| Chapter 15 The next week went by quickly. Brian and Nick had both started physical therapy. That in itself brought a whole new meaning to word torture. Brian especially was having a difficult time with the pain associated with moving his legs again. They had given him a new brace that went from his chest to the small of his back, allowing him some movement. Nick could always tell that Brian was in pain after therapy, but Brian would never complain. He only lay still and tried his best to stay positive. Nick admired him for that, and was grateful too. It was easy for him to get down about his situation, but Brian always seemed to sense it and he would say something that helped. Speech therapy was going well, even though Nick hadn't said a word yet. He really liked Carter, and looked forward to their daily sessions. Carter never looked down on him when he couldn't get something, and was always encouraging him. Nick believed Carter was born to do the job he was doing, he just had the knack. Over the last week, he, Brian and Nick had become good friends. Carter often stayed after their session and joked around with them. Nick liked that. It seemed as if Carter really cared about him, and that made all the difference in the world when therapy wasn't going well and Nick was frustrated. Everyone was still there lending their support. Brian and Nick appreciated it, knowing that if the tables were turned they would do the same thing. Denise released a statement from the boys, saying that there would be no tour, that the guys needed time to recover from the accident before they made any decisions on when or even if they would reschedule. She made no mention of specific injuries, only stating that Brian and Nick would require a long recovery. And then there was Diane. She never left Nick for very long, only really leaving for his therapy sessions. She had become his rock, the one person that he could look at, and she instantly knew what he wanted. Nick found himself staring at her more and more, wondering how he ever got this far in life without knowing the kind of love she constantly showed him. He missed her when she left for his sessions, and lit up every time she walked into the room. He knew he was falling for her, and could tell she returned the same feelings. It amazed him that she would even give him the time of day, let alone stay with him this whole time. He kept pinching himself to make sure it wasn't all a dream. Maybe the accident was meant to happen, to bring them together. Nick thought about that a lot, deciding that if he never spoke a word again, he would be alright, as long as Diane was in his life. She comforted him, encouraged him and loved him like no one he'd ever met, and he was determined not to ever let her go. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Nick sat with his head in his hands as the orderly wheeled him back to his room. He and Brian had just finished another round of torture, otherwise known as physical therapy, and they both wanted nothing more than to lay down and rest. Nick had a pounding headache and Brian was in so much pain he looked green. Nick glanced over at him as they turned the corner to their room. Brian managed half a smile, but Nick knew it wasn't real. He could see the pain in his friends eyes. Nick reached over and squeezed Brian's hand before the orderlies moved them both to their own beds. Nick slowly stood up on shaky legs and crawled in bed, looking over to see an orderly lift Brian from his wheel chair and lay him in bed. Brian situated himself and sighed, knowing crying wouldn't help anything, but not being able to stop the tears that slid down his cheeks. Everyone came back into the room as the orderlies left. Nick was staring at Brian, wishing there was something he could do to help him, and knowing there wasn't. Leighanne was by his side, trying to help him through his pain until the pain killers he'd been given took affect. Diane sat on the edge of Nick's bed looking down at him, "You don't feel good either do you?" Nick shook his head. "What's wrong?" she asked. Nick lifted his hands and held his head, closing his eyes as the lights in the room seemed to get brighter. Diane gently stroked his hair, "You got a bad headache?" He nodded, his eyes still closed. "OK baby, let me see if we can get you something for it," she said, pressing the nurses button on the bed. Bob turned off the main light in the room and the one over Nick's bed, "That better?" Nick nodded, opening his eyes. Jane went to the bathroom and came back with a wet wash cloth placing it on Nick's forehead. "Can I help you?" a nurse asked, coming into the room. "Yes, can you see if we can give him something for a headache, and Brian probably needs a higher dose of pain killer as well," Diane said. "I'll see what I can do," the nurse said, leaving the room. "Thanks," Leighanne said. Diane smiled at her, "No problem." Nick played with the ends of Diane's hair as he waited for the nurse to bring him something for his head. He loved her hair, it was so soft. He found himself constantly messing with it. Diane smiled at him, taking his hand from her hair and holding it. Nick stared at her, blushing slightly. "It's OK, I like it when you do that," she said, grinning. Bob and Jane exchanged smiles at the two. It was amazing to watch their son fall in love right before their eyes. They knew Diane was a wonderful, caring person, and were happy that she and Nick had found each other. Nick looked over as two nurses entered the room. One went over to Brian, and gave him a shot through his IV, while the other came up to him, "This should help with the headache," she said, handing him a couple of pills for him to take. Nick sat up, moaning as his head seemed to pound more, quickly took the pills and lay back down. "Thank you," Diane said as the nurses left the room. Nick sighed, closing his eyes, waiting for the medication to kick in. The last thing he remembered before falling to sleep was Diane holding his hand. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Nick woke to the sound of voices. He looked over to see Carter talking with Bob and Jane. Diane was sitting next to the bed and Nick reached over, touching her arm. "Hey, did we wake you?" she asked. He shook his head, sitting up. "Hey there Nick. I came by for our session, but if you're not feeling well we can skip today," Carter said. Nick shook his head, motioning for him to stay. "Are you sure?" Carter asked. Nick nodded, taking out his notebook and writing: Feel better. Stay. "OK, if you insist," Carter said, smiling. Everyone filed out of the room to give them some privacy. Nick watched Diane until she was out of sight, then looked over at Carter, ready to start. Carter laughed, "Man, you have got it so bad for her." Nick smiled and nodded his head. "Well at least you admit it," Brian laughed. Nick looked over and stuck his tongue out at his friend. "Good use of the tongue there Nick, now lets see if we can make it talk, huh?" Carter laughed. Nick turned his attention back to Carter, waiting for him to tell him what to do. "OK, we've been going over the motions of the alphabet for a week now. I think it's time we try to say it, alright?" Carter said. Nick nodded. "Alright, let's start with A," Carter said. Nick licked his lips and took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. He opened his mouth and made the motion but no sound came out. He tried several more times before looking up at Carter, a frustrated expression on his face. "You'll get it, you just have to keep trying," he encouraged. Nick sighed, trying again, "A-Ahhee," he said in barely a whisper. "Very good!" Carter said, smiling, "See you can get it, it just takes time." Nick smiled, I can do this, he thought. "Great job Nick," Brian said, smiling at his friend. Nick grabbed his notebook and wrote: Want to learn a word. "Oh, what word?" Carter asked. Diane, Nick wrote. Carter smiled at him, "I knew you had it bad." "What he's saying?" Brian asked. "He wants to learn to say Diane," Carter told him. Brian laughed, "Of course." "I really think we should work on the alphabet first Nick," Carter said. Nick stared at the man, a firm pout on his face. "Don't give me that look," Carter said. Nick pouted even more, pointing to Diane's name on the notebook. Carter rolled his eyes, "Oh Lord, how do you say no to him?" Brian laughed, "You become immune after a while." "Well that hasn't happened yet, alright we'll work on it," Carter conceded. Nick smiled so wide Carter thought it had to hurt his face. "OK, I want you to sound it out a letter at a time," he instructed. Nick nodded, looking down at the word. "D-d-da....," Nick started, getting mad when he couldn't get past the D sound. "It's OK, just take it slow," Carter said. Nick tried again, determined to get it, "D-d-da.....d-d-dah....fuck!" Carter's eyes widened in surprise, "Did you just say fuck?" Brian was laughing so hard he couldn't breathe, "Oh my God...." Nick stared at Carter, surprised himself and somewhat embarrassed. "OK I did hear that right? He said fuck didn't he?" Carter asked. Brian nodded, "Clear as day." "Nick, did you say that word a lot before the accident?" Carter asked. Nick blushed, nodding. "Man are you kidding, it's like his favorite word," Brian added, still laughing. "Well, that explains it then," Carter said. Nick looked at him confused. "People with your particular problem tend to say familiar words first. The brain seems to remember those easier," Carter explained. Brian tried to wipe the tears from his eyes from laughing so hard, "I can't believe your first word was fuck!" All three burst into another fit of laughter. "Oh God, we gotta stop," Brian laughed, "This hurts." "OK, OK," Carter said, trying to calm himself down, then started laughing harder. "What?" Brian asked. Carter looked at Nick, "You don't have to say Diane, you have the only word you need down pat." Nick's mouth dropped open and his eyes went wide. He reached over and slapped Carter on the arm as they laughed hysterically. "Ohh you're good," Brian laughed. Carter smiled, "Thank you, I have my moments.....OK, let's get back to the session....Nick?" Nick was leaning on the tray table, his head in his hands. Carter reached over and touched his arm, "Nick, are you OK?" Nick looked up at him, a strange expression on his face, then his eyes rolled back in his head and he fell forward. "Shit!" Carter said, catching him just before he slammed his head on the tray table. Carter lay him back in bed as Brian yelled for Diane. She came into the room just as Nick started convulsing. "What happened?" she asked, pulling the tray table out of the way and dropping the rails on the bed. "I dunno, we were laughing and the next thing I know he's passing out," Carter said. "I thought the medicine was suppose to stop this," Brian said. "So did I," Diane said, "Carter, can you go get a nurse. Tell them to call the doctor." "Sure," Carter said, quickly leaving the room. "He didn't have any warning," Brian said, as Nick started to relax. "Well at least this one wasn't to bad,"Diane said. A few minutes later, Nick's breath was still coming in short gasps and he hadn't woke up yet. Diane stroked his hair, worried. She knew something wasn't right. The nurse came in with Carter, "We paged the doctor." Diane nodded, "Something's not right. He should've woke up by now." The nurse walked over to the bed, checking on Nick. She felt his muscles tense under her hand as he went into another seizure. "God, does he do this every time?" Carter asked, standing next to Brian. "No, he usually has one and comes out of it. He's never done this before," Brian answered. Everyone had come back into the room when Brian yelled for Diane. They all stood back now, watching Diane and the nurse with Nick. They were all worried, having never seen this from Nick before. His body would relax for a few minutes, then he was sent right into another round of convulsions. He was on his fifth seizure when the doctor came into the room. The nurse quickly explained what was going on, then listened as the doctor gave her instructions of what medicine to bring in. She quickly left the room as Nick relaxed once more. Diane looked up at the doctor, tears in her eyes, "What's happening? Why is he doing this?" "Sometimes the medicine works for a time, then stops. I'm going to change his medicine and once we get his seizures under control, I'm going to take him for some tests, just to make sure that it isn't something else," he answered. Diane looked back down at Nick, "Hang on baby," she whispered, gently running her thumb over his cheek. The nurse returned, handing the doctor a syringe, just as Nick went into another seizure. The doctor gave him the shot through his IV as the nurse replaced the medicine bags and reset the drip. Nick convulsed for a few more moments before finally relaxing. Diane breathed a sigh of relief when his breathing seemed to start to calm down. The doctor hooked up the oxygen, placing the tubes in Nick's nose and hooking it around his ears and under his chin. "Maggie, get him cleaned up and check him every fifteen minutes please," the doctor instructed. The nurse nodded, leaving the room to retrieve what she needed. "I'm going to go set up the tests, if he's still doing alright in a couple of hours we'll take him down," the doctor said. Diane nodded as the doctor left the room. Jane and Bob walked over to Diane, watching as she tried desperately not to cry. Jane pulled her into a hug as she broke down. "It's alright honey, he'll be OK," Jane soothed. Bob rubbed Diane's back as she cried, shedding a few tears himself. Diane hated everyone seeing her break down like this, but she was scared, and there was no stopping the tears once they started. Kevin sat next to Nick, holding his hand. After a few moments Howie and his mom pulled Diane from Bob and Jane and sat down with her. Both encouraging her and letting her cry on their shoulders. Carter stayed with them. He didn't have anymore appointments, and he was genuinely concerned about Nick. He talked with Brian as the time seemed to creep by. Eventually a couple of orderlies came in with a gurney. They collected Nick and headed out of the room for his tests. Everyone's faces were solemn as Carter looked around. "Guys something good happened right before Nick got sick," he said. "What's that?" A.J. asked. "He said his first word," Carter said. Brian started laughing as everyone wanted to know what it was. "What's so funny?" Diane asked through her tears. Brian and Carter looked at one another. "His first word was fuck," Brian explained. They all stared at him, making sure they heard him correctly, then the room boomed with laughter. Chapter 16 |