| Chapter 46 The days seemed to run together. Nick stayed in intensive care for the better part of a week, then was moved to a regular room. He was still monitored closely, and still sedated, though his vitals had improved greatly. Everyone stayed close, staying in the room with him in shifts. If they did leave, it was never for very long. The media was having a field day with the story. It was on every channel. The news programs started doing related stories on how to secure your home and what to do if you felt threatened by someone. The Boys had released a statement on Nick's condition, listing it as stable, and did concede that it was a psychotic fan incident. The basic story of what happened was told, and they asked for prayers for Nick. They also thanked the fans for their support and asked that instead of cards and gifts being sent for Nick, that they would donate to his charity instead. So far Nick's charity had received over $250,000.00. The police wrapped up their investigation a few days after the shooting. They had gone to John's home and looked through his things. Mostly the house was like any other, until they got to the bedroom and office. There the walls were covered with pictures of Nick. They found the box of pictures John had left out and questioned the Boys about them. Everyone said they didn't remember him. Given the number of people that they've met over the years, the police believed them. They had also found out about John's private island property and had gone out to take a look. What they found, confirmed that John was trying to kidnap Nick. There were bars on all the windows and one bedroom had been converted into somewhat of a cell, complete with restraints that were cemented to the floor in the middle of the room. Also, there was enough supplies to last for months. It appeared that John had asked for Nick as a client, and had earned the trust of Nick and his family so he could execute his plan. So the detective closed the case as an attempted kidnaping that ended in a stand off and shooting. As soon as Diane was allowed back into the house she had erased the email Nick had sent Carter. She and Bob had cleaned as much of the house as they could, then called in the professionals to power wash the patio and replace the shattered doors. The house looked like normal again, and Diane prayed that Nick would get to see it soon. Jane and Aaron arrived the day after Nick's surgery. The guys told Aaron what happened, but Bob told Jane and the girls the story that was in the press. There was no use in telling them the whole story, and he knew Nick wouldn't want them to know anyway. So now everyone waited for Nick to recover. Dr. Tucker had started taking him off the sedative, letting him slowly start to wake up on his own. He kept Nick monitored closely, knowing that even now a seizure would be dangerous for him. Diane sat in the drab hospital room, staring up at the TV. It was raining out, and every once in while she could hear the thunder through the thick walls. Brian was down in physical therapy, but would come up after he was done. He had asked to continue his therapy there so he wouldn't lose any recovery time and he could be close to Nick. He knew when Nick woke up he'd have a lot of questions concerning his surgery, and who better to answer them than someone who's been through it before? Kevin was with Brian and the rest of the guys had gone back to the rental house to rest a little. Bob and Jane had left a few minutes ago, saying they would be back later with Aaron and the girls. Diane heard Nick moan and looked over. He'd been doing that lately as his body tried to wake up. She expected to see his eyes still closed, but instead she was met with the deep pools of blue she loved so much. "Hey," she whispered, moving closer to him. Nick blinked a few times, letting his eyes wonder around the room. "You're in the hospital," she told him. He looked back over at her and managed a small smile. Diane smiled back, taking his hand in hers and carefully sitting on the edge of the bed. Nick tried to move, but was stopped by a piercing pain in his chest. "Honey, stay still," she said, gently touching his cheek. Nick looked at her a confused expression on his face. "Do you remember getting shot?" she asked. Nick blinked a few times but the look on his face stayed the same. "John shot you. The doctors ended up having to do open heart surgery on you to repair the damage," she explained. Nick leaned his face into her hand as a tear slid down his cheek. "Shhh, it's OK," she soothed, "You're gonna be alright." Nick tried to reach for her, but could only lift his arms up a little. Diane leaned down and softly kissed his lips, "I love you." Nick smiled at her as she raised back up. She watched as he blinked a few more times and closed his eyes, drifting back to sleep. She ran her hand through his hair and kissed him again before going back to her chair to again stare at the TV. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Bri, don't overdo it," Kevin warned. Brian rolled his eyes for the twentieth time, "Yes daddy," he said sarcastically. The therapist grinned at the two, "Do you guys always bicker like this, or is today special?" Brian laughed, "Naw, it's pretty much like this all the time." "Oh joy," the therapist said, rolling his eyes as Brian and Kevin both laughed. Brian held onto the bars at his sides as he stood. He'd been doing this pretty regularly now, and was ready to try something else. He looked down at his feet, willing them to move. "Brian, you wanna try a step today?" the therapist asked, picking up on what he was already trying. "Yup," Brian answered, not looking up. "Do you think he's ready for that?" Kevin asked. The therapist shrugged his shoulders, "Won't know til he tries." Brian put more weight on his arms and slowly slid his right foot forward, then carefully let the weight go from his arms back to his legs. He stood there a minute then repeated it with the left leg. "Way to go!" Kevin said, so excited he was almost jumping up and down. Brian looked over and smirked at him, then did it again, only this time he left most of the weight on his legs instead of holding himself up with his arms. "That's good Brian," his therapist said, "Pretty soon you won't even need the bars." "I can't wait for that," Brian said with a smile. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Dr. McKenna walked into the room, "How's he doing today?" Diane got up and walked over to him, "Bout the same. He's still trying to fully wake up. He was awake for a few minutes about an hour ago, then he went back to sleep." He nodded, "Well, it'll take some time for the sedative to wear off." "Yeah, I know," she said. He looked at her, "How are you doing?" She shrugged, "Alright I guess. Tired from staying here, but OK." "You know my offer still stands. Anytime you want to come and talk about what happened ..." he started. She smiled at him, "I know. I'm just not thinking about it right now, ya know? Right now my priority is for Nick to get better and go home. Maybe after that happens, I'll allow myself to deal with what I did." Dr. McKenna sighed, "Honey, what you did, you did in self defense, and to save Nick." "I know that, but I still killed someone. Wether it was in defense or not, I still took a life. I'll come and talk with you after Nick's home and doing alright, I promise," she said. "Alright, page me if you need me," he said, turning to go. "I will," she said, "And thanks." He smiled at her, "No problem." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Later that evening, everyone sat in Nick's room talking quietly. Kevin was telling everyone about Brian taking a few steps in therapy. They were all excited for him, the guys joking about how he'd be up in no time doing dance routines. Aaron sat next to Nick, listening. He was happy for Brian, but he wanted his brother up and around too. He was staring at Nick when his eyes fluttered open. Slowly they focused on him, and Nick smiled. "Hey bro," Aaron said, grinning at him. Everyone looked over, then crowded around the bed. Nick looked at them all, smiling at each one. Then he lifted his head a little and looked at his chest. It hurt like hell, and to breathe was even worse. He could see the bandage under his gown. Slowly he lifted his arm and ran his hand from the top to the bottom of it, realizing it started just underneath where his collarbones were and ran down to just above his belly button. Brian wheeled himself next to the bed and dropped the rail so he could see Nick better. "Hey, I know it's scarey," he said, as Nick looked over at him, "But it's not that bad. You get used to it after a while and then you don't even notice it." Nick shook his head, then pointed to Brian's chest. Brian took Nick's hand and held it, "Yeah, it'll look like mine when it heals." Nick stared at him blankly for a minute then slowly a smile crept across his face. He looked around for his computer. Diane placed it next to him on the bed. Slowly Nick typed: Twinkies. Brian burst out laughing, "I guess you could say that, yeah." "What?" Howie asked. Brian looked at everyone, "He says we're gonna be twinkies." Everyone laughed. "God Nick, you are such a dork," A.J. said, "But we love ya anyway." Nick smiled at them all, thankful they were there. He looked back at Diane and she moved closer to him. He didn't type anything, he just stared at her. Diane could see the emotion in his eyes. He wanted her to know why he did it, how much he loved her, and what he was willing to sacrifice for that love. She smiled and nodded her head, "I know baby." Again a tear left his eye, and Diane brushed it away. "L-l-oo ..vve you," he said in a small weak voice. Diane leaned down and kissed him as her own tears trailed down her cheeks. With all the strength he had, Nick reached up and tangled his fingers in her hair, smiling at her when she pulled back. She grinned at him, leaning down and whispering in his ear, "You gotta get better soon, so we can go home and play." Nick laughed, even though it hurt, and nodded his head. Aaron glanced at Brian, "You get the feeling we're intruding?" Brian smiled, "All the time, kiddo." "Hey, no kiddo stuff," Aaron protested, "I'm grown up now." "Yeah I know, but you'll always be kiddo to me, just like Nick will always be my little brother," Brian said. Aaron sighed, "I guess there are worse things." Brian nodded, staring at Nick, "Indeed there are." "Well, we should go and let him rest," Bob said. Everyone agreed and said their goodnights. Nick watched them go, leaving him alone with Diane. She stood next to the bed, holding his hand. Nick tugged on it. "No baby, I can't," she said, "You're hooked up to to much stuff and I might hurt you." Nick gave her his best pouty face, wanting her to lay down with him. She shook her head, "When you're better and not hurting so much." Nick sighed, feeling disappointed, but understood. He nodded, and tried as best he could to get comfortable. That was pretty much a lost cause, so he gave up and focused in on the TV. Diane pulled the recliner over as close to the bed as she could get it, and dropped the rail on that side. She sat down and reclined the chair, looking over at him, "This is as good as it gets right now." He smiled, sliding his hand over and taking hers, interlacing their fingers. They both looked up at the TV and before long, both had drifted to sleep. Chapter 47 |