| Chapter 3 The week went by in a flash, and the boys were headed to their first of many stops on their promotional tour. Lyn let them borrow one of her planes for the tour. Kevin had initially refused, but Lyn insisted saying she didn't have a need for two planes anyway. Lyn was needing to get back, before her company decided that she was missing in action. Nick had pleaded with her to come with him on the promotional tour. Lyn hated to say no to him, so in a compromise she decided to stay the first couple of days of the tour with him, then head home. Nick wasn't excited about the compromise, but was willing to take what he could get. Brian and Tara sat on the couch in the plane, watching TV. A.J., Howie, and Kevin were involved in a high stakes card game, and Nick and Lyn were sitting in the forward section. Brian looked over at Tara, "You really think he's ready for this? I mean our first stop is MTV, you know how crazy that gets." "He'll be alright as long as he focuses," Tara said, glancing forward to see Nick and Lyn practicing the kiss for the millionth time. She laughed shaking her head, "I swear if that boy got grades for this, he'd have an A in kissing." Brian looked over and smiled, "Yeah well, takes a good teacher to get good grades." Tara laughed at him then softly kissed his cheek. Brian turned his head and pulled her into a more passionate kiss. A.J. looked up from the card game, "Geesh guys, get a room or something. I can't take this little love fest." Nick and Lyn looked back at him, while Tara and Brian glanced over. All four smiled and went back to what they were doing. Howie and Kevin both laughed, as A.J. groaned his disapproval. "I'm gonna get a soda, anyone want anything?" Kevin asked, getting up and heading to the galley. No one answered, so he made his way back and grabbed the beverage. As he was walking back, the plane hit some turbulence, and Kevin lost his balance. He fell face first, but didn't hit the floor of the plane, instead stopping about two inches from the ground. He looked up to see Nick standing in the isle, his hand outstretched towards him. Everyone was staring with their mouths wide open, including Tara. Nick raised his hand, and Kevin was brought back to a vertical position, his feet landing softly on the ground. Nick dropped his hand to his side, and took a deep breath, then continued his way down the isle and into the back of the plane. Kevin looked over at Tara seeing the shocked look on her face, "You didn't know he could do that did you?" "He's done it with small objects, nothing your size until now," she said. "Wow, what else can he do?" A.J. asked. "Yeah, that's really cool," Howie said. Lyn came back, "The stewardess didn't see that did she?" "I don't think so," Brian said, forgetting about her. "I'm gonna go make sure. She doesn't work for me, and we defiantly don't need anything like this getting out," Lyn said, going to find the woman. Tara got up looking back at Brian, "I'll be back in a minute, I'm gonna go check on him." Brian nodded and watched her go to the back. Kevin stared at him for a moment, "There's something wrong isn't there?" Brian looked at his cousin, "I'm not sure. She's been stressed lately, and I know it has something to do with Nick and his training but she won't tell me what it is." "I wonder why," Howie said. Brian just shrugged his shoulders. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Tara walked into the large bedroom at the back of the plane. Nick was sitting on the bed, his head in his hands. "Nick?" she said. He looked up and motioned her in. Tara walked over and sat down next to him, "Are you alright?" "Yeah, I think so," he said. "Tell me what you feel," Tara prompted. Nick sighed, "I feel tired, kinda drained." "Did you feel that before you stopped Kevin from falling or after?" she asked. "After," he answered, "I wasn't suppose to do that was I?" "No," she said. "I can tell the difference now," Nick said, "When I'm suppose to do something and when I'm not." Tara nodded her head, "When you are suppose to, your energy will not leave you like it just did." Nick looked at her, "What was I suppose to do, let him fall on his face?" Tara laughed, "Point taken, but Nick, you can't go off on your own with your powers just yet. You will know when it is right for you to do something and when it's not. Don't take things into your own hands just because you feel it's the right thing to do." "Is that what you did when you saved Lee and the baby?" Nick asked. Tara looked down for a moment, "Yes I did, and you see how long I was gone because of it." Nick stared at her for a moment, "Why do we have all these rules?" Tara was taken aback by his question. "What do you mean why?" she asked. "Just that, why do we have some things we can and can't do? I thought our purpose here was to help people, so why can't we help them sometimes and can other times?" Nick asked. "Nick, we can't see the bigger picture in everything. God has a plan for everyone and everything. If we take matters into our own hands, we could inadvertently mess everything up," she answered. "Oh," Nick said, "I really didn't think about that." She smiled at him, "Well now you will, right?" He grinned, "Yeah, definitely." Tara stood up, and smiled, "Your control is getting better." Nick laughed, "Thanks." "Come on back up, we should be landing soon," she said, offering him her hand. He took it and rose to his feet, "Ten bucks says A.J. wants me to float him around the plane." Tara laughed as they walked out of the room, "I was gonna say twenty, but whatever." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The plane landed and the guys were whisked into the waiting vans to take them to the studios. Brian and Nick shared a van, the rest of the guys were in the other one. Tara had made sure that during the tour, Brian's and Nick's rooms were always next to each other, and that they shared all transportation. She didn't want to be away from Nick, never knowing when he was going to lose it and need her help. As they got closer to the studios, Nick became more and more nervous. He could already feel the crowd of fans, and was concentrating all his efforts on maintaining his composure. Tara could feel it too, and watched him closely. She didn't want to offer her help to him until he could no longer control things on his own. She didn't want him to totally rely on her help, although he knew she was there for him whenever he asked. Lyn was watching Nick also. She could tell he was having problems with his emotions. He had let go of her hand several blocks ago, and she knew better than to touch him right now. She looked over at Tara, and Tara nodded her head, letting her know she was aware of the situation. The van stopped and Nick looked up. They had driven to the back of the studios, only a few fans were there to greet them as they got out. Brian went out first, signing autographs and hoping to take some of the heat off Nick. Tara touched Nick's shoulder, "You got it?" He took a deep breath and nodded as he got out. Lyn and Tara walked behind them, but Tara was never more than an arms length away. After signing a few autographs and posing for a few pictures everyone made it inside. They were taken to a green room and waited for the audience to be let in and the show to start. Nick was sitting on the couch with Tara and Lyn. "What do I do if I get out there and start to freak?" he asked. "Just get up and come back here, the guys will cover for you," Tara said. "Yeah man, we'll take the heat off ya," A.J. said. Nick looked over at him, "But I don't want you guys to have to do that." "Then don't freak," Brian said, smiling at him. Nick laughed a little, "OK, I'll do my best." "Just don't break their windows, those things are expensive," Kevin teased. Everyone laughed. "Alright, stop teasing me about it," Nick said. "All in love man," Howie said, offering Nick a bottled water. Nick took it, "I know." An intern knocked on the door then walked in, "Two minutes guys, if you'll follow me?" Nick gave Tara a scared look and she put her hand on his shoulder, "You'll do just fine. Just take a moment and pray, calm your nerves, and ask for help." Nick nodded his head and took a deep breath, silently praying for control. Then he got up and followed the guys out of the room. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Now for the moment you've all been waiting for...the Backstreet Boys!" Carson said. The audience went nuts, screaming, crying, yelling, as the guys entered the studio and stood in front of the windows. Nick looked out, seeing the thousands of fans in the street. He put his hand on the window for support and closed his eyes for a second. Brian walked over and looked at him, questionably. Nick put on his smile, and turned around to greet Carson. "Nick, it's great to see you back with the guys," Carson said. "It's really great to be back," Nick said. The audience quieted down and the guys settled in for the interview. "So you guys got a new album out," Carson started. "Yeah, it drops next week," Howie said. "So what's it like, all five of you back together again?" Carson asked. "It's great," A.J. said. "Like we've never been apart," Kevin stated. "Brian?" Carson asked. "Man it's great. I get to hang out with my best friend, and work with him to. Couldn't ask for anything else," Brian said. The audience collectively awwed. "Nick, tell us about your breakthrough that has allowed you to come back," Carson prompted. Nick looked over at him, "Um, well you guys all know that an infection caused my hearing loss. Since that happened my doctor has been working on some things, and um, it's all really complicated, but I've regained enough of my hearing to be able to function, and come back to the world of music." Carson looked at him, "You aren't wearing any aids right now." "No I'm not, I don't have to anymore," Nick said. "That's great man. Maybe this breakthrough could help others with the same kind of problem," Carson said. "I hope so," Nick said. "We'll be back with the Backstreet Boys, and take audience questions in a moment," Carson said. "We're out," a tech said. The guys relaxed during the commercial, while some members of the audience were lined up to ask their questions. Nick kept praying, feeling for the most part in control, until a certain girl was lined up. He'd gotten some sort of feeling from her, and it worried him. He knew if she had a sob story about how the guys had helped her through a rough time in her life that he was going to lose it. He shifted in his seat, as they came back on air. "I'm Carson, and I'm here with the Backstreet Boys. Let's take some questions from the audience," he said. The first girl stepped up, "Hi, um, My question is for Brian." Brian smiled at her, "Yeah?" "Um, I wanted to know if everything was alright, since the threats on you and your family?" the girl asked. Brian smiled, "Yes, everything was taken care of. The person that did that is in a place that they can get help, and it's not an issue anymore. Tara and I are fine, and I'd like to say thanks to all of you that sent in well wishes when the story broke." Nick half listened as the other girls asked their questions. He answered when he needed to, but kept praying the entire time. Now the girl that was causing his anxiety stepped up. She said nothing, but instead signed to Nick. Nick looked at her and smiled. "You want to translate?" Carson asked. "She says that her hearing was taken by a rare disease, and that until I lost mine, she was on the verge of giving up. She says that when I went public with my loss, and took it so well, and started doing other things, that it gave her hope that she could find what it was that she was suppose to do with her life. She started a web site for the hearing impaired, that offers support to those who have just suffered the loss of their hearing. Her site was rated among the top twenty on the web for her topic." Nick signed to her, "That's great. I'm glad you found what you were looking for." The girl smiled and asked if she could have a hug. Nick's heart was in his throat as he got up and walked over to her. He hugged her and returned to his seat, tears in his eyes. The next girl stepped up and asked her question. Nick didn't hear it though. He couldn't get past the incredible gratitude he felt from the hug. He could feel himself start to lose it, and closed his eyes, trying to focus. Kevin leaned over, "Go if you need to," he whispered. Nick got up and left the studio, breaking out in a run after he cleared the sight of the cameras and the audience. Carson looked concerned, "He OK?" All the guys looked at Kevin. "He'll be alright. He's had a touch of the stomach flu" Kevin said. All the guys nodded, like it was nothing new to them. "Oh, OK," Carson said, "Let's get back to the questions.." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ After the show the guys went back to the green room. Lyn was there waiting on them. "Where's Nick and Tara?" Brian asked. "They went to the hotel already," she answered. Kevin looked at her, "He was that bad?" Lyn nodded her head, "Once he lost it, he could feel everything from everyone in probably a good six block area. Tara and Tracy got him out of the building before he started screaming." The guys looked at each other, concern in all their faces. "Well let's get over there, see how he's doing," Kevin said, leading the way. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Everyone followed Brian down the hall and into his room. All the guys had a spacious suite, two bedrooms, two baths, a huge living room and balcony. "Tara?" Brian called. She came out of one of the bedrooms, her finger to her mouth, "We just got him calm enough to sleep." Everyone looked into the room, seeing Jade, Tracy, and Gideon sitting on the bed around Nick. "Exactly what happened?" Brian asked. Tara motioned for them all to sit down. They did so, staring at her with concern. "Guys, Nick still doesn't have the control that he needs. He does well until his concentration is broken, then he loses it. When he got to the green room he was already overwhelmed. It spiraled from there. He could feel all the emotions from everyone in the building, and then it graduated to everyone outside the building," she said. "God, there must've been over ten thousand fans outside," Howie said. Tara nodded her head, "Imagine being able to feel what one person is feeling, now add that many on top of it. It took all four of us just to stop him from screaming." "Tara, why don't you get like that?" A.J. asked. "Because, number one, I can control it, and number two, I can't feel that far," she confessed. "You can't?" Brian asked. She shook her head, "No I can't. Guys, Nick's abilities are far greater than any of us have ever seen before. I'm sure there's a reason for it, but it makes his training that much more difficult." "Is that why you've been stressed lately?" Brian asked. "Some yeah," she said. "What's the other reason?" Lyn asked. Tara looked at her, when Gideon came into the room, "Tara." She looked over at him, then got up and went back to the bedroom. Everyone glanced at one another, wondering what was going on. Slowly they all got up and walked over to the door of the bedroom, peering in. Nick was awake, laying in bed. Jade and Tracy had his hands, speaking to him. Nick looked over to see Tara come in the room, tears in his eyes. "I'm sorry," he said. "It's OK. You did very well for the first part, what happened?" she said. "That girl, when I hugged her, it was just .... to much," Nick said. Tara walked over and Jade got up, letting her sit next to Nick. She took his hand in hers, "That's something we need to work on more then. You feeling alright now?" Nick nodded his head, "Yeah, but I don't want to feel like that again. I thought I was going to die." "It can feel like that sometimes," Tracy said. Nick looked around, "How'd we get here? I don't remember anything after I got in the green room." "Don't worry about it. No one saw, and you're here, that's all that matters," Tara said. He nodded, looking past her and at the door, "You guys can come in." Hesitantly they walked in, worried and concerned looks on all their faces. Nick smiled at them, sitting up in the bed, "I'm OK now, promise." "You sure?" Lyn asked, walking over to stand next to the bed. "I'm positive," he said, reaching up and taking her hand. Lyn smiled, feeling a calm from him. "So what excuse did you use for my exit?" Nick asked. "Stomach flu," Kevin said. Nick laughed, "You couldn't say just regular flu?" Kevin shrugged his shoulders, "First thing that popped into my head." "So, don't we have to be at some radio station pretty soon?" Nick asked. Kevin looked at his watch, "Yeah we do. You stay here and rest, we'll take care of it." "Won't management be pissed?" Nick asked. "Naw, we'll talk to them. Give them the �you want him here throwing up, or back at the hotel?' speech," Brian said. Nick laughed at Brian's impersonation of Kevin. Kevin just smiled and shook his head. "Thanks guys," Nick said. "No problem," A.J. said on his way out of the room. "See ya in a few hours," Brian said, giving Tara a goodbye kiss. The guys all left the room. "How did you guys get me here without anyone seeing?" Nick asked. Tara and Tracy looked at each other and smiled. "You'll learn, eventually," Tara said. Nick looked over at Lyn, she shrugged her shoulders, just as confused as he was. "Now rest for a while, we need to work on some things before tomorrow," Tara instructed. Nick nodded his head and scooted down in the bed, getting comfortable. He was asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow. Chapter 4 |