| Chapter 26 The plane landed and was taxiing to the gate. Tara got up and walked to the bedroom to wake Nick. Brian got up and followed her. She walked around the bed, seeing Nick in the same position as when she'd left him. Brian watched as she placed her hand over his eyes, and he stirred. Nick looked at her, "Where are we?" "We've just landed in Las Vegas," she answered. Nick sat up and stretched, then looked around, "What time is it?" "Bout two," Brian answered, "Why?" "I'm suppose to meet Lyn in an hour," Nick said, yawning. Tara looked over at Brian. "Hey man, why don't you go back to the hotel with Tara and rest, and I'll stay and meet Lyn," Brian suggested. Tara smiled at him. Nick looked over at Brian, "You don't mind?" "No, of course not," Brian said. Nick swung his feet over the side of the bed, mustering the energy to get up, "Thanks man." Tara offered Nick her hand, and he took it, standing up. "Man, I feel so weak. I can barely move," Nick said. "Your strength will come back in time, you just have to let your body rest," Tara said. "I thought that's what we've been doing," Nick said. "It's gonna take a while," she said, "I'm sure you'll be feeling better by tomorrow." "I hope so. Don't wanna put a damper on D's wedding," Nick said. "I don't think anything could do that," Brian said, "The boy is on cloud one thousand right now." Nick laughed, "I'm sure he is." The three walked out of the bedroom and over to the couches, waiting for the doors to open, so they could exit the plane. The guys were staring at Nick, not sure what to say to him, if anything. Nick could feel their eyes on him, and looked out the window for some distraction. He didn't know what to say to them, or even if he needed to say anything. "Nick," Kevin said, breaking the awkward silence, "Anything you need, or anytime you want to talk, you know we're all here for you." Nick looked up at his older brother, "Thanks, I know." Just then the doors opened, and they all filed out. It took a few minutes to get through the airport to the cars Stephen had waiting for them. Brian climbed in, Tara and Nick looking at him. "I'm gonna ride to the hotel, get some things settled, then come back with Roy to get Lyn," he stated. "OK" both Tara and Nick said. The ride was short, the hotel only a few blocks from the airport. Everyone made it in without incident, and headed up to the floor they had rented. When the elevator doors opened, they were greeted by Kira, Sarah, and Kristin, who had flown in earlier. Kevin, Howie, and A.J. pulled their respective halves over and kissed them. "God I missed you," Kevin said. Kristin laughed, "I missed you to." Nick, Tara and Brian headed to their room. "Nick wait," Kristin said. Nick turned around. "There's someone here that is dying to see you and Brian," she said, walking over to a door and opened it. Angel bounded out into the hall, seeing Nick and running to him, knocking him off his feet. Nick landed on his rear, Angel licking his face and wagging her tail. Tara and Nick were laughing hysterically, listening to Angel tell them about her first plane ride, and how she hated it. "What's she saying?" Brian asked, smiling at the sight. "She said that she hated being treated like luggage, and asked if she could ride up front on the way home," Tara said. "And that she loved everyone staring at her in the airport," Nick said, rubbing her head, "Like the attention, huh?" Angel barked. Nick looked up at Kristin a smile on his face, "Did she really scare the bellhop?" "Yes she did, it was so funny," she said, laughing, "She backed him into the corner when he didn't leave the room. I tried to explain to her that he was waiting for a tip, but she wouldn't have it." Everyone laughed. Angel calmed down and looked at Nick, then whined. Nick looked at her, "I'm fine, just tired." Angel whined again, pawing at Nick's arm. Nick smiled, "OK." He got up and went into his room, Angel on his heals. "What'd she say?" Howie asked. Tara smiled, "She could tell that Nick was feeling bad and asked him if he was OK. Then she wanted to know if she could sleep with him, like they used to." "Aww," A.J. said, "That's so cute." Everyone looked at him. "What? I keep telling you people I'm very sensitive, why won't you believe me?" A.J. said, feigning hurt. The hall roared with laughter, as everyone found their rooms and took their bags in to get settled. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Tara and Brian walked into their suite, seeing Nick in one of the bedrooms. They walked in. "You want anything to eat?" Tara asked. Nick shook his head, "No, I just want to sleep." "OK, but you have to eat supper later," she said. "I will, I promise," he said, getting comfortable on the bed. Angel jumped up and settled in next to him. That brought a smile to Nick's face, "I didn't realize how much I missed you until now," he told the wolf. Angel whined softly, and licked his hand. "Looks like the feeling is mutual," Tara said, smiling. Nick took a moment to pet Angel, then looked at Tara, "OK, I'm ready." Tara leaned over and placed her hand over his eyes, once again feeling him fall into a deep sleep. She turned around and looked at Brian, who was leaning against the wall. "Is he really gonna be OK?" Brian asked, staring at his friend. "Yeah, he will. It's just gonna take a little while. He feels like he failed, and it's gonna take some encouragement on our parts to get him through it," she answered, walking out of the room and into the living area of the suite. Brian walked up behind her, pulling her to him, "I'm glad he has you to help him," he said, kissing her on the neck. Tara laughed, "That tickles." "I know," Brian said, smiling at her. "Um Bri, aren't you forgetting something?" Tara asked. He looked up at her, "What?" "Lyn," she said. "Oh crap!" Brian said, heading for the door, "We'll continue this when I get back." Tara laughed, watching him run out the door, "God I love that man." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Howie and Kira got into their room and he dropped his bags on the floor. "How was your trip?" she asked. "OK," he said. She looked at him, "What happened?" He sat down on the couch and pulled her to him, wrapping his arms around her. "Nick, we almost lost him last night. If Tara hadn't broken the rules and ran in, I think we would have," he said. "Oh baby, I had no idea it was that bad," she said. Howie nodded, "It's been bad for a while now. I don't see how he's kept going this long." "So how much longer will this go on?" Kira asked. "I don't know. I don't think anyone does. I guess until they give up all hope of ever turning him, and after last night, I know they won't give up any time soon," Howie said. Kira stared into his eyes, seeing the worry for his friend there, and the love he felt for her. He noticed her staring, and smiled at her, "Enough of this talk. Tell me what we're doing tomorrow." "We're getting married," she said, smiling mischievously. He laughed, "I know that. Where? By who? When?" he asked. Kira got more comfortable in his arms, "Well, we go in the morning to get the license. Then we head off to the chapel, everyone is gonna meet us there. I think you'll love it, it's this little Spanish style chapel. I rented it for the whole day, just so we could take our time, and celebrate afterwards." Howie hugged her tight, "I love it already." Kira leaned her head up and softly kissed him, "I missed you." He smiled, seeing the brightness in her eyes, "I missed you to." Kira got up and pulled him to his feet. "Where are we going?" he asked, playfully. She grinned at him, "Where do you think?" Howie laughed as they went into the bedroom and closed the door. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Brian waited in the car while Roy went in and escorted Lyn out. He hoped he wasn't late, looking at his watch again. Finally the car door opened and Lyn jumped in. She looked up, surprised to see Brian there instead of Nick. "Hey, what's up?" she asked. Brian smiled at her, "Nick was tired, so I volunteered to come get you." She stared at him, "What happened?" Brian tried to look innocent, "Nothing, what makes you think something happened?" "Bri, you can't lie to save your life. Now tell me what happened," she said. Brian sighed, "Last night was really bad on him. We almost lost him. They were trying to hurt us while we were on stage, and he wore himself out, saving our ass's. Then they cornered him in his room, he was just to tired to fight anymore." Lyn had tears in her eyes, "What did they do?" "I'm not really sure. He said something bout them showing him what it would feel like to have control. God Lyn, the look in his eyes, it was just.....pure hate and evil. I've only seen one other being have that same look," Brian said. "Who?" she asked. "Jered," Brian said, shuddering at the thought. Lyn wiped away a tear, "How did he get away from them?" "Tara, she broke the rules and went in," Brian said. "How is he now?" she asked. "Drained, and ashamed of what happened. Tara's basically keeping him knocked out until he gets enough rest," he said. Lyn looked at the floor of the limo, trying to hold back her tears. Brain scooted over next to her and put his arm around her, "He's strong. He'll get past this, and make it through." She nodded, "I know. I just wish I could help him." "Yeah, I feel the same way with Tara. All this is taking a toll on her too, and I can't do anything but be here for her," Brian said. Lyn looked up at him, "I guess we're just two peas in a pod then, huh?" Brian laughed, "Yeah, I guess so." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Brian and Lyn walked into their hotel suite. Tara was lying on the couch, asleep. The TV was on and the remote in her hand. They both smiled at the sight. "Nick's in that room," Brian whispered, pointing to the far bedroom. "He won't wake up until Tara wakes him, so you can go in and not have to worry about being quiet," he said. Lyn smiled, "Thanks." Brian watched as she made her way into the room, and shut the door. Lyn sat her bag down next to the dresser and smiled at Angel. "Hey girl, long time no see," she said. Angel wagged her tail and walked over to Lyn, letting her pet her. "I see you've resumed bed privileges," Lyn said. Angel barked, and licked her hand. Lyn played with the wolf for a few minutes, then walked over to the bed, sitting down on the side. She studied Nick's face, seeing the exhaustion, even as he slept. She took his hand in hers, feeling the warmth of his skin. She held his hand reaching up and stroking his hair, "I've missed you so much. I wish I could help you with this. Please be strong, don't let them take you. I couldn't go on knowing you were with them. Please Nick, I love you so much, I know you can beat them." Angel whined at her. Lyn reached over and ran her hand down the wolfs neck and back. She then climbed up on the bed, and snuggled in next to Nick. She needed to be close to him now, and she missed it so much. She rested her head on his chest and closed her eyes, slowly drifting to sleep. Chapter 27 |