| Chapter 13 Everyone was walking on eggshells. The buses had arrived at the venue around mid-morning. Tara and Nick hadn't spoken to each other since they'd gotten up. Brian and Lyn had informed the other guys as to what had happened the night before, but they both knew it was more than what they'd witnessed. The tension between Nick and Tara was very apparent. They shot each other looks every so often that sent chills down the others backs. Everyone was sitting backstage, trying to pass the time. Brian looked up and noticed that once again Nick and Tara were locked in a stare. "That's it, I can't stand this anymore!" he said, getting up and standing between them. "You two need to work whatever this is out now!" he said, pointing at them both. Nick rolled his eyes at him, and looked back down at the magazine he was thumbing through. That was the last straw for Brian. He faced Nick and grabbed the magazine out of his hands, throwing it across the room. Nick glared at him, "Get off it Bri, it ain't gonna happen." "It is gonna happen, right now," Brian said, grabbing Nick by the front of the shirt and jerking him up. Out of reflex more than anything, Nick slammed Brian against the wall, without touching him, holding him there. Brian had the wind knocked out of him, and was gasping for air. Everyone cleared the area when Tara drew her sword and placed the tip of it under Nick's chin, "Drop him now," she said through clenched teeth. Nick slowly let Brian down to the floor, turning to face Tara. Lyn, Kevin, and A.J. ran over to help Brian up. Howie was still standing where he was when the whole thing started, in complete shock. Nick glared at Tara, and she could see the anger in his eyes. The others watched, in shock and disbelief, not knowing what this was about, or how to stop it. "You lied to me," Nick said. Tara's mouth dropped open in shock, "Nick, I never lied to you. There are things that you cannot learn until after your trial, that's just how it is." "Even if they could help me now?" Nick asked. Tara nodded her head, "Yes, even if they can help you now." Nick reached up and pushed the blade away from him, "I don't understand this. He's setting me up to fall." "No He isn't. Nick, if I could I would show you everything, but I can't," Tara said, hurt that Nick felt this way. He glared at her again, "You can't or you won't?" Tara looked as if she'd been punched, "I'm not allowed Nick, how could you even think that?" "Oh, I don't know, the fact that you are keeping things from me? You've been doing it since we started. Is it just that you don't know how to help me, or is it that you don't want me going any further with my powers?" Nick spat. Tara pointed her sword at him again, "Watch where you're going with this," she warned. Nick looked amused, "Or what? What could you possibly do to me that I haven't already been through?" Tara glared at him, walking closer to him, "Don't try me Nick. I have no idea where all this is coming from, but you need to step back and look at what you're doing. I'm trying to help you, and now isn't a good time to be pushing me away. If I have to, I'll teach you a lesson you will never forget. You have to remember, you are still the student. There are things that you have no clue about just yet, and you won't until the appointed time. Do I make myself clear?" The others watched nervously, not knowing what was being said. They only had their facial expressions and body language to go by, and by the looks of it, it wasn't going very well. Tara stared at Nick, "Answer me." Nick looked at the floor, not wanting to stare into the green fire of her eyes any longer. He nodded his head. "That's not good enough," Tara said. Nick looked up at her, "Yes, I understand." Tara dropped her sword and looked at him for a moment, "We still need to finish this. Go get your practice sword." Nick looked at her confused, "I said I understood." "Yes you did, but you didn't mean it. You have to respect me as your teacher or we both fail, now go get it," she instructed. Nick sighed and left the room to retrieve the wooden sword. "Honey, what the hell just happened?" Brian asked, walking over to her. She shook her head, "It's something that we are gonna have to work out." "You two looked like you were ready to kill each other," A.J. said. "We were," she replied. "Tara, what are you about to do?" Lyn asked. Tara looked at her, "Teach him not to question me again." "And just how are you gonna do that?" Kevin asked. Tara grinned at him, "You'll see." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Nick had returned with both their practice swords. Tara had cleared the stage of the crew. The only people in the entire stadium within eyeshot were the guys, her and Lyn. Tara laid her sword down on the stage, reaching up and pulling her hair back in a pony tail. Then she grabbed the sword and faced Nick. "You ready?" she asked. Nick could tell she meant business, "Tara, we don't have to do this." "Oh yes we do," she said. Nick sighed, then lifted his sword, preparing for her strike. He watched as Tara circled him, then she closed her eyes. He was confused by what she was doing. Why would you close your eyes in a sword fight? Then one of the mics hit him in the back of the head. "Damn," Nick said, reaching up and holding his head. He didn't even feel it coming at him. Just then Tara struck, and Nick barely got his sword up in time to block her. She fought viciously and it was all Nick could do to defend himself, let alone strike back. Nick was caught off balance, and stumbled backwards, landing on his rear. Tara didn't stop, and he was forced to roll out of the way. He scrambled to get back on his feet under her assault. He was halfway up when Tara caught him across the arm. She hit him with so much force that it drew a tiny sliver of blood. He backed away from her, looking down at his arm. "We can stop now," he said. Tara shook her head, "Not yet." Nick stared at her, "I don't want to fight you. Not like this." He watched as her facial expression changed from one of determination, to one of consideration. "So you truly understand now?" she asked. "Yes I do. I'm sorry I questioned you," Nick apologized. She stared at him for a moment, seeing he was sincere in his apology. "Alright, you're forgiven. But don't let this happen again," she said, dropping her sword. "I won't, I promise," Nick said, walking with her off the stage. "You guys OK now?" Brian asked. "Yeah, we're fine," Tara said. "Nick, you're bleeding," Lyn said. He looked down, "Oh, it's nothing," then he covered the wound with his hand and a moment later it was gone. "Holy hell, that is so awesome," A.J. said. Nick and Tara both laughed. It didn't take much to amaze A.J. "Um guys, remind us not to ever get on either of your bad sides," Kevin said, teasing. "Lets get ready for sound check," Howie said, glad everything was back to some sense of normalcy. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The rest of the afternoon went by swiftly. The guys went through sound check, making a few minor adjustments to the show. After that they all had a few hours to kill before they had to get ready. Nick and Tara talked some more, coming to a better understanding of each other. They hugged and made up for their harsh words, much to Brian and Lyn's relief. Even after the sword fight there had been a few looks between them, so they were glad to see them making up. For the most part everyone just mulled around backstage, going to the game room they always had set up and passing the time. Nick had gone off to be by himself. He found it easier to focus when he had spent some time alone, praying. Stephen walked up to the guys, "I've got some changes to the tour schedule." "Changes? What kind of changes?" Kevin asked. "Well, somehow we got double booked in Las Vegas, so we are moving the Vegas show to the end of the tour," Stephen answered. "So we have an extra day off tomorrow?" Howie asked. "Yes you do. We figured we'd just stay here, let you guys do some site seeing or what not, while the crew goes on to the next venue," Stephen said. "Cool," A.J. said. "Oh man, and I'm leaving tonight," Lyn said. "Can't you stay a few more days?" Tara asked. "I wish I could, but I've already been gone to long as it is," she said. Stephen looked around, "Where's Nick?" "He's um taking some time to himself to get ready for the show," Brian said. "How's he doing with the attacks?" Stephen asked. "Lately he's been doing very well," Howie commented. "That's good," Stephen said, "Well you guys got about forty-five before you go on." "OK, thanks Stephen," A.J. said. Stephen quickly left the room, going on about his pre-show routine. A few minutes later Nick came back in the room. "Dude, we got an extra day off," A.J. said. "We do? When?" Nick asked. "Tomorrow, they are pushing Vegas back to the end of the tour," Howie said. "Oh, cool," Nick said, sitting down next to Lyn. He stared at her, smiling, "You could stay another day." "Aww, honey, I wish I could, but you know I have to get back," she said. Nick put on his puppy dog face, "Please?" Lyn laughed, "That doesn't work on me, you know that." Nick shrugged his shoulders, "I gotta try don't I?" "Yes you do, always," Lyn said, kissing him. "Aww that's so sweet, I think I'm gonna puke," A.J. teased. Nick and Lyn looked at him. "Be nice or I'll kiss you myself," Nick said. "Not touching that one," A.J. said with his hands up walking backwards. Everyone laughed. Lyn got up, and grabbed her bag, "I gotta get outta here if I'm gonna make my flight." "I wish you could've stayed for the show," Brian said, hugging her goodbye. "Me too, but it was the only flight I could get," she said. Everyone took turns hugging her goodbye. Lyn hugged Tara, "Take care of him." "I'll do my best," Tara whispered to her. Nick took her hand, "Come on, I'll walk you out to the car." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Before the guys knew it, they were waiting to be launched on stage. The crowd was chanting for them, and the music was swelling in the background. Nick stood on his podium, making himself focus. He felt uneasy for some reason. He thought that maybe it was just the events of the last couple of days catching up with him, but he wasn't sure. Suddenly he was launched on stage, no more time to think. During the course of the show, Nick had notice the same two girls from LA with the sign he'd liked. They were in the second row tonight, and were definitely glued on his every move. Nick had waved to them a few times, during the show. That seemed to delight them. It was getting close to the end of the show, and Nick had been able to keep it together so far. They were in the middle of Larger Than Life when it happened. Nick was doing the routine, waiting for his cue to sing when from behind him he heard someone whisper, "You can't hide from us forever." Nick stumbled in his steps, and missed his cue. Brian looked over, seeing the panicked look on Nick's face. A.J. jumped in where Nick should've been singing, and sang his part for him. Nick slowly backed away from the front of the stage, then turned and ran. The guys all glanced at one another, but never missed a beat on the song. Nick made it backstage, Tara was there waiting. She stopped him from running past her, "Nick, what's wrong?" He was already on the verge of hyperventilating, "I..have..to get..outta..here." Tara looked up, hearing Nick's voice go over the speakers. She quickly reached around and turned his mic off and pulled the head set from him. "Nick, close your eyes and focus," she said, as she finished taking the power pack off and his IEM's out. He was shaking like a leaf, and now fully hyperventilating. Stephen walked over, going to place his hand on Nick's shoulder. Nick turned on him, "Don't touch me!" Stephen looked at him shocked, "Nick, I'm just trying to help." Nick backed away from them both, panic all over his face. "Nick, you gotta stop or you're gonna pass out," Tara said, stepping towards him. It was to late, Nick was already on his way to the floor, hitting his forehead on the metal table he was standing next to. Tara and Stephen ran to him. Stephen pulled out his radio, asking for the paramedics to come backstage. Tara grabbed a towel and held it to Nick's forehead, hoping to stop the flow of blood. She wished that Stephen wasn't there, she couldn't help Nick with him around. The guys finished their number and ran backstage. "What happened?" Brian asked. "He passed out and hit his head," Tara said. Just then the paramedics came around the corner. Tara and Stephen moved out of the way and let them get to work on him. "What are we gonna say to the audience?" Howie asked. "Yeah man, they heard what he said about getting out of here," A.J. said. "Tell them the truth," Stephen said. "Are you nuts?" Kevin asked. "Listen, there's nothing we can do about it now. They all saw him freak out and run off stage, how else you gonna explain it?" Stephen said. "He doesn't want anyone to know about this," Brian said. "I think it's a little late for that now," Stephen said. "We gotta get back, I'll think of something," Kevin said, pulling the guys back on stage to finish the show. Tara and Stephen watched as the paramedics hooked Nick up to an IV and bandaged his forehead. They took his blood pressure and asked them a few questions, like if he'd eaten that day, and when was the last time he'd drank anything. Tara had noticed during the show that Nick wasn't drinking any water, that was unusual for him. "We need to take him in to get checked out," one of the paramedics said. "Do you have to?" Tara asked. "Yes mame, he's been out to long. We need to make sure nothing else is wrong," the man answered. "Alright, Stephen, let the guys know where we're going," Tara said, following the paramedics down the hall. Stephen waited for the guys to come off stage. They finally got back there, looking around. "Where's Nick?" Kevin asked. "The paramedics took him to the hospital, Tara went with him," Stephen answered. "Lets hurry up and get out of these clothes then," Brian said, as they all ran to the dressing room. They all got changed and were out of the stadium in less than thirty minutes. The drive to the hospital took a while. They were having to fight the traffic from the concert. "What'd you tell them?" Stephen asked. "Oh, just that Nick was a little under the weather, and he didn't want to get sick on stage," Kevin said. "They bought that?" Stephen asked. "I guess," Kevin said, shrugging his shoulders. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Tara sat in the waiting room, filling out Nick's information for the nurse. She laughed at how much she really knew about him. Course you can't live with someone for over a year and not know a lot about them. She finished and took the clip board back to the nurse at the desk. "Excuse me, is there anyway that I can go back and see him?" Tara asked. The nurse smiled at her, "The doctor is in with him now, it shouldn't be to long." Tara sighed, "OK, thanks," and returned to her seat. A few minutes later another nurse came into the waiting room, "Nick Carter?" Tara stood up and walked over to her. "Follow me please," the nurse said, leading Tara down the hall. She stopped at a room, opening the door for Tara. Tara walked in, seeing Nick in bed, still unconscious. The doctor was giving instructions to a nurse inside, when he finished he turned to Tara. "Hello, I'm Dr. Jamison," he said. "Tara Littrell," Tara said, shaking the mans hand. "How is he?" she asked. "Well, I'm going to admit him overnight for observation. He was extremely dehydrated, and has a mild concussion. He woke up while I was examining him and started to panic, so we gave him something to help calm him down. He should sleep most of the night," the doctor explained. Tara nodded her head, reaching down and taking Nick's hand in hers. She sensed a little pain from his head, but was relieved that he wasn't dreaming. "We will move him up to a room in a few minutes," the doctor said. "Thank you," Tara said, as the man left. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The nurses had just gotten Nick settled in his room when the guys came through the door. "How is he?" Kevin asked, walking up to the side of the bed to check on him. "He's OK. He got dehydrated, and has a mild concussion. The doctor wants to keep him overnight," Tara answered. "He still hasn't woke up yet?" Brian asked. "He did, but they gave him something to make him sleep," she said. "Was that a wise thing to do?" Howie asked. "As long as he doesn't dream, he'll be OK," Tara said. "Yeah, but what if he starts?" A.J. asked. "Pray he doesn't," she said. Stephen came in the room after talking to the doctor outside. "Doc says he should be alright by morning," he said. "Well, it's a good thing we got tomorrow off," Howie said. "Yeah, he can rest. Build up his strength for the next show," Kevin said. "Guys, I talked to the doctor about his panic attacks," Stephen said. They all looked at him shocked. "Stephen, we told you he didn't want anyone to know about it," Brian said. "I know, but the doc said there's medicine that could help him. We can't go through the entire tour with him running off stage at every other show," he said. All the guys glanced at each other. "The doc said he'd talk to Nick about it in the morning," Stephen announced. "Well, there's nothing we can do about it now," Kevin said. "Hey, I'm just trying to help here," Stephen said in defense. "We know you are Stephen. It's just that Nick is really sensitive about it. He's made it this long without medicine and all, and he really is getting better," Tara said. "Yeah man, it's OK," A.J. said, "We know where your heart is." Stephen looked at them all, "Thanks, I think." "Guys, why don't you all go back to the hotel, get some sleep," Tara said, "I'll stay with him." "Honey, if you're staying, so am I," Brian said. Tara smiled at him, "I figured as much." "You sure?" Howie asked. "Yeah, there's nothing you can do but watch him sleep anyway," she said. The guys agreed to go back with Stephen and come up in the morning. After they left Brian looked over at Tara, "Can I get you anything?" "Some coffee would be good," she said, still holding Nick's hand. "What are you doing?" he asked. "I'm making sure he doesn't dream," she said. "Oh," Brian said, "Um can I touch you?" She smiled at him, "Yes, it isn't that taxing on me." He grinned and leaned down, softly kissing her mouth. "I'll be right back with the coffee," he said, turning and leaving the room. Tara smiled, wondering for the millionth time what it was she'd done to deserve him. She looked over at Nick, her heart breaking for what he was still facing. She knew that Jered and Ephah were in the stadium that night, she and others could feel them, but only for a second. It wouldn't be long before she would be asked to leave Nick, and she wondered if she would have the strength to. Brian returned with two cups of coffee. He handed one to her, sitting next to her in the same chair. They got comfortable, and sipped their coffee. Tara handed her cup to Brian, "I'm gonna close my eyes for a while, but I'm not going to sleep." "OK," he said, putting both cups on the night stand and wrapping his arm around her. Tara smiled as Brian slowly drifted to sleep. She opened her eyes and looked from him to Nick. The two men she loved most in the world, both asleep. Chapter 14 |