| Chapter 5 The guys had a busy morning. First they stopped off at Good Morning America, followed by Regis and Kelly, then on to The View. After they finished there they did a few radio spots, then it was on the plane, headed to LA. Lyn was riding with them until they reached LA, then she was hopping a flight home. It was late afternoon and everyone was tired. Brian and Tara were on one of the couches, while Howie and A.J. shared the other. Kevin was stretched out in one of the forward captain chairs, and Nick and Lyn were in the bedroom. The rest of their support staff, including Stephen had chartered another plane. The guys were adamant about not being surrounded by everyone, so anyone who wasn't a Boy or attached to one, took the other plane. It worked better that way anyway, by the time the guys arrived, Stephen would already have everything set for them. Lyn woke up to the bed moving. She looked over to see Nick squirming in his sleep, Tracy, Jade and Gideon standing nearby. "What's going on?" Lyn asked, sitting up and straightening her clothes. "Can you go get Tara?" Tracy asked. Lyn looked at them concerned, but left the room in search of Tara. "They are getting stronger," Jade said. "I know. I've never seen the dreams increase with this much intensity so fast before," Gideon stated. "This can't be the work of just one, it's to powerful," Tracy commented. Tara came through the door, followed by Lyn and Brian. She walked over to Nick and placed her hand on his shoulder, instantly pulling it away. "We need to wake him up, now," she said, sitting on the side of the bed and shaking him. "Nick, wake up," she said. Nick, still asleep, pulled away from her touch, mumbling. "Tara, be careful, he doesn't wake up well from nightmares," Brian warned. Kevin and Howie came in, followed by A.J. "Is something wrong?" Kevin asked, seeing the looks on their faces. "Nick's, having a nightmare," Brian answered. Gideon moved to the other side of Nick, reaching out and shaking him. Nick sat straight up in bed and glared at him. Gideon instantly realized that Nick was still asleep, and wasn't seeing him at all, he was seeing whatever was tormenting him in his dream. "Nick, it's me, Gideon," he said. Nick's eyes were wide with fear, and anger. He shook his head slowly, "No you're not, you're trying to trick me." Tara and Tracy turned to the others. "Get out of the room now," Tara said. "But we could...." Brian started to protest. Just then Gideon flew backwards and into the wall. "Nick release him!" Tara yelled. Gideon was pinned to the wall, not able to break free from Nicks hold on him. Everyone stared in shock, looking at Nick sitting on the bed, staring at Gideon across the room. Tara grabbed Nick's arm, "I said release him!" Nick turned his attention to her, letting Gideon drop to the floor. Jade grabbed Nick's other arm, and together she and Tara pinned him down. "No!" Nick screamed, pushing them both to the floor and standing up to fight them. Kevin looked at the guys, then all four jumped on Nick, bringing him down to the floor. "No guys, he'll hurt you!" Tracy yelled, trying to pull them off him. Nick managed to kick Brian off his legs, getting to his feet. Howie and A.J. each had him by an arm, and Kevin was behind him, his arm around his throat. Nick pulled his arms together, slamming A.J. and Howie into each other, then quickly turned on Kevin. Kevin threw his hands up in defense, backing away from him, "Nick, you need to wake up!" Nick glared at him, stepping forward and wrapping his hand around Kevin's throat, squeezing. Kevin gasped for air as he tried to pull Nicks hand off him. Tracy and Brian grabbed Nick by his free hand, and pulled him back. Nick swung around, coming face to face with Brian. Brian didn't wait, he just swung with all he had, landing a punch on Nick's right cheek. Nick stumbled backward, instantly being grabbed by Tara and Gideon. Jade joined in and together the three threw him on the bed, pinning him down. Nick struggled under their hold, screaming for them to let him go. Kevin, Brian, and Tracy joined in, getting Nick where he could no longer move. "Let me go!" Nick screamed. Tara had Nick by his hair, and looked at Gideon, "What do we do now?" They all looked at each other, not sure what to do with him now that they had him. Tara sighed and balled her hand into a fist, "Nick, this for your own good," she said, as she punched him in the right temple as hard as she could. Nick's eyes rolled back in his head, and his body went limp. Tara looked at everyone, "I guess that worked." "Guys," Lyn said from across the room. She was kneeling next to Howie and A.J. who were both unconscious. Tracy went to them, bending down and touching each one. They both woke up and looked around. "What happened?" Howie asked. "Damn, did anyone get the plate on the truck that just hit me?" A.J. said, sitting up. "You'll be alright," Tracy said, smiling at them. Gideon went to Kevin, "You alright?" "I think so," he said, holding his throat. "Let me see," Gideon instructed. Kevin dropped his hand to reveal a bruise forming, the exact shape of Nicks hand. "Let me do something about that," Gideon said, placing his hand over Kevin's neck for a moment. Kevin could feel a sense of warmth where Gideon had touched him, the pain was instantly gone. "Thanks," he said. "Tracy," Brian said. He was standing next to Tara, holding her hand. "I think she broke it," he said, showing Tracy Tara's wrist. "I want Nick to deal with this," Tara said, pulling her hand away. Tracy nodded, understanding she wanted Nick to see what had happened. "What about Nick?" Lyn asked, seeing the bruises form on his cheek and temple. "We'll deal with it when he wakes up," Tara said, ushering them all out of the room. Tracy, Jade and Gideon stayed behind with Nick, keeping watch. "What the hell just happened in there?" Kevin asked, after they all got seated. Tara took a deep breath and looked at him, "Nick is being tormented." "Tormented? By what?" Brian asked. "By demons," she answered. "What?!" Lyn said. "Why?" Howie asked. Tara held her hands out, "Guys, calm down, let me explain." "Honey, how could he be? He's an angel," Brian asked. Tara smiled and shook her head, "Bri, we aren't angels. We are helpers. We are still human, and can be tempted, just like any other human." "Why is this happening?" Lyn asked. "It's something that each of us goes through during our training. Normally it's later on, but the power of Nick's abilities have attracted them to him," Tara said. "How long does it last?" A.J. asked. "There's no set time, it's just now starting," she said. "You mean it's gonna get worse?" Kevin asked, astonished. "Yes, much worse. We are trying to keep them from coming to him just yet. They are staying with him 24/7 now," Tara said, pointing back at the bedroom. "Well can't you guys stop it from happening?" Howie asked. "No, we can't. A time will come when we will be told to leave him, then he will be on his own with them," Tara said. "But why can't....?" Brian started. Tara held her hand up, "Guys, you have to understand. He HAS to go through this. It's not that I want him to, if it was up to me he'd never have to face it, but it's not my decision. I can only pray that when his time comes, that he's ready for it." Everyone glanced from one to the other, not sure how to handle what they'd just been told. "Can we do something to help?" Lyn asked. Tara smiled at her, "You can pray for him." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Tara sat next to Nick on the bed. The plane was within an hour of landing and she needed to get him up. She had instructed everyone to stay outside, not getting any argument from any of them. No one wanted a repeat of what had happened earlier. Tara looked over at the others, "You ready?" "Yeah," they all said, standing close, just in case. Tara reached up and touched Nick's cheek, "Nick, you need to get up." His eyes fluttered a moment, then he slowly opened his eyes. He reached up and held the side of his head, "My head hurts." Tara smiled, "I expected it to. Do you remember anything that happened?" He looked at her confused, "What happened?" The four stared at him for a moment. Nick looked from one to the other, afraid of what they weren't telling him. Finally his eyes landed on Tara's bruised wrist. "Tell me what I did," Nick demanded. "You were having a nightmare. We tried to wake you up, but we couldn't," Jade said. "You thought we were whatever was in your dream, and you attacked us," Gideon added. Nick looked at them in horror, "Please tell me I didn't seriously hurt someone." "Everyone is fine," Tara said. "You're not," Nick said, gently taking her wrist in his hands, "I'm so sorry." Tara stared at him, and Nick realized what she wanted him to do. He wasn't sure he knew how, but he tried anyway. He wrapped his hands around her wrist and closed his eyes, concentrating. When he finished he took his hands away, seeing the bruising gone. "Is it OK now?" he asked. "Yes, you did very well," she said. He smiled, putting his hand to his head again, "My head is throbbing." Tara pulled him over to the mirror so he could see his injuries. He looked shocked, "What exactly did I do, and to who?" "You want to see?" Tracy asked. Nick nodded his head as she took his hand. Instantly he could see her memory of what had happened. He winced in horror at what he'd done. "God, I'm so sorry," he said, looking at them. "It's alright Nick," Jade said. "But I hurt all of you," he cried. "Nick, we understand where it was coming from. It's really OK," Gideon said. "We're just glad that you have that much fight in you," Tara said. Nick stared at her for a moment, then bit his lower lip, "OK, so do I do this?" Tara smiled, "Yes you do." Nick looked at himself in the mirror, then put his hand over the bruise on his cheek. He closed his eyes, and concentrated. Then without opening them, he moved his hand up to his temple. He opened his eyes to see no trace of either bruise. "Hey, I did it," he said, smiling. He caught the glances between Tara and the others. "You guys can't do that?" he asked. "Not to ourselves, no," Tracy said. Nick walked over and sat on the bed, "Why was I given all this extra stuff?" "We don't know, but I'm sure there is a reason," Gideon said, putting his hand on Nick's shoulder. "Sometimes I just wish He'd spell it out, ya know," Nick said. They all laughed, knowing exactly how he felt. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Lyn was staring out the window at the approaching airport. She only had an hour before her flight home. It wasn't nearly enough time to tell Nick all she wanted to. She turned around when she heard the door open to the bedroom. Nick and Tara came out, both free of their injuries. Nick walked up to everyone, "Guys, I'm really sorry. I would never do that intentionally. You guys know that, right?" "Yeah man, we know," A.J. said. "Just try not to do that again will ya," Kevin said. "I'll do my best," Nick said. Tara sat down next to Brian. He took her hand in his, looking at it. "You OK now?" he asked. "Yeah, I'm fine. Nick has a knack for healing," she said. "That's good," Brian commented, looking at his friend. Nick returned the stare, knowing Brian was feeling bad for hitting him, "Don't feel bad, I deserved it." Brian laughed, "Yeah you kinda did." Nick walked over and sat down next to Lyn as the plane headed in for a landing. "Nick, I..." she started. He placed his finger over her lips, "I know. I don't want you to go home." "Honey, we've already been through this," she said. "I know we have, and I'm just being selfish, but I want you to stay," Nick said. "I'll be back when you go into rehearsals, that's the best I can do," she stated. Nick sighed, "I know it is. Don't let me make you feel bad about it, I'm just kinda.... I don't know..." "Afraid to be alone?" she asked. He looked at her, "Yeah. As much as I hate to admit it, I am." "Nick, you know you are never alone. God is with you always. And the guys are there, and Tara, and....." Lyn started. Nick laughed, "I know, I know. But none of them is you." She smiled at him. She loved him so much, there weren't enough words to say. Nick leaned in and gently kissed her as the plane landed. "Maybe when you get back, we can get past this and move on to other things," Nick whispered in her ear. Lyn laughed at him, and slapped his arm, hoping she wasn't as red as she felt. She leaned in, "I hope so to." Chapter 6 |