstreet Boys on their Millennium tour. We are
live at Tampa Bay Hospital in Florida where Nick Carter has
been recovering following a car accident that happened a
week ago last Saturday. Hi guys.”<br><br>

“Hi Carson.” They responded in unison.<br><br>

Jess could tell that Nick was nervous. He was
usually tense during interviews but tonight he was
especially tense because he knew there would be a lot of
attention focused on him.<br><br>

“Alright, I know the first thoughts on the fans
minds is how is Nick Carter? Nick?” Carson directed the
question to Nick.<br><br>

Nick smiled faintly, “Pretty good, I guess.”<br><br>

Brian could tell that Nick felt funny talking
about himself. He made a side comment to Nick and poked him
in the side.<br><br>
“Nick, what were the extent of your injuries?”
Carson asked.<br><br>

Nick kind of rolled his eyes and really didn’t
want to go through the list. Brian took over for Nick.<br><br>

“He was banged up pretty good, but he is doing
better now.” Brian replied. He figured less was more and
it was no one’s business what was going on with Nick.<br><br>

“Which one of you would you guys say has been the
driving force that has kept Nick upbeat and positive?”
Carson asked.<br><br>

“Jess.” The guys responded in unison.<br><br>

“No doubt about it, it’s Jess.” Brian replied.<br><br>

“Who’s Jess?” Carson asked.<br><br>

“Nicky’s girlfriend.” The guys replied in a
teasing voice. They all looked over at her and jeered.<br><br>

Jess felt like she wanted to crawl under a chair
and die from embarrassment.<br><br>
“She’s here?” Carson asked.<br><br>

“Yeah, over there.” Brian said as all of them
pointed in the direction where Jess was sitting.<br><br>

The camera panned over to where she was and the
red light went on meaning that she was on live TV.<br><br>

“Hi Jess.” The guys laughed and waved at her when
they said her name.<br><br>

“Hi guys.” Jess smiled back at them and waved
back. She gave them a funny look as if to tell them that
she would be getting back with them later.<br><br>

“Ooh, she does not like to be in the spotlight, eh
Nick?” Carson smiled at Nick.<br><br>

“No, not really, she’s kinda shy that way.” Nick
answered and winked at Jessica.<br><br>

“Okay, your new album Millennium debuted over six
weeks ago and have three singles that have reached the top
ten from this album. When do you start your European Tour
and where?” Carson asked the group, not directing his
question to any specific person.<br><br>

“Well, um, that’s been postphoned right now
indefinately.” Brian spoke up. “We were to start touring
the first of July in Amsterdam, but Nick would not be able
to tour right now, so we’ll have to wait until he gets
better.”<br><br>
Nick kept his head down looking at the table while
Brian talked. He felt bad that he was keeping his friends
from doing what they wanted to do.<br><br>

“The tour would be too much of strain on Nick?”
Carson asked.<br><br>

Nick really felt funny now, here they were talking
about him as if he weren’t in the room. He sat still in the
chair. He knew that the camera was on him.<br><br>

“Well, the accident was only a little over a week
ago and we’re lucky that Nick is here with us right now.”
Brian spoke out in Nick’s defense. “By the grace of God, he
will be stronger and be able to resume our schedule soon.”<br><br>

Jess felt her heart fall when she looked at Nick.
She knew how embarrassed he was that they were talking about
him as if he weren’t in the room. She wanted to run up to
him and hold him.<br><br>
After a few minutes of talking about the group and
some of the songs on the album, Carson told the viewers that
the Backstreet Boys would sing a song from the Millenium cd
when they returned.<br><br>

They had approximately four minutes to have Nick
go over to the chairs that were set up for their song. The
guys cleared the way and Anne from MTV brought Nick’s
wheelchair over to him. Nick quickly moved himself into the
wheelchair. Jess thought she saw a flash of light while he
was moving into the chair. At first she thought it was a
camera flash, but then she dismissed it thinking that the
crew would be more professional than that.<br><br>

Everyone got into their seat in front of the
microphone. They had less than thirty seconds before they
were back on the air. Nick was getting more nervous
thinking about singing. He hoped that his voice would be
more stronger, he prayed that his voice would be clear.<br><br>

“Welcome back, I’m here in Tampa Bay, Florida,
with the Backstreet Boys. They are going to sing I Want it
That Way from the Millennium cd. Here’s the Backstreet
Boys.”<br><br>

Carson stepped out of the way and the background
cd was cued up for them to start. Brian started his part
flawlessly. When Nick’s part came up, he hesitated, but it
wasn’t enough for anyone to notice besides the group.<br><br>

Nick looked over where Jess was and decided to
sing to Jess instead of the camera, it made him feel more
comfortable. He didn’t try to sing anything fancy
especially the parts he was usually pumped up for while he
sang. It was simple, almost like he was in church. The
guys sang a little louder to cover for Nick’s voice being so
shakey. Nick felt like he was getting winded singing a
three minute song. He was suprised how much it took out of
him.<br><br>

Carson took calls from fans, most of them told
Nick how sorry they were about his accident and that they
were praying for him. One girl asked Nick if he was still
hurt and one had the nerve to ask if there would be any
lasting effects from the accident.<br><br>

The show was getting ready to end and Carson asked
the group while they were having a commercial break if they
would sing another song. <br><br>

“Nick, are you feeling up to it?” Brian asked.
All of the songs the group sang involved Nick in one way or
another.<br><br>

“I dunno, I guess I could try.” Nick wasn’t too
sure of himself. He knew the last song was a real struggle
for him to get through. “I guess we could do Larger Than
Life.”<br><br>
“Are you sure? That is a heavy song.” Kevin
asked.<br><br>

“No, I think I can get through it. You’ll carry
me if I can’t sing my part, won’t you?” Nick asked the guys
quietly.<br><br>
“Sure we would.” All of the guys agreed.<br><br>

The cameras went on and Carson walked over to
Nick. “I want to thank you for allowing us to come here and
do this live interview. I know that the fans appreciate
being able to see that you are okay. Good luck and keep in
touch.”<br><br>

“Thanks.” Nick and the guys thanked Carson.<br><br>
“As we close, we’ll hear another cut from their
new album, Millenium. Here’s the Backstreet Boys singing
“Larger Than Life.”<br><br>

The cd was cued up again and Nick started his part
out flawlessly. Towards the end of the song, it was
becoming more difficult for him to sing his parts and the
guys knew and carried him. With the song being so new fans
wouldn’t really know which parts were Nick anyway.<br><br>
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