| Chapter 16 Tara woke up to the sound of someone in the room. She saw that it was the nurse from the night before, she was checking Brian's IV and his monitors. "Morning sweetie," she said. "Morning," Tara replied, "How's he doing?" The nurse looked at Tara, "About the same, his fever is still a little high." she answered. "How high?" Tara asked with concern. "It's still 102, but that's down from what it was." the nurse said. "Is there anything I can get you before my shift ends?" she asked. "No thank you," Tara said as she looked over at Brian. "OK, I'll be back tonight," she said as she walked out the door. Brian opened his eyes and looked at Tara. He flashed her a smile. "Were you playing possum?" Tara asked smiling. "Sort of," Brian said. "How did you sleep?" Tara asked. "OK, did you sleep any?" he asked. "Some." Tara said as she rolled over to face Brian, "The dreams are back." Brian looked at her with concern, "Are they bad?" he asked. Tara said nothing but just looked at Brian. He could tell by her eyes that they were. "I wonder why I didn't have any," Brian said. "Any what? Dreams?" Tara asked. "Yeah, I don't remember any," Brian said. "Well Bri, you were under pretty heavy sedation," she said. "Yeah I guess," he replied. Brian started to say something then stopped, Tara could see the conflict in his eyes. "What is it Brian?" she asked. Brian looked at her for a moment, "They haven't called my family have they?" "No, not yet. I told them that when you were ready they could." Tara said. Brian thought for a moment. He wanted to see Leighanne so bad, but he was afraid. He knew the person that did this to him was close, very close. "Brian," Tara said pulling him from his thoughts, "You don't have to call them now if you don't want to." Brian gave Tara a smile, "I'm just a little scared." he said. "I know, but I will not leave you alone with anyone but Leighanne, I promise," she said. "Tara, I can't ask you to stay and be my body guard," Brian said. "I know, I want to. I wanna see this thing through, and besides there is something deep inside me telling me I have to stay," Tara said with a smile. "What about your family?" Brian asked, remembering that Tara's family didn't know where she was either. "Brian, I'm not quite ready to go back. I really don't mind staying." she said. Brian closed his eyes for a moment and let out a sigh. "OK, go ahead and call them." "Are you sure?" Tara asked. Brian looked at her with anticipation and fear in his eyes, "Yes, call them." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Kevin came downstairs to find that everyone was already up and fixing breakfast. Howie was helping Leighanne in the kitchen, while Nick and A.J. seemed to be in the middle of an intense discussion. "Morning Kev!" Nick said, as Kevin walked into the kitchen. "Morning," Kevin replied. Nick seemed to be beaming about something. "Why are you so happy this early in the morning?" Kevin asked. Nick smiled from ear to ear, "Cause I found something that I've been searching for," Nick said. Leighanne stopped what she was doing and looked at Nick. "Nick?" she asked. Nick looked at Leighanne and nodded his head, he was too happy to even speak. Leighanne ran around the counter and pulled Nick into a hug. Kevin, A.J., and Howie exchanged confused glances. Leighanne was wiping a tear from her eye, when she remembered Kevin's doctor visit. "Kev, do you want one of us to go with you?" she asked. "No, I'm sure it'll be OK." Kevin replied. He really didn't want anyone to know what kind of doctor he was seeing. Kevin sat down at the table as Leighanne handed him a plate of pancakes. Just then the phone rang. Nick got up and answered it. "Hello," Nick said. "Who am I speaking to?" asked the voice on the other end. "This is Nick Carter, who's this?" Nick asked. "Mr. Carter this is agent McGill with the FBI," Nick's heart came up in his throat, "Yes?" Nick said. "Mr. Carter, Brian has been found." Nick almost dropped the phone, "Is he alive?" "Yes sir, he's at the hospital on I-96," the agent said. "Thank you, we'll be right there!" Nick hung up the phone and let out a scream of joy. Everyone came out of the kitchen, wandering what in the hell had gotten into Nick. "They found him!!" Nick yelled. Everyone let out a scream and embraced each other. "Let's go!!" Nick yelled, already at the door. Everyone took off towards the cars, and as Kevin was closing the door to the house he thought, the doctor is just gonna have to wait. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Tara walked back into Brian's room. "They're calling them now. You sure about this?" she asked. Brian looked at her, "As sure as I'm gonna be about it." "Well, it won't take them long to get here," Tara said. "Brian, how are you gonna convince them that I should be in here?" Tara asked. Brian looked at her confused, "What do you mean?" Tara sat down next to the bed, "Brian, they don't know me. As far as they're concerned I'm just some stranger that found you. They aren't gonna want me in here." "Oh, I hadn't thought about that," he said. "Well we better get something worked out, and quick," Tara said, "They'll probably be here in an hour or so." Brian thought for a few minutes. "There's no way to explain why you're in here without making them suspicious," he said. Tara nodded her head, "Maybe if we talk to Leighanne first, maybe she'll have an idea of what to do?" Brian thought a bit more, "Well I'll just tell them that you aren't going anywhere. They know I'm stubborn about things, they'll just have to accept it." he said with a smile. Tara laughed. Brian yawned. "Bri, are you still sleepy?" Tara asked. "Yeah, a little." he said. "Why don't you go to sleep, and I'll wake you when they get here," she said. Brian looked at Tara, "In case I forget to say it later, Thank you." Tara smiled at Brian, "What for?" "For saving me, for doing this. You could've left and not involved yourself, but instead you're staying and possibly putting yourself at risk for me." Brian said as he squeezed Tara's hand. "Brian, I'm sure if the tables were turned you would do the same thing." Tara said. "Well anyway, thanks," he said as he closed his eyes. Tara sat and watched Brian sleep. She was becoming nervous about meeting Leighanne and the guys. She had always been a fan of theirs, but she didn't want to meet them under these circumstances. She took a deep breath to calm herself. She focused back on Brian. He looked so peaceful as he slept. A smile crossed Tara's face. Just then she heard something out in the hall. Tara looked out the window to see Brian's family and friends talking to the doctor. Tara reached over and grabbed Brian's hand, "Bri, wake up. They're here." Chapter 17 |