Only in Your Dreams Chapter 6
It was early in the morning when Chris made his way into the kitchen to start a pot of coffee. As the coffee brewed, he opened and closed several drawers in search of a phone book.
�Lynn must not want anyone to know she has one �cause she�s got it hid in a great spot,� Chris said with a little grin as his search finally came to an end when he opened the correct drawer. As he thumbed through the yellow pages for a physician who might be on call over the weekends, he poured himself a cup of coffee. He finally flipped to the first yellow page marked �Physicians� and gave a low whistle.
�Man, there sure are a lot of physicians in Orlando,� Chris commented as he poured a little cream, added several spoonfuls of sugar to the coffee then absent-mindedly stirred the brown liquid with a spoon. He was going to have a hard time finding the physician who would meet the special requirements that he had in mind.
Chris made his way out of the kitchen and into the living room clutching the phonebook in one hand and his coffee mug in the other. He sat down on the floor and leaned his back against the couch as he began his search through at least 15 pages of Physicians with various specialties.
�We really just need a family doctor I guess,� he said before taking a gulp of his coffee. Chris reached behind him to the phone on the end table after finding a handful of family doctors, and began making phone calls. After the 5 phone calls that lead absolutely no where, Chris was beginning to think that it would have been much easier to just take Lance and Joey to the hospital in spite of the possible consequences. With his list growing shorter Chris dialed another number in the hope that there was just one doctor out there, willing to make an unscheduled house call and at the same time, keep matters concerning the visit quiet. Luckily for Chris, this phone call was the magic one and he was soon speaking to the doctor on call at a local family practice. While on the phone with a Dr. K. Shannon, Chris carefully explained to the doctor that their identities needed to be kept completely confidential and that his services would be well paid for.
�With all the secrecy that you are stressing Mr. Kirkpatrick, I would swear that you are a hit man for the mob,� said Dr. Shannon, his voice full of humor. Chris was unable to find any humor in the current situation and stood up from the floor to pace the living room in reaction to that remark. Dr. Shannon could hear the young man�s breathing on the other end of the phone quicken before replying to his attempt at humor.
�No sir. We�re not members of the mob,� Chris explained. �We�re members of a music group and we just don�t want fans or the press getting into this matter.�
�Listen, son, I was trying to loosen you up. I can tell by your tone of voice that you are under some stress,� explained Dr. Shannon in a reassuring manner.
�Yes sir. Just a little\,� Chris answered wearily.
�If you�ll give me some directions, I�ll be over at�let�s say�about 9:30, if you�ll have a pot of coffee waiting for me.�
�I can do that for you doctor,� Chris answered with a smile on his face. He could tell that this Dr. Shannon was going to be an okay guy. Hopefully, the others would feel the same way too.
After giving directions to Justin�s house to the doctor, Chris hung up the phone in the kitchen. He looked at the clock on the wall. �8:30�enough time to get Justin and JC up after I get a quick shower.� Chris dumped the rest of his coffee in the sink and quickly made his way back through the living room and up the stairs to his bedroom. He quietly entered the room and rummaged through his bags looking for a pair of boxers and a t-shirt and shorts to change into after his shower. Not once did Justin or Lance stir as he moved about the room. Before leaving the room, he did take time to check on Lance. As he approached the sleeping man, he could already plainly see the black and blue bruise that marked his chin. He winced at the thought of how that was going to feel today. He also began having a feeling of dread as to how seeing the bruise was going to make Joey feel. He shook his head as he turned away and left the room to head for the bathroom down the hall.
After his shower, Chris felt like he was a new man. He quietly returned to his bedroom to rouse Justin, hopefully, without waking Lance up in the process. Fortunately, for him and Lance, Justin was already sitting up on the side of the bed, rubbing his eyes and stretching at the same time. He lowered his hands and looked at the still sleeping Lance.
�What time is it?� Justin asked in a quiet whisper before yawning.
�It�s about 8:45. You need to take a quick shower so that JC can get one too before the doctor gets here.� Chris made sure that he also kept his voice down so that Lance could continue to rest.
�Oh, good. You were able to find one,� Justin said as he crossed the room to his chest of drawers.
�Who did you get?� he asked once he had found some clean clothes to change into.
�A Dr. Kenneth Shannon,� Chris answered as he watched Justin�s movements.
�Never heard of him,� Justin replied as he pushed a drawer closed.
�Well, he�s going to be here at 9:30 so you better get a move on,� Chris said as he sat down on the bed and returned his gaze toward Lance, watching as the young man shifted in his sleep.
Chris lay down on the bed and listened as he heard the shower down the hall being turned on. He closed his eyes for what seemed only a minute, when he was startled to open his eyes and find Justin standing over him already dressed, smelling of cologne.
�Do you want me to wake JC up?� Justin asked watching Chris struggle to sit up.
�What?�
�Do you want me to go wake up JC?� Justin smiled at Chris�s confusion.
�Why don�t we both go in there, okay?�
Justin headed out the door as Chris sat up and then stood beside the bed, wondering what had just happened. With a slight shake of his head, he quickly trotted out of the room and caught up with Justin, who was just standing, staring through the open bedroom door.
�What�s up?�
�Shush,� Justin whispered as he pointed at the two figures asleep in the bedroom.
Chris slipped in front of Justin to see what he was staring at. The older man sighed as he took in the view in front of him. What he saw made him say a quick prayer of thanks for good friends. What he was looking at gave him hope that Joey would be okay if they all stuck together. He was sure that in any other circumstance, someone else might mistake JC and Joey�s sleeping together as being something more, but he and Justin knew that JC must have climbed into bed with the younger man in a simple effort to comfort him.
After a few seconds, Chris silently stepped inside the room and indicated to Justin for him to follow him over to the extra bed. Both men sat down and looked at the bed across from them.
Joey was lying on his stomach, facing away from JC while JC was lying on his left side with his right arm lying across Joey�s shoulder.
�Would you look at that,� said Justin, with relief in his voice.
�Yeah.�
�Do you think we should get JC up?�
�No. He can shower while the doctor is looking after Lance.� Chris answered, not wanting to take the chance that Joey would be awakened in the process of getting JC up.
Almost as if on cue, the front gate buzzer sounded in the distance. Chris quietly raced out of the room and headed down the stairs to the security alarm panel on the wall at the foot of the stairs.
Pushing a button, Chris spoke into a speaker/microphone. �Hello?�
�My name is Dr. Kenneth Shannon. I am here to meet with a Chris Kirkpatrick,� a deep, male voice answered.
�Hi doctor. Just drive through the gate and follow the drive up to the house. I�ll meet you at the front door.�
�Alright�see you there.�
Chris turned to run back up the stairs to let Justin know what was going on and to go ahead and wake JC up. Before he reached the top of the stairs Justin met him as he was coming down the stairs.
�JC just woke up, but he doesn�t want to wake up Joey by trying to get out of bed.�
�You can help him out while I stay with the doctor in Lance�s room, okay?�
�Sure thing,� Justin replied as he walked back up the stairs and retreated back into JC and Joey�s bedroom.
Chris made his way to the front door and opened it as he waited for the doctor to drive up.
Chris watched as a red Chevy pick-up drove up the drive toward the house. Once it stopped, he saw a middle-aged man step out of the truck carrying a large black box that resembled a tackle box. The man�s face seemed friendly as he walked around the front of his truck and he was casually dressed in jeans, t-shirt and boots and wearing a baseball cap.
�Hi there. You must be Mr. Kirkpatrick,� said Dr. Shannon with a smile as he walked up to Chris.
�Yes sir.�
�My name is Dr. Kenneth Shannon.� Chris reached out his hand to shake the hand that Dr. Shannon had extended toward him. The doctor noted the dark circles under the young man�s eyes, the slump to his shoulders and the hint of weariness in his voice in just the two words he spoke. Although the doctor was gazing directly into his eyes, Chris could not detect whether or not the man recognized him yet. Once inside the house, he might make connections since Justin�s mom had pictures everywhere of the group doing various activities, including photos of their latest tour.
�It�s nice to meet you sir. I really appreciate you coming out here to see to my two friends.� Chris said as he released Dr. Shannon�s hand.
�That�s what doctors do,� Dr. Shannon replied as he took time to gaze at the exterior of the large home in front of him and the surrounding grounds.
�This is a nice place you have here.�
�Thanks, but this isn�t my house. It belongs to my friend Justin and his mom.� Both men headed toward the front door as they spoke.
�Oh? You don�t live here?�
�No sir. Justin�s mom had an emergency to attend to in San Diego so me and the guys decided to come over and keep him out of trouble.�
Dr. Shannon laughed at the remark as Chris opened the front door, allowing him to pass by and enter the house.
�Exactly how many people are here then? You only mentioned two people needing my help.�
�There are five of us, Chris replied. �Justin Timberlake, Joey Fatone, JC Chasez, Lance Bass, and me.�
Chris turned to look at the doctor and detected a small glimmer of recognition in the man�s eyes, but he had a poker face that did not reveal anymore to him.
�Well, where are the patients?� The doctor�s gaze traveled around the area that they were now standing in.
�They�re upstairs,� Chris answered, as he shut the door and led the doctor through the house to the stairs. As they began climbing the stairs, the doctor interrupted the silence.
�Do you want to let me in on why I�m here exactly.�
Chris paused on a step and looked back down at the doctor standing a few steps behind him. Exactly how much was he going to be able to tell the doctor without telling too much?