| Chapter 13 Diane sat next to Nick's bed, gently stroking his arm, lost in her own thoughts. It had been a long night, filled with Nick crying himself to sleep, only to wake up an hour later and repeat the process all over again. Diane never went back to sleep after Nick cried himself to sleep the last time. She felt so awful for everyone, and the look on Nick's face shattered her heart. He was completely devastated, and the hope that was in his eyes before was now gone completely. She sighed, wondering how she was going to help him through this. She couldn't leave now even if she wanted to, which she didn't. Whatever it was in her heart that told her to stay was even stronger now. She had to be here for him, no matter what. Diane blinked sitting up as a steaming cup of coffee appeared in front of her face. She looked up, seeing Leighanne standing in front of her, "I thought you might need this." Diane took the cup, "Thanks, I do." Leighanne glanced over at her husband, making sure he was still asleep, then sat down next to Diane, "It's been a long night." "Yeah," she said, staring at Nick again. Leighanne shook her head, "I just can't believe it. This just doesn't happen to them, ya know?" Diane nodded, "Yeah, you never think anything like this ever happens to someone you know. It's hard." "Yeah, Brian was really upset about it. He feels bad because he's gonna get better and Nick's ....." Leighanne started, choking on her last words. Diane nodded, "I can understand that, as close as they are. But Nick can still get better, he just may not ever get back to where he was....there's still hope, there has to be." Leighanne looked over at her, "How do you do it?" "Do what?" Diane asked. "Stay so positive," Leighanne said. "I have to," she said, "You see the way Nick looks at me. I have to be positive for him, I can't let him down." Leighanne stared at the younger girl, "Diane, you don't have to shoulder all this on your own. We're all here to help." "I know that, but .... I just.... hell I dunno. I need to do this for him, I can't explain it, but I just need to," Diane said. Leighanne smiled, "I understand. I felt the same way when Brian went through his surgery. We had just started dating then, but I needed to be there, to help him. I had this compulsion to be strong for him when he couldn't be strong for himself." Diane stared at her, a look of awe on her face, "That's exactly how I feel." Leighanne reached over and squeezed Diane's knee, "So you know, I'm here anytime you need to talk. Anytime the pressure gets to be to much, I know what you're going through, OK?" "Thank you," Diane said, "You've all been so nice, to just accept me like you have. It means a lot." "Well, we all see how much Nick depends on you, how much he trusts you. We don't see that very often from him, and when we do, we know it means something," she said, looking over at Nick. Diane focused on Nick's sleeping form, her eyes misting over, "Yeah, I guess it does." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Nick, honey, you need to eat something," Jane urged. Nick stared at his mom through sad eyes, shaking his head. Jane looked at Diane for help. Diane walked over and sat down on the edge of Nick's bed, staring into his eyes. He half smiled at her, but it never reached his eyes. "Nick, your mom is right. You do need to eat," she said. Nick looked down, shaking his head no. Diane reached out and took his hand in hers, "I know you don't feel like it, and I know how bad you're hurting inside. But baby, you'll never get well if you don't take care of yourself. Do you wanna stay in the hospital longer than you have to?" Nick glanced up at her and shook his head. "OK, then in order for you to get well enough to leave, you need to eat, alright?" Diane said. Nick looked over seeing Leighanne feeding Brian his breakfast. He could see that it was uncomfortable for Brian to eat laying flat on his back, but he was trudging along. Brain looked over and smiled at him, "It's not to bad today. Kinda tasty even." Nick laughed at his friend. Even in the worst of times, Brian always knew how to make him laugh. Nick looked back to Diane and pointed to his food tray. She smiled at him and began to feed him. Kevin and the rest arrived shortly after breakfast. Diane watched as everyone tried to keep an upbeat attitude for Nick. "Sweetie," A.J.'s mom said, "We went shopping this morning and got you a few things." Diane looked at her surprised, " For me? You didn't have to..." "Think nothing of it. We know you don't want to leave Nick, and that you only have the clothes on your back, so we took the liberty of picking up a few things for you," Howie's mom added. Diane smiled, "Thank you," she said, looking through the large bag. She laughed holding up a lace bra and panty set, looking at A.J. He smiled at her, "I noticed your size while we were in the woods, you like?" "Yeah you little perv, I like," Diane laughed. A.J. flashed her his cheesy grin, "Thought you would." Nick tugged on Diane's arm, handing her his notebook. Diane laughed, "A.J., Nick says not to pick on me or he'll beat your ass." A.J. laughed, "I'm sure you will man." Nick smiled at him, then went back to looking through the bag with Diane. Someone knocked on the door, then slowly stepped inside. By the looks on all the guys faces, they knew this man, and where very upset with him. "Well, it's bout time you showed up," Kevin said, trying to keep his temper in check. "Listen guys, I'm sorry for not coming sooner, but we've had a PR nightmare at the office," the man said. "And we care?" A.J. asked, sarcastically. The man glared at him, "A.J. don't be so ......" "Oh hell no!" A.J. said, "You are not gonna come in here and start telling me how to be. You're lucky I don't punch you!" "Listen here you little..." the man started. Kevin crossed the room in two strides and pushed the older man against the wall, "What the hell do you expect from us Frank?! We're in a plane crash and aren't found for a week and when we are it takes you two days to show up! You're lucky we don't sue your ass for this!" "For what?" Frank asked. "For putting a fan in jeopardy, that's for what!" Kevin boomed, "Who's bright idea was this anyway? Do you know what coulda happened if she had died in that accident? Do you know what we'd be responsible for? Oh and never mind that we coulda died. Do you give a shit about us at all?!" "You know I do," Frank said. "No I don't think you do," Kevin said, "If you did, you woulda been here when they found us." "So why are you here now anyway?" Howie asked. "I wanted to see how Brian and Nick were doing. We do have a world tour that starts in two weeks," Frank said. Everyone's mouths dropped open in shock. "I knew it," Kevin said through clenched teeth, "All you care about is the money. You don't give a flying shit about any of us! The tour is off!" "Off? We can postpone until....." Frank started. Kevin grabbed him by the arm and swung him around, "Look at them! Do they look like they're gonna go on tour anytime soon?!" Frank looked at Brian and Nick for the first time, "Oh my, what happened?" Kevin stepped in front of him again, talking in a hushed tone, "I'll tell you what happened. Brian couldn't feel his legs until the morning we got rescued, and Nick was dead when we found him. If it hadn't been for Diane, neither of them would probably be here right now. Brian's gonna be doing physical therapy for a long time before he gets back on his feet and Nick..... Nick's not gonna get back to where he was." "What do you mean?" Frank asked. "He had permanent brain damage. He can't speak and may not regain a lot of his language skills," Kevin said, his eyes boring a hole through the man, "So you can take your little tour, and shove it." "I-I'm sorry, I didn't know," Frank stammered. "Well now you do, so you can leave," Kevin said, "Guys say bye to Frank, he's leaving." The guys all glanced at one another, then Nick lifted his right hand and gave the man the middle finger. One by one all five guys presented the finger. "Fine, I'll call in a few days and see what you ...." Frank said. Kevin shook his head, "No, you won't. You're fired, now leave before we decide to sue the pants off you too." Frank said nothing as he turned and left the room. "Who was that asshole?" Diane asked. "Ex-management," Kevin said, smiling. Everyone laughed, congratulating Nick for thinking of the wonderful goodbye gesture. "Good riddance," A.J. said, "I never liked that prick anyway." "Yeah, but now we're back to no management, which means no PR statements," Howie noted. Everyone sat quiet for a moment, then Brian spoke up, "I got it. Denise can you prepare a statement for us?" A.J.'s mom smiled, "You guys want me back?" "If you'll have us," Kevin asked. Denise smiled, "Of course I will. How can I turn down five of the sweetest boys in the world?" "Great, we got PR taken care of, now we just need management," Howie said. Unconsciously they all glanced over at Jane. "Oh no, don't look at me," she said, laughing. Chapter 14 |