| Chapter 17 Aleisha woke up and looked over to Brian's cot. He wasn't there. She sat up, and looked around the room. Brian was standing at the window, looking at something. "What are you looking at?" she asked. He jumped, and turned around, "Angel. She's running around in the snow." "Oh," Aleisha said, getting up and walking over. "How are you feeling?" she asked. Brian smiled at her, "Better, thanks to you." She returned the smile, and stared out the window, "It stopped snowing." "Yeah, it quit a little over an hour ago," he said, turning and making his way back to the cot. "You've been up that long?" Aleisha asked. Brian nodded, "Yeah, Angel woke me up. She wanted out, and I was having fun watching her, so I just stayed up." "I see," Aleisha said, getting some rice ready to cook. "Brian, do you think you're up to leaving?" she asked. Brian thought for a minute, "Well, I'm definitely better than I was. I'd be slow, but yeah, we probably should be getting out of here." "I don't want to rush you, but I think the sooner we get you back to town and in to see a doctor....." she started. "Aleisha, I don't want them to know where I am. If I go to a doctor they'll know," Brian said. She walked over to the fire, and placed the cooking pot on its rack. "Brian, you have to go get checked out," she said. He lowered his head, looking at the floor. Aleisha walked over and sat down next to him, "Brian, I'll take you to a friend of mine. He's a doctor in the town I live in, you can even use a fake name if you want, but you have to get checked out." "But won't he recognize me? I'm sure it's all over the news by now," Brian said. Aleisha shook her head, "No, it's not. We were told who we were looking for, but that it wasn't to be discussed with the media. I don't think the public knows you're missing." Brian breathed a sigh of relief, "That's good." Brian watched as she finished preparing the meal, and scooped some out for him. "How bout we finish breakfast, then I'll pack everything and we can head out?" she asked. "OK," he said, a mouth full of food. "Aleisha, can you not tell them you found me?" he asked. She stared at him, "Brian, another ranger found your car and dropped me off. They know you were out here." "Well, couldn't you say that you hiked out and got caught in the storm, and when you went back the car was gone?" he asked. "Why don't you want them to find you?" Aleisha asked. "I'm just not ready to go back. I know if they find out where I am, they'll come and get me. I..I just can't face them right now," he said, his eyes pleading with her. She sighed and looked around, "How am I gonna explain all the missing medical supplies?" "Please Aleisha. I can't go back, not yet," Brian pleaded. She stared at him for a long time, "You know, if yesterday wasn't my last day, I'd get fired for this." Brian smiled, "Thank you." "You're welcome, now finish eating so we can blow this joint," she said. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Nick sat straight up in bed. He'd had a bad dream, but he couldn't remember what it was. He just had an immense feeling of dread. He ran his hand through his hair and looked around, he was alone. "Don't tell me I dreamed that," he said to himself as he got up. He threw on some clothes and left the room, heading downstairs. "Morning sunshine," A.J. said as Nick walked into the kitchen. Nick looked over to see Lyn, Howie, Kevin, Kira, Kristin, and A.J. sitting at the table, eating. "And you guys were just gonna let me sleep through breakfast?" he asked, sitting down next to Lyn and gently kissing her cheek. "Well, after yesterday we figured you needed your sleep," Howie said, smiling. Nick looked at them all. "Guys stop it," he said, getting upset. "Stop what?" Kevin asked. "You're looking at me like I'm dying or something. This is why I didn't want to tell you guys in the first place," Nick said. "Nick, don't get upset. We're just worried," Kira said. Lyn grabbed his hand under the table, looking over at him. He looked at her for a moment, then took a deep breath, "I know you are. It's just that I don't want to be treated different, and there are other things we should be worrying about." Everyone looked down at their plates. "Nick, we are worried about both of you. It's just that we can't do much about Brian, but we can be here for you," Kristin said. Nick started to say something, when the phone rang. Kevin ran to answer it. Everyone held their breath, afraid of what news lay on the other end. Kevin came back in with the phone in his hand, "Nick, it's Dr. Spencer." Nick glanced at Lyn before taking the phone and walking into the other room. "Someone go listen," A.J. said. "Bone, that's not nice," Howie said, secretly wanting to know what they were saying himself. After a few moments, Nick walked back into the room and sat down. He started eating, not saying a word. "Well?" Kevin asked. "I have to go in this afternoon. He's gonna go over the results then," Nick said, not looking up from his plate. "He couldn't tell you over the phone?" Lyn asked. Nick looked up at her, worry in his eyes, "No, he couldn't." "Nick, do you want us to go with you?" Kevin asked. He looked at everyone, seeing they were just as worried as he was, "Yeah, might as well." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Brian and Aleisha had been walking for a few hours now. There was several inches of snow on the ground, making the hike somewhat treacherous. Angel stayed next to Brian, he had already had to use her to steady himself a couple of times. "Brian, when you start getting tired, we'll stop and make camp," Aleisha said. "You're the one that should be tired. Your carrying everything," he said. "Yeah, but I'm used to it," she said. They passed the entrance to the cave. Brian almost missed it, but Angel ran over and sniffed around it for a second before returning to him. He stopped and stood there, a wave of emotion coming over him. So much had happened to him in this place. Now he couldn't imagine why he'd come here, maybe he was hoping beyond hope that Tara would be there waiting for him. But she wasn't. She was never coming back, and he realized that now. "Brian? Are you OK?" Aleisha asked, having realized he'd stopped. He nodded his head as she made her way back to him. "You sure?" she asked. Brian looked at her, "Yeah, just a lot of memories in there." Aleisha looked over to the cave, then back at Brian, "You want to stop here?" He shook his head, "No, lets keep going." He turned and started down the trail again, he only looked back once. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Everyone crowded into the doctor's office. Dr. Spencer sent the nurse to find a few more chairs, and waited until everyone had a seat before he started. He looked down at Nick, who was sitting in front of him. "Mr. Carter," he started. "Nick," he said, "Mr. Carter is my dad." Everyone laughed. "OK, Nick, your test results aren't what we were hoping for," Dr. Spencer said. Nick sat up, "Then what were they?" The doctor flipped a switch on the wall, illuminating several panels. He slid the x-rays and scan images up on the panels so everyone could see them. "Nick, see this area right here," Dr. Spencer said, pointing to a small area on the right side of Nick's head. "Yeah," Nick said. "This is where you had your operation. For some reason, your skull hasn't grown back together the way it should have here," the doctor said. Nick looked at the area closer, seeing the small gap where bone should've been. "Doc, what can be done about it?" Kevin asked. "Well, we have a few options. One is surgery," he said. Nick groaned, "I don't want to go through another surgery." "OK, the other is we wait and in three months do the tests again. It could be that the bone is just slow growing," Dr. Spencer said. "I like that option better," Nick said. "Nick, it's not without its risks though. If you were to take a direct hit there, it could be life threatening," the doctor said. "So, I'll just be extra careful," Nick said. "Doc, if it was you, what would you do?" Lyn asked. He looked at her, "I'd have the surgery." Lyn looked back at Nick, he just sighed and looked down at the floor. Nick could feel everyone's eyes on him. They were waiting for him to say something. He looked back up at the doctor, and at the gap on the film. It wasn't that big, maybe an inch long and a few millimeters wide. How could something that small cause his head to hurt like it did? Lyn reached over and grabbed his hand, leaning in, "Whatever you decide, I'll support you. But I think maybe you should have Ted look at these first," she whispered. Nick looked at her and smiled, nodding his head. "Doc, would it be possible to have these results sent to my regular doctor?" he asked. "I don't think that would be a problem," Dr. Spencer said. "Thanks, I'd like to hear his opinion on it before I decide anything," Nick said. Dr. Spencer shook Nick's hand as he got up, "I understand. Let me know what you decide." "Thanks," Nick said, taking Lyn's hand and walking out of the office, followed by the others. Lyn stopped at the receptionists desk, giving her the address to send the results to. Kevin, Howie, and A.J. walked up to Nick. "So, you got a hole in your head. I could've told you that," A.J. said, laughing. "Gee, thanks," Nick said. "Nick, you don't need to wait around on this," Kevin said. "Yeah, that waiting thing didn't sound so good," Howie said. "Guys, I'll be fine. I want Ted to look them over and tell me what his opinion is, then I'll decide. I'm not putting it off," Nick said, seeing the look in Kevin's eyes. Lyn walked up to them, "OK, we ready?" "Yeah," Nick said, taking her hand and leaving the others standing there. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Brian was sitting in the tent, trying to remember what his feet felt like. Aleisha had made camp, and was stocking the fire for the night. Angel sat next to Brian, watching his every move. Aleisha crawled into the tent and sat down. "You warm enough?" she asked. "As warm as I think I'm gonna get out here," Brian said. Aleisha could see his hands shaking a little. "Brian, maybe we should combine the sleeping bags and sleep together," she said. Brian looked at her, somewhat shocked. "For warmth," she said, shaking her head. "Oh, um, yeah I guess," he said, embarrassed at what he'd been thinking. Aleisha took the sleeping bags and zipped them together. Then she took Brian's shoes off and helped him as he laid down. She then took her shoes off and climbed in next to him, being careful not to bump him. Brian was laying on his back, and he turned his head and looked at her. "Is that better?" she asked. "Yeah," he said smiling. Angel lay down next to Brian, so close he could feel her breathing. Aleisha reached over and felt of his hands. "Brian, your hands are like ice," she said. He laughed, "You should feel my ass." "Some other time," she said, sliding closer to him. Aleisha pulled her arm up and slid it under Brian's neck, letting him rest his head on her shoulder. She then gently lay her other arm across his chest, and intertwined their legs. "There now," she said, "That has to be better." Brian smiled up at her, "Yeah it is. Thanks." "No problem, now get some sleep. We've got a long day tomorrow," she said. Brian closed his eyes and relaxed in her arms, wanting nothing more than to stay there forever. Soon he was asleep. Chapter 18 |