| Chapter 71 Ana opened her eyes and looked around. Nick was still asleep next to her, his arm over her waist. She stared at his face, knowing it was only a matter of time before the nightmares haunted him again. She lay back on the pillow, a smile crossing her face. At some point in their love making, they had ended up in the kings chambers, trading the cold cave floor, for the warmth of the kings bed. It still amazed her, the love she felt from Nick. It was pure and endless. Somehow she knew that they would be together forever, nothing could part them now. Nick moaned, and she looked over. His face was contorted in a frown, his breath becoming haggard. Ana's heart hurt for the torment he was going through. "No, look out!" Nick mumbled, as his body shook with what Ana could only believe was sheer terror. She reached out and shook him, "Nick, wake up." He writhed in the bed, so consumed in his dreams that he didn't hear her. "Nick, please... wake up," she said, shaking him harder. "No!" he screamed, sitting straight up in the bed, gasping for air. Ana sat up and gently ran her hand up his arm, letting it rest on his bare shoulder, "Shhh, it's OK." He looked at her, calming a bit as he caught his breath, "How long have we been here?" "I don't know, I just woke up myself," she admitted, "Are you alright?" He half smiled at her, "As Ok as I get these days." "Nick, you really need to talk to someone about those dreams," she told him. He sighed, and nodded, "I know....they're getting worse." Concern filled her eyes, as he tried to cover his own fear with a smile, "Come on, we don't want anyone wondering where we are," he said, pulling the covers back to get out of the bed. Suddenly he froze, looking back at Ana. She had the same look in her eyes. "Someone's here," she whispered. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Brian grabbed his pillow and squeezed with all his might. He was hurting, but he didn't want anyone to know. They'd already upped his dosage once. He couldn't let them do it again, not if he had any hope at all of getting off the drug. He had convinced Marie to take some time for herself. She'd spent almost every waking hour with him since he'd returned, and he knew that had to be draining on her. So he told her to leave and gave her strict orders to do something fun, and not come back for a few hours. He was so glad she'd agreed. At least she wasn't here to see him like this. He winced as a wave of pain ran through his stomach, and the ever present taste was back in his mouth. He had to do something to get his mind off how much he needed another hit. He threw the blankets off himself and sat up. Slowly he slid from the bed to the floor, holding onto the side of the bed until he got his bearings. He grabbed his IV cart and headed out of his room. Slowly he walked down the halls, managing to smile at the nurses he passed. He could do this, act like nothing was wrong. He'd done it a million times before. When the guys were on tour and he was sick, or just didn't feel like being social, but he had to. Along with the rest of the guys he'd mastered the art of smiling through his pain. He laughed, remembering the time he had the stomach flu, but still was made to preform, a puke bucket on each side of the stage. Those were the bad times, and he'd gotten through them, he could get through this ... he hoped. He rounded the corner, running right into A.J. "Whoa, where's the fire bro?" A.J. asked. "Nowhere," Brian replied flatly. A.J. stared at his friend as he continued down the hall. As much as Brian was trying to hide it, he could see the tell tell signs of someone in need. Brian's hands were shaking, and he kept licking his lips. His eyes seemed glazed and wild at the same time. "Bri, you alright?" he asked, walking beside him. "I'm great J, how bout you?" he said sarcastically. A.J. held his hands up, "Jeeze, just asking a question Rok, no need to jump all over me," he laughed, trying to lighten the mood. Brian winced, holding on tighter to the cart. His knuckles were white. "Bri, how long before your next dose?" A.J. asked. "To long," Brian panted, desperately trying to keep his legs from buckling underneath him. A.J. saw his struggle and wrapped an arm around his waist, "Come on, lets get back to your room." Brian pulled away from A.J.'s grasp, "Just leave me alone!" "Brian, you need help," A.J. said. The older man shook his head, backing away from him, "No, I need a damn drug J! I hate this!" he screamed, tears spilling over his cheeks. A.J. sighed, his heart breaking, wondering if this is what the guys went through when he was drinking. "I know Bri, but you won't always need it," he said calmly. Brian sank to the floor, hugging the bottom of the cart, "At this rate I will." The younger man knelt down next to him, "What do you mean?" "They keep upping my dose. I keep needing more. I might not get off it," Brian cried. "Fuck," A.J. muttered. "Yeah fuck," Brian sniffed, "I want off it so bad, but I can't take feeling like this. I feel like I'm gonna die." "I know Bri, I've been there, remember," A.J. said, reaching out and helping him up, "Come on, lets get back to your room." Brian grabbed his stomach and grimaced as another piercing wave shot through him. A.J. shouldered his weight, "I got ya, easy." "You gotta help me J," Brian pleaded. "I will Bri," the younger man promised, "Now come on, we'll get there one step at a time." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Nick rushed around the chamber quickly getting dressed. He said a silent thank you for remembering to shut the massive doors to the chamber and bringing their clothes with them. Ana zipped up her jumpsuit and looked for a place to hide. "In here," Nick said, ushering her into the bathroom and shutting the door behind her. Quickly he glanced in the mirror. "Oh yeah, wrinkled clothes, just fucked hairdo, this is gonna be convincing," he muttered, trying to straighten his hair. He gave up on the hair and turned to the bed, quickly throwing the blankets back up and trying to smooth them out. He could feel the person getting nearer, and decided that was as good as it got. He walked over to the doors and took a deep breath before he passed his mark over the sensor, walking through the doors and, hitting the sensor on the other side to close them before they had even opened all the way. He headed to the front of the cave, seeing his �intruder' staring at the painting. "So, you are here," Mason said, still staring at the image of Nick on the wall. "H-how did you find me?" Nick asked. Mason turned to face him, "You think you're the only one that knows about this? Frederick and I used to play here when we were little. I always wondered what this painting meant ... never thought I'd see the embodiment of it," he mused. "Yeah, how bout that," Nick said, shoving his hands in his pockets. "So, what are you doing here?" Mason asked. "Nothing, I just needed some time to myself," Nick answered, probably a little to quickly. The older man smiled, "I can understand that. How did your meeting go this morning?" Nick sighed, "Not real good. That pompous asshole pissed me off, and I threatened him." Mason's face grew into one of concern, "Nickolas, that wasn't a wise thing to do. Interstellar has a lot of support from other planets. You could have just made things worse." "Tell me something I don't know," Nick said, leaning against the cave wall. The older man nodded, his attention going back to the painting. "Amazing isn't it? It has to be centuries old, but it looks like it was just done .... and so detailed," he marveled. Nick pushed himself off the wall and walked over next to his uncle, following his gaze. The man was staring at his image, a far away look on his face. "What are you thinking?" Nick asked, curiosity getting the best of him. Mason shook his head, "It doesn't matter. You should come back soon, your mother is worried about you." Nick watched as Mason turned to go, "Uncle, can I ask you something?" The older man turned back around, "Yes." "What made you change?" Nick asked. "What do you mean?" he asked. "When I got here it seemed you were determined to do everything you could to hurt me. What made you change your mind? Why do I see love in your eyes when you look at me now, instead of the hate I saw before?" Nick asked. Mason looked down at his boots, considering how to answer. "I got tired of trying to act like I didn't care. All these years I shut myself off from the things I loved, vowing never to be hurt again. When you showed up, you didn't fit into my plans. Long ago, I'd given up on ever finding you .... and even if I did, by all rights you were Fredericks son. I had no claims to you as my own. So at first I hated you for showing up....for bringing back all the awful memories I've been hiding from for so long. But when Brian fell for Marie, it hit to close to home. All the love you could see on their faces only reminded me of what I lost with your mother. I just couldn't run anymore. I couldn't hide my feelings for her, or for you ....it was killing me inside." Nick stared at the man, shocked that he'd been so honest with him. "I'm sorry for bringing up bad memories," he apologized. Mason shook his head, "You are not to blame. I should have handled things differently, if I had, maybe you would have had a different life." "You would have raise me as your own?" Nick asked. Mason smiled, "Yes, I've always believed you to be mine Nickolas." Nick bit his lip, trying to will the sudden tears from falling. He wiped at his face and cleared his throat, "Um, can I ask one more thing?" "Anything," Mason replied. "When my fath...um when Frederick died, what did he say to you?" Nick asked. Mason smiled, "He told me to take care of you. Said that he was sorry for what he'd done, and asked me to forgive him." "Did you?" Nick asked. The older man shook his head, "Not then. My head was still to far up my ass to even consider it." "And now?" Nick asked. "I'm not sure I'm ready yet, but I'm closer than I was," he replied, honestly. Nick nodded, chewing on his bottom lip. Mason smiled at him, "Don't be long," he said, as he turned and headed out of the cave. Nick stared at the cave entrance for a long time, not sure what to make of their conversation. He felt closer to Mason now, felt like he understood him better, but still ..... he wasn't ready to call him dad yet. He didn't know if he'd ever be able to do that. He sighed, turning back to the kings chambers. Ana was probably wondering what was taking so long. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Marie watched helplessly from the hall as A.J. held Brian. He was screaming at the top of his lungs, and A.J. was doing his best to calm him down. Cameron stood next to her, offering his silent support. Brian had refused his offer of upping his dose, and had actually demanded that Cameron lessen the dose when it was given. He admired Brian's determination, but was still worried about him. He was still weak, and knew that added extra weight to the burden he was now carrying. But in the end, he saw Brian's point, and agreed. Kevin, Howie, Nick and Ana came down the hall, concern growing on their faces as they approached and realized the voice they heard was Brian's. "What's going on?" Kevin asked. "He's started detoxing," Marie answered, forgoing her habit of only speaking Angel to them. Right now the only thing on her mind was Brian. "Isn't there something you can give him?" Howie asked. Cameron shook his head, "No there's not, I'm sorry. This is something he's gonna have to endure." "If only he'd waited a couple of weeks," Nick muttered. The group looked at him. "What are you talking about?" Marie asked. Nick glanced up and down the hall, making sure they were relatively alone. He motioned the group closer, whispering, "There's a drug that helps pull you off Krystal. Tom and Tamara found it, and it's being manufactured as we speak. The first shipments should be here in two weeks." Cameron stared at the young king in disbelief, "Can you trust them?" "With my life," Nick replied. "Can we get Brian back on the drug until this shipment arrives?" Kevin asked. Sadly Cameron shook his head, "I don't think so. He's already going through the worst part. I don't think he's gonna want to quit and then start all over again." "Damn," Howie muttered, staring in at Brian, "This isn't fair." Marie wiped a tear away, listening to her husband beg A.J. to make the craving stop, "No it isn't fair at all." Chapter 72 |