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


<br><br>
Nick worked very hard to practice the dance moves and keep
up with the rest of the guys. It was hard, but he had to
keep up with them, Nick had convinced himself that he was in
perfect health despite what Dr. Parnello had told him and he
was just not going to let any negative comments get him
down.<br><br>

Jess was not very pleased that Nick had thrown out
all of his doctor’s advice to him and went ahead and signed
to do the new tour. The rest of the guys did not know that
Nick’s health was in jeopardy, and Jess, as much as she
wanted to, could not tell any of them what was going on with
Nick. She remained ever watchful of him though and she knew
she was almost being too overprotective of him, but she
could not help it.<br><br>

She watched how Nick struggled to do dance steps
that were much easier for him to do this past spring. With
his being sick all summer long and the stuff that went on
this fall, he had put on a little weight and it was
difficult for him to do some of the moves that were
physical. He forced himself to do them and Jess could see
that his face was beet red and his hair was soaked with
sweat. When it came time for Nick to sing his part, his
voice was winded. She knew that Nick was not pleased with
his performance, but she also knew that Nick was going to
keep going no matter what it involved.<br><br>

“Wait, wait, hold on a sec.” AJ waived his hands
in the air. He was getting annoyed listening to Nick
attempt singing.<br><br>

“Nicky, did you need to stop here? You, well, you
sound awful.” AJ looked Nick directly in the eyes.<br><br>

“No, I am fine.” Nick was still huffing and
puffing after they stopped.<br><br>

AJ picked up a towel and threw it at Nick, which
he caught as it hit him squarely in the chest. Nick wiped
his face off immediately.<br><br>

“Let’s go again, I don’t need to stop.” Nick
protested.<br><br>
AJ shrugged his shoulders and motioned to the band
to start up again by gesturing with his hand doing a slight
circular motion.<br><br>

Nick was trying his best not to get so winded, it
was something he mentally told himself he would have to work
on, do something with it. He was so shocked at how quickly
he was out of breath though. Maybe if I took some vallium
at break, I would be more relaxed and then I could do these
steps with more ease. Nick touched his front pocket where
he had put his prescription bottle. He was glad that he had
brought them along with him. He was desperate to try
anything at this point.<br><br>

Nick stopped in mid dance step which threw the
entire group off. “I am ready to stop for a five minute
break.” He annouced.<br><br>

AJ brushed past Nick without saying a word. Jess
could tell he was annoyed with Nick. Brian, Howie and Kevin
also walked past Nick each making conversation, with only
Brian smacking Nick in the shoulder as he walked past him.<br><br>

Nick excused himself to Jess and walked towards
the restrooms. He figured he could take the pills now and
they would kick in by the time the break was over. When
Nick got into the restroom, he pulled the vallium out of his
pocket and opened the bottle and poured out a handful of the
white pills but only taking two and shoving the rest of them
back into the bottle. With that done, he cupped the pills
in his hand and walked out towards the table that had
bottles of water on them. Nick’s eyes darted right and left
as he quickly slipped the pills into his mouth. He uncapped
the bottle of water and took a generous drink before he
capped it up again.<br><br>

“Nicky, my boy, I am so glad to see you trying to
make a go of this again. It’s great to have you back on the
stage.” Brian said as he tried to hug Nick.<br><br>

Nick’s response was spilling water on the front of
his grey tee shirt. “Oh, shit. I hate when I do this.”<br><br>

Brian laughed at Nick’s expense. “Take it easy
there, boy, it’s typical anyway, and besides you’re so full
of sweat anyway, it kind of blends in.”<br><br>

“Oh, yeah.” Nick smiled sheepishly.<br><br>

“Hey, Nick, don’t worry, the dancing will get
easier and you know it, it’s just been awhile since you have
done this. Don’t let yourself get down on this, okay?”
Brian tried to encourage Nick.<br><br>
“I know that Brian, the extra weight didn’t help
me much either. But I will be fine.” Nick tried to think
with a positive outlook.<br><br>

“Thats the spirit.” Brian winked at Nick as he
uncapped his water and took a huge gulp from it.<br><br>


Nick was definately starting to feel relaxed. He
knew this was the effect he was looking for, he figured if
he was limber enough the dancing would just come more easier
for him. Nick walked towards Jess. He came up from behind
and encircled her waist with his hands. He bent down and
kissed her gently on the side of her neck.<br><br>

Jess reached back with her hand and touched the
side of Nick’s face. “Hey, you must be feeling better, I
see.” <br><br>

“Yes I am, I could dance all night.” Nick
whispered quietly to Jess.<br><br>

“Good thing cause it looks like they are going to
start up again.” Jess observed.<br><br>

“Dammit.” Nick chuckled as he gave Jess another
quick kiss and then turned and walked back to where he
should be standing for the next song they were going to
sing. <br><br>

Jess walked to the side of the stage and down
stairs to a door that led to the audiorium seats. She went
a few rows back in the center aisle and sat down to watch
the guys practice. She only got to see them from offstage
so this was fun to watch.<br><br>

Jess was suprised when she saw the change in
Nick’s performance compared to what it was like before
break. “This must have been what he needed, a little rest.”
Jess thought to herself. Nick was performing at the same
intensity that he had before the accident.<br><br>
Even the guys noticed the improvement in Nick and
they complimented him on the good job he was doing. Nick was
happy that the pills helped him to achieved the energy he
needed to continue to perform.<br><br>

After a few hours of practice, they decided that
they had had enough. Nick stopped by the water table and
grabbed another bottle of water. He was extremely thirsty
after dancing nonstop for two hours. <br><br>

“Are you tired?” Jess asked Nick, she was
concerned because he was so sweatty and red faced.<br><br>

Nick gulped his water. He was tired, but he did
not want to admit it to Jess. “Naw, this is great! This is
what I have been waiting to do since June, I am pumped up
for this.” <br><br>

“Oh, you just look like you’re exhausted.” Jess
observed.<br><br>

Nick slammed his water bottle down on the table
which caused a chain reaction causing six bottles to topple
over. “I said I was fine, can you just leave it at that?”
Nick was becoming very angry with Jess and he stormed off
towards the bathrooms.<br><br>

Jess watched Nick walk off. She could tell by the
way he walked that he was upset with her. She decided to
sit down on the couch and wait for him to come back. Jess
glanced over at Brian to see if he caught Nick’s outburst.
Brian was putting clothes and a towel into his duffle bag.<br><br>

“Bri, I guess I will never learn my lesson not to
push Nick too far, huh?” Jess sighed.<br><br>

Brian smiled at Jess and shrugged his shoulders.
He didn’t really know what to say to Jessica, she would have
to learn Nick’s moods all on her own, like the rest of them
had.<br><br>
Once in the bathroom, Nick still felt tense and
uptight about Jessica’s remark. He needed to calm down, he
could feel his blood pressure rising. As he threw his hands
to his sides, he felt the prescription bottle in his right
hand pocket. Nick reached into the pocket and pulled the
tiny brown bottle out that had his vallium in it. His mind
searched to remember how many hours ago it was that he had
taken the last dose. The instructions on the bottle said
one to two every 6 hours as needed. It had only been 3
hours since he had taken the other two. Nick reasoned that
two more at this time would not hurt him one bit. He
spilled the contents of the bottle into his hand and picked
two pills out of the pile and scooped the rest back into the
bottle.<br><br>

Jess watched Nick come out of the bathroom. He
still looked quite upset to her, but she certainly wasn’t
going to bring that up with him for fear it would cause
another outburst. He walked over to the water table and
picked up the bottle of water he had been drinking out of.
He put the vallium into his mouth and took a gulp of water
to wash it down.<br><br>

“What cha taking?” Jess was curious when she saw
Nick put his hand to his mouth before he took a drink of
water.<br><br>

“Asprin, I have got a wicked headache.” Nick lied
to her.<br><br>

“Oh, I hope you’ll feel better soon, then.” Jess
smiled at Nick.<br><br>

Nick felt awful about lying to Jess now, but he
managed a weak smile to her.<br><br>

“I’ll be fine, and Jess, I’m really sorry for
blowing up at you a little while ago.” Nick fiddled with
the bottle cap as he appologized to Jessica.<br><br>

“Hey, forget it, I have.” Jess said as she
watched Nick play with the cap.<br><br>

“See you tomorrow, Nick?” Brian said as he picked
his bag up and pulled his car keys out of his pocket.<br><br>
“Yeah, sure thing, at 10 again, right?” Nick was
confirming the time of the rehearsal.<br><br>

“Yup, 10 a.m. See you guys later.” Brian smiled
and walked out the door.<br><br>

Nick started to feel sleepy. “Jess, could you
drive back to the house, I am feeling really tired right
now.” <br><br>

“Sure, honey.” Jess helped Nick pack up his
clothes and towel. Nick grabbed another bottle of water
before they walked out of the studio.<br><br>

Once they got out into the parking lot, Jess hit
the button to unlock all of the doors on the durango. Nick
got into the passenger side and adjusted his seat so it
leaned as far back as possible. He took his hat and put it
over his face.<br><br>

“Boy, you are beat, huh?” Jess said as she got
into the car and looked over at Nick.<br><br>

Nick just groaned, he didn’t have the energy to
talk. He drifted off to sleep before Jess had even pulled
out of the driveway.<br><br>