"Kris, just one more ride, I promise. Then we can go eat," Nick whined after a long day of going down the slides.
"Nick, hon, I'm hungry and I want to eat. I've had enough of sliding down slides for a little bit. We can start again later," Kristin said as she headed toward where they put their stuff.
"Aw, come on just one more!"
Kristin rolled her eyes. "Nineteen years old and you still whine like you're three." Nick stuck his tongue out. "Okay, so now you're going on two."
"Funny," Nick said.
Kristin giggled and grabbed his hand. "Come on, let’s go eat lunch and I promise we'll go on the slides some more."
"Okay," Nick gave in.
The two of them went to the lawn chairs and found Rachel and Brian walking in the same direction, holding hands. Kristin grinned and went over to Rachel.
"Excuse me, Brian, I'm gonna steal her for a moment," she said as she pulled Rachel over to the side.
"Yes?" Rachel said in a half hearted tone.
"You're not hiding anything, girl, I can see that glow on your face. He asked you out didn't he?"
Rachel sighed and smiled. “Yes, he did.”
"Oh, my, gosh! Rach, I'm so happy for you!" Kristin squealed. "You'll have to tell me every detail."
"Okay, I will tonight, I guess."
Kristin jumped up and down in excitement. "Okay, we better get back to our boys. They're waiting on us."
Kristin and Rachel walked over to the lawn chairs where the boys were taking bread and lunch meat out of the coolers. Rachel seated herself on a lawn chair next to Brian while Kristin took a seat on the ground in front of Nick. All four of them made their sandwiches and began to eat.
"So, are you two. . .like. . .together. . .now," Nick asked in between bites.
“Yes, Nick, we are,” Brian said with a smile.
"It's about time! I thought you'd never ask her out."
Brian laughed. “Oh, gee, thanks, Frack."
"So, what have you two been doing all this time?" Rachel asked.
"Girl, we have been on every ride there is in this whole park," Kristin said.
Nick shook his head. "We've been all of them but that one," Nick said as he pointed to a really tall slide.
"Well, you can go on that one alone because you aren't gonna get me up there. That's too high for me."
"How bout it, Rach?" Nick said gesturing to the slide.
Rachel shook her head. "No way."
"Man, you mean to tell me I have to go up there by myself? I know Rok won't go up there with me," Nick whined.
"Well, you can go up there by yourself or not go on it at all. It's your choice," Kristin said in an irritated tone.
"Okay, fine I'm going up there by myself," Nick said as he finished his sandwich and got up. "I'll see you guys when I get back."
"Wait," Kristin said as she got up.
"You changed your mind?" Nick said with a hopeful grin.
"No," she said as she grabbed her camera. "I'm gonna take some pictures. I'll see you at the bottom," she said then gave him a kiss.
Nick took off to get in line for the slide. Kristin looked over at Rachel and Brian who were feeding each other grapes.
"You guys gonna come with me to watch Nick come down the slide?"
"Nah, we'll see you guys when you come back," Brian said.
"Okay," Kristin said as she went to the end of the slide.
Patiently she waited at the end of the slide for Nick. Adjusting her camera, she could see him at the top of the stairs already, so she snapped a picture. He waved at her from the top and she waved back. She watched him sit down at the top of the slide and slowly lean back. She held her camera steady as she waited for him to come down the slide. Kristin pressed the button, but noticed her film was out so she quickly changed it. When she got the film in the camera she noticed a crowd of people standing around the pool at the end of the slide and three or four lifeguards. Suddenly, in the pit of her stomach she felt that something was wrong. She pushed her way through the people and saw Nick laying on the side of the pool screaming in pain. There were too many people for her to tell what was going on.
"Oh, my god!" she exclaimed as she shoved her way further through the crowd. "Out of my way! Let me get to him!" she shouted while pushing through. She got to the front of the crowd and noticed a large of amount of blood coming from his right leg. She tried to run over to him, but a lifeguard stopped her. "No! Let me near him! That's my boyfriend!"
"Ma'am, please, step out of the way. We need room so we can get him on an ambulance and take him to the hospital."
"Hospital! What the hell happened up there?"
"We're not quite sure, ma'am," the lifeguard said in a calm voice.
"You don't know? What do you mean you don't know?" Krisitn continued to shout.
Just then, Rachel and Brian came running up to her. "What's going on? What happened?" Rachel asked.
"I don't know! He was just up there. . .and. . .and my film went out. . .and he. . . he. .I don‘t know what‘s going on!" Kristin sobbed.
Rachel pulled Kristin in to a hug. "He'll be okay. It's alright," Rachel said in a soothing voice. "Take a deep breath and calm down."
Brian, Kristin, and Rachel watched as the paramedics lifted Nick onto a stretcher and wheel him to the parking lot where the ambulance was waiting. Kristin ran up to one of the paramedics standing by the ambulance.
"Could I go with him please? I'm his girlfriend." The paramedic nodded and Kristin got in.
"We'll meet you there," Rachel shouted to Kristin as she and Brian headed out to his Jeep.
Kristin sat in the ambulance and looked down at Nick. He looked up at her and wiped the tear off her face then grabbed her hand. Kristin kissed his hand lightly and silently cried to herself.
"It's okay. . .I'm alright," Nick whispered then closed his eyes.
"Nick?” Kristin said as she ran her fingers through his hair. She glanced over at the paramedic. “What did you to him?”
"We gave him a sedative shot. We needed to keep him still," he answered as he gave Nick an IV.
A few minutes later, they arrived at the hospital and they quickly rushed Nick to the emergency room. Kristin watched as they wheeled him down the hall. She heard the sound of Brian and Rachel running up behind her. Kristin quickly turned around to face them.
“Where are they taking him?” Brian asked.
Kristin shrugged. “No one’s told me anything.”
“We’ll just have to wait and find out,” Rachel said calmly.
Brian nodded in agreement. “I’m sure it won’t take long,” he assured.
A couple of hours have gone by; Brian, Rachel, and Kristin waited patiently in the waiting room. Brian was slumped over in his chair with his hands over his face.
"You okay?" Rachel asked as she rubbed her hand on his back.
Brian nodded. "Yeah, I just hate the idea of my best friend being in pain."
"I know," Rachel said with sympathy and kissed him on the cheek.
Just then, a doctor came down the hall and stopped in front of them. "Are you the friends of Mr. Nick Carter?" he asked.
"Yes," Kristin said as she stood up. "How is he?"
"He's doing just fine. It seems that he sliced his leg open by a loose nail on the slide. We gave him some stitches and a tetanus shot, so he should be fine."
"Can we see him?" Brian asked anxiously.
The doctor smiled. "Of course, he's in the last room down the hall."
The three of them walked down the hall and slowly opened the door to Nick's room. There he lay on the bed with his leg propped up and his eyes closed. Kristin walked over to his bed and sat down in the chair next to it. She grabbed his hand and Nick opened his eyes. He smiled at his first glimpse of her.
"Hey," he said in a hoarse whisper.
"Hey," Kristin said with a smile. "How are you feeling?"
"I've lost the feeling in my leg due to my foot being propped up like this. Other than that I'm fine," he said with a chuckle.
"Hey, Frack," Brian said as he walked over to the foot of the bed.
"Hey, guys," he said in a groggy tone.
The doctor walked in with a clipboard in his hand. "I see you're still a little groggy form the IV we gave you. That will wear off soon. I'm gonna give you a prescription for the pain, but I advise you not to take it unless you absolutely have to. They're very strong and can make you very drowsy."
"Doctor, we leave for an American tour in two days is Nick gonna be able to perform?" Brian asked.
"If he stays off his leg for a couple of days, yes, he will be able to. Although, I strongly suggest you get yourself some crutches to walk with and only stand on that leg when performing or rehearsing. The less you walk on it for a few days the better it will heal."
"Great, so when can I get out of here?" Nick asked while trying to sit up.
"Well, everything looks fine, no infections or anything of that sort. I'll send a nurse up here to take out your IV, and after you pick up your prescription you can go on home."
"Alright!" Nick said, then moved his leg. "Ow!" he shouted.
"That is why you need to stay off it for a few days," he said with a chuckle. "I'll get a nurse up here right away."
"Thanks, Doc," Brian said then looked over at Nick. "Well, I guess everything's okay here. Do you two mind if Rachel and I leave? I'm sure you two want to be alone."
"No, go ahead. I can call a cab to take us to my place," Nick said.
"Are you sure?" Brian asked.
"Yeah, positive. You guys go have fun."
"Okay, we'll see you two later," Brian said as he and Rachel left the room.
"You okay?" Nick asked Kristin as he grabbed her hand.
"Yeah," she said softly. "I was a little scared."
Nick chuckled and squeezed her hand. "Get used to it. I'm accident prone," he joked.
"That's not funny," she said with a soft giggle.
"Then why are you smiling?"
"Because you're cute...even if you are accident prone," she said as she looked into his eyes and reached in for a kiss.
Nick smiled. “Well, I guess this means I’ll need you around for a couple of days. Are you up for it?”
“Of course I am,” she said with a grin. “But I’ll warn you. I’m a pre med student, so I’m going to be watching you like a hawk.”
“Sounds good to me,” Nick said then kissed her again.
