| Chapter 58 In the time it took Ted to drive to the hospital Nick had started having trouble breathing. He was coughing and gasping for air at the same time. "Hurry up Uncle Ted!" Lyn said, looking into Nick's eyes and seeing fear in them. "We're here," Ted said pulling into the emergency drive and stopping the car. He jumped out and ran around the side of the car and opened the back door. A couple orderlies came out with a gurney and approached the car. Lyn helped set Nick up, and Ted helped him out of the car and onto the gurney. "James, move my car please," Ted said to one of the orderlies as he was half running into the hospital. Lyn jumped out of the car and ran after them. They took Nick into a closed off room where there were four nurses waiting. Lyn stood next to the door watching. "Someone get him on some oxygen," Ted said pulling on his gloves. One of the nurses placed the mask over Nick's face. Everyone knew their job, they worked like a seasoned team. One nurse was hooking up an IV, another was taking blood pressure, one was cutting Nick's shirt off, and the other was helping Ted. He was calling out orders for tests and examining Nick at the same time. They drew some blood and rushed it off to the lab. Lyn was amazed, she was seeing her uncle at his best. Right then and there she found a new admiration for what he did, and how well he did it. Nick had calmed down some, but was still laboring to breathe. They had taken X-rays of his chest as soon as he came in, and were waiting on them to come back. "Lyn, you can come up here if you want," Ted said. Lyn walked around and stood at the head of the bed, Nick looked at her and tried to say something. "I didn't understand you," Lyn told him. He reached up and pulled the mask off his face, "Call ..Brian." "OK, as soon as they get you settled I will," Lyn said. Nick nodded his head and put the mask back on. "Here we are doctor," a nurse said, coming through the door with the films in her hand. Ted put them up on the board and turned on the light. "Holy shit," a nurse said before she could stop herself. Lyn looked up, "What is it?" Ted looked over at her, "Both his lungs are 90% full. Lyn, I need you to step out for a little bit." Nick grabbed her hand and shook his head. "Uncle Ted, I promised him I wasn't leaving, and I'm not. I won't get in the way, but I'm staying," she said. "Alright, I don't have time to argue," Ted said. He looked at Nick, "We're gonna have to try and drain some of the fluid off your lungs. I'm not gonna lie to you, it's gonna hurt." Nick nodded his head that he understood. Lyn held Nick's hand, "If it helps, squeeze my hand." Nick smiled at her. The nurses prepared the equipment and Ted grabbed the needle. Nick's eyes widened when he saw it, that was the biggest needle he'd ever seen in his life. "Nick, look at me," Lyn said. He looked at her, and she could see the fear growing in his eyes. "OK Nick, I'm gonna start, be very still," Ted said. Ted inserted the needle between Nick's ribs. Nick was trying not to scream, and squeezing the life out of Lyn's hand. "You're doin good Nick," Ted said. Lyn was stroking Nick's forehead, wishing she could take some of his pain away. "It's almost over," she said. He looked at her for a minute, then his eyes rolled into the back of his head and his grip on her hand loosened. "Uncle Ted," Lyn said. Ted looked up, "It's OK, he just passed out. He held on longer than I thought he would, most people pass out when they see the needle." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Brian walked into his office and pulled the paper out of the fax. It was the schedule for his promotion of the CD. He looked over it. There were several interviews in New York, and L.A. and even a few in Canada. All in all, it was a busy three weeks. He really wasn't sure if he was ready for a schedule that demanding. Maybe he was just getting lazy. The group had, had much worse and he'd gotten through that. Tara walked in and leaned on his desk, "Is that the schedule?" "Yeah, it's pretty busy," Brian said. She looked over it, "Well I'm sure they want the CD to do well, so they wanna make sure word gets out." Brian laughed, "Anyone ever tell you, you should've been a record exec?" "Ha Ha, very funny," Tara said smiling. Just then the phone rang. Brian picked it up, "Hello." "Brian, this is Lyn," she said, her voice shaky. Tara watched as Brian's face became serious, "Lyn, what's wrong?" "Um, we had to bring Nick to the hospital. He's not doing very well," she said. "Brian, what is it?" Tara asked. He mouthed the words, Nick's in the hospital, to her. "Lyn, what happened?" he asked holding the phone so Tara could hear. "He was doing better, but sometime in the night his fever came back. When my uncle came over to check on him this morning his lungs were starting to fill with fluid. We brought him to the hospital, and they had to stick needles in his lungs to drain the fluid out," Lyn said. "Lyn, how's he doing now?" Brian asked. "Not good. He's unconscious, and my uncle said that the viral infection that caused his pneumonia has spread into his blood stream. His fever is really high, and they've put him on a ventilator to help him breathe," she said breaking down and crying into the phone. "Lyn honey, where are you?" Tara asked. "We're in Vancouver," she answered. "We'll be there as soon as we can," Brian said. "OK, when you get your flight information call me and I'll set up a car to bring you here," Lyn said. "Alright Lyn, if anything changes call us," Tara said. "I will," she said and hung up. Brian hung the phone up, "I'll call Steve and tell him the promotion is off, and get the flight arranged." Tara got up and walked toward the door, "I'll go pack." She made it halfway out the door, then turned back around, "Bri, we need to call the guys too." Brian nodded his head, "I'm on it." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Lyn sat there watching the ventilator. She couldn't remember when she had been so worried about another person, except her parents. Brian and Tara were on their way, but it would still be several hours before they arrived. Ted walked into the room, "Lyn, are you hungry?" She shook her head no, not taking her eyes off Nick. "Honey, he's going to be sleeping for a while, the medicine we have him on has that affect," Ted said, trying to ease her worry. "How could he get so sick in such a short amount of time?" she asked. "I don't know, but we got him here in time," Ted said. Lyn looked at him, "But he could still die." "Yes, he could, but we have everything here we need to take care of him, and we'll do our best to make sure that doesn't happen," he said. Lyn wiped away a tear that had trailed down her cheek. "Did you get ahold of his friends?" Ted asked. "Yeah, they're on their way," she answered. Ted looked at her for a moment, "You really care for him don't you?" She nodded her head and fought the tears that sprang to life. Ted reached down and pulled her into a hug, "It's OK honey, I know you're scared for him." Lyn cried on his shoulder, "I'm sorry." Ted looked at her, "For what?" "For blaming you when mom and dad died. I'm sorry I shut you out, and was cruel to you. I just hurt so bad that I didn't realize you were hurting too," she cried. Ted was fighting his own tears now, "It's OK Lyn, I understand." "Please forgive me, I'm sorry," Lyn begged. "Oh honey, you don't even have to ask. Of course I forgive you. We are the only family each of us has left, nothing as petty as that will keep us apart," Ted said. Lyn cried on his shoulder for a few more minutes before she pulled away and wiped her tears. Ted got up, wiping his own away, "I've gotta go do rounds, but I'll be back as soon as I can." "OK," Lyn said. "If you need anything, just tell one of the nurses," Ted said. He made his way to the door and opened it. "Uncle Ted?" Lyn called. "Yes?" he asked. "Thank you," she said. He smiled at her and left the room. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Brian and Tara were about an hour into their flight when Brian's cell rang. "Hello," Brian said. "Bri, it's Kev," he said, "I still can't get ahold of A.J." "Well, keep trying, and I'll see if I have Sarah's number and try to call," Brian said. "OK, if you need us to come..." Kevin started. "I'll call you. I'm not sure he's gonna want to see us, and I think it'll be a little overwhelming for all of us to be there when he wakes up," Brian said. "I understand, but let us know what's going on," Kevin said. "I will, bye," Brian said and hung up. "Tara, can you hand me that bag?" Brian asked. She reached down and grabbed it, "What you looking for?" "Kevin can't find A.J. Do you think we still have Sarah's number somewhere?" Brian asked. "I know it," she said taking the phone from him and dialing the number. "Hello," Sarah said. "Sarah, hi it's Tara. Would A.J. happen to be there?" she asked. "Um, yeah, hang on," Sarah said. Tara handed the phone to Brian, "He's coming." "Hello," A.J. said. "Hey bone, it's Bri." "Hey man, what's up?" A.J. asked. "Um, Nick's in the hospital and Tara and I are on our way there right now," Brian said. "Where at?" A.J. asked. "He's in Vancouver," Brian said, "But me and Tara are the only ones going." "What? Rok, I can be there in like two hours," A.J. said. "I know, but I'm not sure he even wants us there. Let us go and see how things are, then we'll call you OK?" Brian said. A.J. was silent for a minute, "Brian you know I don't like this." "I know, but it took alot for Lyn to even tell us where they were. I don't want to make things worse by all of us rushing over there," Brian said. "Well damn, I guess you're right. Call me and let me know what's going on," A.J. said. "I will," Brian said, then hung up. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Several hours later their plane finally landed. They rushed through customs and into the waiting area. "Mr. Littrell?" a man said. Brian turned around, "Yes?" "Come with me sir, I have your car waiting," the man said offering to take their bags. Brian and Tara followed him out to a waiting car, and where quickly driven to the hospital. A nurse was waiting outside for them. She took them through the back part of the hospital to Nick's room. She stopped at his door, "He's in here." "Thank you," Brian said. He looked at Tara, afraid to go in. She took his hand, and together they walked through the door. Lyn was standing next to the bed, wiping Nick's forehead with a wet clothe when they came in. She looked up, then walked over to meet them. "Lyn?" Brian asked. "Hi, it's nice to finally meet you, although I wish it was under better circumstances," Lyn said. "Yeah, we do too," Tara said. "How's he doing?" Brian asked. "About the same. They have him on some really strong medicine that's making him sleep. My uncle said it would be some time before he woke up," Lyn said. Brian walked over to the side of the bed and looked at his friend. He could tell that he had lost some weight, and he was incredibly pale. He touched his arm, and it was hot. "How high is his fever?" Brian asked. "They just checked it a few minutes ago, it was 102.6," Lyn said. Tara walked over and stood next to Brian, while Lyn stood on the other side of the bed. Lyn could tell that Tara was staring at her. "Um, do you guys need anything? I know that plane ride had to be long," Lyn said. "No, we're fine," Tara said. "Well, if you don't mind, I'm gonna go down to the cafeteria for a little bit. I haven't eaten all day," Lyn said heading for the door. "OK," Brian said watching her leave. He looked over at Tara, "What was that about?" "What?" she asked. "You were staring a hole through her. Is something wrong?" Brian asked. "No, nothing's wrong," Tara said, "It's just that I think I know her." Chapter 59 |