| Chapter 65 Brian was again pacing the floor. They had taken Nick for some tests and he had been gone for more than two hours. Lyn was staring out the window, and Tara was sitting in the chair closest to the bed. Tara watched as Brian paced back and forth. He'd been silently praying since they had taken Nick out of the room. "Brian, please sit down," she said. He just shook his head and continued pacing. Lyn turned around and looked at him. She noticed that he was holding the back of his head. Lyn glanced over at Tara, she had noticed too. "Brian, stop for a second," Lyn said. He stopped and looked at her, "What?" "Are you feeling OK?" she asked. "Yeah, why?" he asked. "Cause your holding your head," Lyn said. Brian dropped his hand back down to his side, "I'm OK." Tara walked over and took both his hands in hers, "No you aren't, your head is hurting." "I'm fine, it's just a normal headache," he said. Tara gave him a stern look, "Brian you don't have headaches period. When the doctor comes back with Nick, you're getting checked out." "Tara, I'm just worried and stressed, that's all," he said. "Doesn't matter, you're still getting checked out," she said. "Alright, but Nick comes first," he finally said. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Gary woke up and turned over, he was face to face with Leighanne. "How long you been awake?" he asked. "For a while," she said. "What time is it?" he asked, noticing the sun shining through the windows. "It's around noon, we slept late," Leighanne said with a smile. "Are you hungry?" he asked. "A little. Why, you gonna cook?" she asked with a laugh. "Hey, I have you to know I'm a great cook," Gary said. "Really?" Leighanne teased. They both laughed, and Gary pulled her to him and softly kissed her. Leighanne pulled away, "This will delay lunch you know." Gary laughed, "OK then, I'll just get a quick shower, then I'll have lunch done in no time." He got up and headed for the master bath. Leighanne sat up in bed and watched as he half closed the door. She heard him turn on the water, and crawled out of bed. She walked across the room, and pushed the bathroom door open. "There room in there for two?" she asked. Gary turned around and looked at her through the glass doors, "Sure." Leighanne got in and faced him. They both just stood there for a moment, then Gary smiled. "Lunch can be a little late," he said pulling her to him. Leighanne laughed, "It's OK, I'm not hungry anyway." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ An orderly wheeled Nick back into the room and helped him get back in bed. A nurse also came in the room, making sure Nick's IV and oxygen were hooked back up right. "Nurse, when will the test results be in?" Lyn asked. "I'm not sure Ms. Jackson, Dr. Jackson said he would be in as soon as he could," she said. "Thanks," Lyn said, as the nurse and orderly left the room. Brian walked over to the side of the bed and held Nicks hand. "Nicky, don't worry, we'll get through this somehow," he said. Nick looked at him, "Bri, you know I don't like to be called Nicky." Brian smiled, "Sorry. You reading lips OK?" Nick nodded, "It's getting easier. When did the nurse say the tests will be ready?" "She didn't know," Brian said. "Brian, what happened? The last thing I remember before I woke up was eating supper last night," Nick said. "Well, your fever got really high, and they had to put you in ice for a few hours to get it down," Brian said. "Brian slow down, all I got was fever," Nick said. Brian repeated himself, slower this time so Nick could understand him. Tara and Lyn watched as Brian and Nick talked. It was breaking both their hearts to watch Nick struggling to follow what Brian was saying. Ted came in, and they all gathered around. "Doc, what do the tests say?" Brian asked. "Well, we don't have all of them in yet, and the specialist won't be here for a few hours. I just wanted to come in and see if any of you needed anything," he said. "Yes, if you don't mind, can you take a look at Brian?" Tara asked. Ted looked at Brian, "Are you sick?" "No, I just have a headache," he said. Tara walked over to Ted, "He's in remission from a tumor that caused severe headaches, and he never has headaches." Ted motioned for Brian to follow him, "Come on, that's nothing to let go." Brian reluctantly got up. Tara took him by the arm, and they followed Ted out the door. "What's going on?" Nick asked Lyn. She sat down on the edge of the bed and looked at him. "Brian had a headache, Uncle Ted is checking him out," she answered. Nick got a concerned look on his face, "Was it bad?" Lyn shook her head, "No, Tara just wanted him to get checked out, that's all." "Nick, do you want anything?" she asked. He looked at her for a long time, "I just want to be able to hear your voice again." Lyn had tears in her eyes, "Nick, you will." "I'm not so sure. I've got a bad feeling about this. When I was in those tests, I could see their faces, it didn't look good," he said. "Just wait and see what the specialist has to say," Lyn said. Nick sighed and stared at the TV for a minute. It was on MTV, and music videos were playing. "Lyn, what am I gonna do? That is all I've ever done, I don't know how to do anything else," Nick said. She looked at him, it was breaking her heart to hear him talking like that. "Nick, don't count yourself out yet, this may be temporary," she said. "I hope so," he said, holding her hand. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Leighanne and Gary were in the kitchen, preparing lunch, or was it mid-afternoon snack? They had the TV on, half listening. Entertainment Tonight was on and they were going to have a segment on the premiere. "Oh, here it is," Leighanne said, turning up the sound. They watched as video from the red carpet rolled. "Man, I look nervous," Leighanne said. Gary laughed. The piece continued with footage from the after party. The host was saying something about romance on the set, or rumors of it, as video rolled of Gary and Leighanne, feeding each other, and dancing. Then it showed them kissing and walking out of the party. "Oh my God! I can't believe they aired that," Leighanne said mortified. "I didn't even see a camera in the hall," Gary said. Leighanne sat down and put her hands over her face, "This is not good." "Anne, we can't change it now. We're just gonna have to deal with it," Gary said, sitting down next to her. "Yeah, but Brian's CD is coming out soon, and I'm not sure what this will do to it," she said. "When is your divorce final?" Gary asked. "Not for another week, I think," she answered. "Well, we will just lay low until then, there's nothing else we can do. If we come out with a statement it'll look like we're just trying to cover something up," Gary said. Leighanne thought for a minute, "You're right, but I should probly call Brian and let him know about this." "You can use the phone in my office if you want," Gary offered. "Thanks," she said, heading down the hall. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Brian and Tara walked back in the room. Nick and Lyn were laying in the bed watching TV. Lyn got up, and Nick motioned Brian over. "What'd Ted say?" he asked. "I'm fine, it is just a normal headache," Brian answered. "Good, I was getting worried," Nick said. Brian smiled, "I think that's the other way around." Nick half smiled, "I just wish they would tell me something, one way or the other. I can't stand not knowing." Brian put his hand on Nick's shoulder, "I know, maybe it won't be to much longer." Just then Brian's cell rang. He got up and answered it, then walked to the other side of the room. "Who is it?" Nick asked Tara. "I think it's Lee," she answered. Ted walked into the room with another doctor. Brian quickly got off the phone and joined them. "This is Doctor Jansen, he's the specialist I was telling you about," Ted said. Nick watched closely, trying to pick up everything they were saying. "I've reviewed Mr. Carter's tests, and I'm afraid I have some bad news. It looks like his hearing loss is not a temporary condition," Dr. Jansen started. "Did the fever cause it?" Lyn asked. "Yes, accompanied by the infection he already had," he answered. "Is there any treatment? Will he be able to regain some of his hearing?" Brian asked. "By the results of the tests, there really is nothing we can do for him as this point," the Dr. said. "You mean he's gonna be deaf the rest of his life?" Tara asked. "Barring some miracle, yes I'm afraid so," Dr. Jansen said. Nick looked from one face to another. He hadn't understood everything that was said, but he understood the looks on his friends faces. He tried to fight the tears, but they came anyway. Lyn walked over as the doctor finished talking with Brian and left. "Did you understand any of what he said?" she asked, wiping a tear from her eye. "No, but I can tell it's bad," he said, "I'm not gonna hear again am I?" Lyn couldn't answer him, she just shook her head, and pulled him into a hug. Nick sank into her arms and let all his emotions out. Brian pulled out his cell and dialed the number. "Hello," Kevin said. "Kev, it's me," Brian said. "What's wrong?" Kevin asked, hearing Brian crying. "It's Nick, he's.....," Brian cried. "Brian, you're scaring me. What's happened?" Kevin asked. Brian couldn't talk, he handed the phone to Tara. "Kevin," she said. "Tara, what's going on?" Kevin asked, panic raising in his voice. "Kevin, call all the guys and get them here. Nick, um, God how do I say this?" she said. "Tara, just say it," Kevin pleaded. "Nick's lost his hearing. He's completely deaf, and the doctors say that it's permanent," she said. There was no sound from Kevin. "Kev?" Tara said. "I...I'll get everyone and we'll be there as soon as we can," he said. Kevin hung up the phone and fell to the couch, sobbing. "Honey, what's wrong?" Kristin asked. "It's Nick, we gotta go to Vancouver," he said. "Kevin, tell me what's going on," Kristin demanded. "Somehow he's lost his hearing, and the doctors don't think he'll get it back," Kevin cried. "Oh God," Kristin said, putting her hand to her mouth. Kevin sat up and looked at her, "I gotta call everyone." "Alright, I'll go pack and see if we can rent a plane," she said. She got up and went down the hall. Kevin tried to calm himself as he picked up the phone. "Hello," Howie said. "Howie, it's Kevin," he said. "What's wrong?" Howie asked. Kevin sighed, "It's Nick, ....we gotta go to Vancouver." Chapter 66 |