Date: Thu, 28 Dec 2000 19:26:03 -0800 (PST) From: NCfan Subject: boy-bands/calming waters 14 Disclaimer: Again, I don't know the BSB or Nsync, nor do I know their sexualities. This story is fiction. It's fake. None of it is true. Plus, it contains content of an adult nature so if you're under 18, do NOT continue reading. Well, I've been pretty bad giving a list of my fave stories and fave people who have emailed me. And I won't try again this time either! So if you've emailed me, you know and I know, and I'll keep it at that. I will say once again that all the emails I've received have been so wonderful and kind and that I really really appreciate the time you've spent to give me suggestions or just comment on my story! Thanks guys! ngclle@yahoo.com *************************** Brian moaned in pain as he pulled his hand over the back of his head to feel the soreness. He was pained when he felt resistance. Someone was pushing his hand back. "Uhhhhh," Brian managed. He tried to open his eyes. Thank goodness it was still dark. Otherwise, he would have gone blind from any hint of light. "Don't move too much. It will only make your head hurt more!" The voice was commanding, but soft. And it was slightly familiar. Brian squinted once again, this time making a little progress. That was when he saw the blond hair. "Nick?" Brian called out in relief. "I'm not Nick," the voice answered. Brian tried to pull himself up. "Then who are you!" Brian demanded, his head throbbing like crazy. He tried to shake the dizziness away. "I wouldn't do that if I were you. It only makes the pain worse." The voice was neither irritated nor pleasant. Just neutral. Finally, Brian paused long enough for his mind to clear. The ice pack fell to his side. He turned to figure out the owner of the voice. His eyes widened. "Moju . . . " Moju's eyes were dark and alarming. Brian suddenly realized something. "What did you do with Nick? How dare you stalk him . . . and me for that matter!" Moju's silence made Brian nervous. Suddenly, the tall blond man gazed at Brian intently. "When I found you unconscious on the floor, Nick was already gone." Brian gulped. He believed every word Moju said. "What's . . . what's going on?" Moju paced back and forth. "I missed Nick so much. I wanted to see him again. So when I came here tonight, I saw that his window was wide open. I knew he was home. I saw your car! But the door was not even locked. I walked in and I saw you on the floor. Someone had hit you with a bat. I've been waiting for you to wake up and tell me what the hell is going on!" The fury and worry in Moju's eyes were enough to let Brian know the severity of the situation. Brian began to tremble. "I was showering when I heard someone talking. Actually, it seemed like two people were in a heated discussion. But only me and Nick were supposed to be at home. Then I heard someone stomping towards the bathroom and I called out to them." "Did the person answer?" Moju asked, the resolve in his eyes. "Yeah," Brian admitted. "And he didn't sound like Nick?" "No." "Who do you think it was?" Moju asked. "I don't know. I left the shower on so it was hard to tell. The next thing I knew, I opened the bathroom door and a big black cloth was placed over me. Then I was knocked out." "How many people were there when they knocked you out?" Moju asked calmly. "Two." "You're sure of it?" Moju pressed. "Yes. I'm definite. I saw two sets of feet before I was knocked out." "At what time did this happen?" Moju's voice was so calm, Brian felt a little stronger. "At 7:00 p.m. I'm sure of it. Me and Nick were gonna go home and clean up before going to the restaurant!" "Was anything strange or out of the ordinary when you came back to the house?" Moju asked. Brian was starting to feel more comfortable. It seemed that Moju knew what he was doing. Strangely, Brian felt an inherent trust in the man. "Not really." Brian tried to rack his mind for something, anything that could help them. "That's okay," Moju placed an arm on Brian's shoulder to calm him down. Suddenly, Moju pulled Brian up. "Follow me." Together, they walked over to Nick's bedroom. To Brian's surprise, the bedsheets were slightly ruffled. "Someone was here!" Brian said to Moju, but the tall blond man wasn't listening to him. Rather, Moju's eyes were fixated on something on the ground. Slowly Moju walked to the window, never once removing his eyes from the floor. Moju stopped at the window and his eyes suddenly widened, as if he remembered something. He suddenly broke into a trot as he bursted out of Nick's bedroom with Brian following closely behind. Brian was gasping for air as he tried to keep up with Moju. Before Brian could even close the door on the passenger's side, Moju stepped on the gas pedal and all Brian could do was clutch his seat. The fierceness and panic in Moju's eyes were now starting to make him tremble. Brian didn't dare say anything, lest he should ruin Moju's concentration. To Brian's surprise, they were heading towards the beach where Nick had been kidnapped, where he and Nick had spent all day Saturday playing around. As soon as the car came to a halt, Moju jumped out and ran towards a shack. Brian quickly followed from behind, nearly colliding with the 6'4" giant when Moju stopped. Brian looked inside the hut to see a dirty maroon van. Before he knew what was going on, Moju busted the side door open and looked inside. Brian didn't know what to do so he waited impatiently while Moju examined every inch of the van. Finally, after five long minutes, Moju jumped out with his hands tightly clasped around a vial and some hair. "Nick's hair," Moju showed Brian. Brian didn't oppose. It was just as silky and blond as it should be. Then Moju showed Brian the vial. "Versed." "What does it mean?" Brian asked. "Versed is what the doctors call 'Happy Medicine'. It decreases anxiety and in some people, can induce an unconscious state. I suspect, though, that this is not the only thing they gave him." Brian was speechless. With great effort, Brian asked, "Then it was planned?" Moju sighed. "Most likely, yes." Brian wanted to cry. If it was planned, then how would they ever find Nick again? Was he still alive?" Moju stared at Brian with focus. He suddenly pulled out a cell phone and dialed some people. Brian listened sadly as Moju argued with the people at the other end. Finally, he succeeded and hung up. Moju then looked at Brian solemnly. "If you were to kidnap Nick and didn't want him to escape, where would you go?" Brian suddenly realized what Moju was getting at. "To an island. But which one? How would we search all of them? How far could they have gotten?" Moju smiled for the first time since Brian met him. "I've been searching these waters for quite a while before I kidnapped Nick last week." Brian knew there had to be a reason, one which Moju evaded. Moju continued. "There was one island in particular that I found strange. It had a little man-made hut in it. I couldn't really call it a hut because it was as big as a house." "And how do you know Nick would be there?" Brian asked curiously. Moju sighed. "I don't know. Gut instinct." Brian closed his eyes. 'Hold on, Nick. We'll be there soon!' Hopefully, Nick will still be alive. That thought made Brian's guts turn inside out. And when Brian saw the dark gloomy clouds heading towards the beach, he felt sick to his stomach. It looked to be a wild storm. ****************** Justin woke up just as soon as the first light hit his eyes. Justin groaned from the pain. "Uhh," Justin mumbled as he tried to pull himself up out of the bed. He couldn't believe he slept through the storm. It was raining really hard outside. Thank goodness they got back to this place in time! Otherwise, they would be tired AND soaked. Justin impatiently pushed the blankets back and got off of the bed. He vaguely remembered what happened last night. He remembered feeling very aroused and kissing Nick. But everything happened so fast he couldn't remember the rest. He must have passed out from exhaustion. Justin giggled to himself. It was quite a night! Quickly, Justin jumped out of his bed and headed out of his room in search of Nick. He stepped outside and found that mattress where he had placed Nick yesterday, suddenly feeling a cold wave brush past him. Justin shook and scanned the room. Nick wasn't here. Maybe it was cold and Jeff placed Nick in a warmer room. Justin turned around and headed for the other room in the hut. To Justin's surprise, only Jeff lay on the bed. Worriedly, Justin ran up and poked Jeff until he too woke up. "What's up?" Jeff jumped out of his bed. He was relieved to see Justin still there. "Where's Nick?" Justin glared at Jeff. "What do you mean? I left him on that mattress out there!" Jeff replied angrily. "Well, he's not out there!" Justin began to panic. "What did you try on him last night? You kicked him out, didn't you?" Justin didn't try to conceal his disdain for the older blonder man. Jeff gritted his teeth. "I didn't kick him out. I left him on the mattress." With that, Jeff jumped off the bed and headed out. As Justin said, no one was on the mattress. "Sh--!" Jeff cussed as he put on a jacket. It was getting rather windy outside. "Where are you going?" Justin yelled. "To find him, where else?" Jeff yelled back before disappearing behind the door. When Justin tried to follow him, Jeff pushed him back. "You won't be much help. Why don't you try to make some warm food so that once I get him back, you can feed him. I know this place. There are only so many ways he can go." Justin, after hearing Jeff's logic, stepped back into the house. ****************** Jeff quickly took after a trail that Nick might have passed through. The rain was getting pretty bad, and the winds were picking up. "Sh--!" Jeff cussed again. This was not some weather that anyone should be dealing with. Jeff picked up his pace. This had to be the trail that Nick followed! He probably had been running for about thirty minutes when he suddenly tripped and fell. Damn! He hit a rock. He was about to pick himself up when he noticed a body lying in the mud, buried under a huge tree branch. "Oh F---!" Jeff cried out as he recognized Nick's unconscious body. He desperately pulled the tree branch off. The storm wasn't letting up. The branch was so heavy. After a few minutes, he was able to take off some of the weight from Nick's body. Jeff felt a strange panic overcome him. He finally was able to drag Nick's body out of the mud, and to his horror saw the paleness in Nick's face. The rain started to wash away the mud, only to reveal a big gash in his head. Quickly, Jeff took off his jacket and put it around Nick before carrying the body. He tried to move as fast as he could. He had to get back to the hut and tend to Nick's wounds. It looked bad. How long had Nick been lying there? After what seemed like forever, Jeff rushed into the hut. Justin immediately heard the sound of frantic footsteps and ran out to see what happened. He too looked in horror as Jeff placed Nick's pale body onto the mattress. Both were soaked. "Quick, I want you to get some dry clothes and some towels. G-D!!!!" Jeff quickly tore Nick's shirt and boxers apart and waited for Justin to get the towels. Justin threw the towels at Jeff. Quickly, the man tried to dry off Nick's body and placed a blanket around it. "I don't know if he has a skull fracture," Jeff said to Justin, never once removing his gaze from Nick. "Sh--! It looks bad!" Justin was too scared to say anything. "Damn! He's running a fever. Get some more blankets!" Jeff cried out. Justin scurried away while Jeff tried to dry Nick's hair without worsening the wound on his head. "Sh--!" He felt Nick's body tremble underneath the blanket. Justin rushed back within seconds carrying with him a pile of blankets and quickly started to place them on Nick's cold body one by one, all the while sobbing hysterically. The sweat was simply pouring from Nick's forehead. It took all of Justin's strength not to wrap the older blond boy in his arms and hug him until he awoke. But somehow, Justin knew that something bad was happening. Nick was trying to regain his consciousness but was too weak to. And the gash on the back of his head was too big. "What if he has a concussion or something?" Justin cried out at Jeff. But Jeff wasn't listening. He was getting scared. He had never faced a situation like this before. He was scared that Nick would die seeing the unconscious form lie on the mattress, the blue lips trembling. "We have to take him back," Jeff finally said. Justin was weeping like mad now. "Yes. Yes. Take him to the hospital. He'll be safe. They'll take care of him." Justin paced about frantically, his mind blanking. Jeff bit his lip. "But the storm. We'll never make it to the hospital in time, not in that boat." Justin's pacing stopped as he turned around to glare at Jeff. "What do you mean? We're not f---ing doctors. We don't know what to do." Justin pointed his finger at Nick while staring murderously at Jeff. "Do you see him? He's going to die if we don't do something. Now!!!! Damn!!!!" Justin pounded his head to the wall, clenching his fists real tight until the color drained from them. Jeff jumped up and glared at Justin. "Well, what do you f---ing want to do? What else is there to do? If you're so smart, think of something!" Jeff fought the urge to punch at something. For the first time, he felt some tears welling in his eyes. "I don't know what to do now." Justin shook. Just then, he screamed at the top of his lungs. He screamed until his throat hurt, until he had no air left in his lungs. Just when he was about to lunge at Jeff, he heard a voice from behind him. "Sh--!" Both Justin and Jeff turned around to see Brian and Moju staring at Nick's limp body. "Nick!" Brian ran for the teenager. "Nick, what did they do to you?" Brian shouted out hysterically, urging Moju to come and examine Nick. Moju didn't need a second invitation. He quickly felt Nick's forehead and saw the blood. Moju turned to stare at Justin and Jeff. "Do you have any cleansing solution, any saline or just sterile water?" Moju tried to keep his voice calm. Jeff nodded. "I . . . I have a first aid kit. And I do have some . . . some sterile water." With that, he disappeared. "Justin, get me some drinking water," Moju commanded. Justin immediately disappeared. Moju then took some Advil from his jacket. Brian tried to stifle his tears, not wanting to interrupt Moju's actions. Moju looked at Brian. "He's running a bad fever. This Advil should help him a little." Brian nodded as Justin and Jeff came back. Moju threw Brian his cell phone. "Call the others on the helicopter and tell them to get ready. We need space for Nick and we have to get back fast. Tell them it's flight-for-life. 19yo white male. Head trauma. Unconscious. The rest I'll deal with later!" Brian nodded. Jeff walked up to Moju. "He was hit by a tree branch. I had to carry him back home." Moju stared at Jeff. "You should have made sure that you didn't break his neck on the way. If the tree branch hit his head, there's a good chance that it might have broken his neck as well." Moju's voice was quiet, but Jeff, Justin and Brian all stiffened when they heard his words. Moju then grabbed the plastic container filled with sterile water from Jeff's hands and poked a hole in it with the tip of his pen. Then he squeezed the bottle and poured it over Nick's head where the gash was. Moju concentrated on the task. "We'd better wish that he has no intracranial bleeding, that it's at most a linear skull fracture. Do you have anything hard, a piece of wood? We need to splint Nick's neck at least to prevent it from further damage. Then we need to carry him out, make a small stretcher." Jeff and Justin immediately disappeared and fished for everything they could find. Within five minutes, the guys were done and ready. They placed Nick on the man-made stretcher and the four quickly and swiftly carried the stretcher with Nick on it back to the helicopter. They also brought a blanket to shield Nick's unconscious body from the merciless rain. With great effort, they made it to the helicopter in about thirty minutes. All four completely absorbed in their own fears. Nick was drifting slowly away. They could feel it. To Brian's relief, when they got on the helicopter, Moju started working right away, putting the air mask on Nick and sticking two large bore IV needles into Nick's limp body immediately. Then, he proceeded to monitor Nick's blood pressure and feel Nick's pulses. Brian wanted to cry. He was so scared for Nick, but seeing the way Moju acted, so calm, so determined, Brian felt a little better. The rest of the flight to the hospital was full of tension as everyone stared at Nick, praying that he hold on till the last minute. Brian stared nervously as Moju kept on checking Nick's pulse and all the other vital signs. He swallowed a few times, wishing that Moju would tell him something so that at least he was mentally prepared for it. But Moju didn't say anything. ******************** When they finally got to the hospital, everything became even hazier. Moju and Brian were at least allowed to go to the trauma bay. Brian stepped back as countless numbers of nurses and doctors rushed into and out of his view. He saw them place Nick on a hospital bed and immediately strip Nick of all the blankets and began to examine every inch of his body. They took so many X-rays and said so many things, Brian was lost. He tried to search for Moju in all the hype and saw the blond man standing at the other end of the room close to Nick's body, but not too close that he was an obstacle to the medical team. And within twenty minutes, they sent Nick up for a CT scan of his head. Then, all the doctors and nurses and techs disappeared, leaving only Moju and Brian left. There was complete silence. Moju gazed at Brian. Brian looked weakly back. "So what's going on? What are they gonna do to him now?" Brian let the tears fall for the first time since he saw Nick again. Moju's eyes revealed nothing but worry. They have stabilized him. Everything's okay. They just want to make sure that there's no internal bleed in his skull and determine if there's a fracture we should be concerned with." "How long until we know?" Brian asked, almost afraid to find out. "Shouldn't take more than thirty minutes if the CT scanners aren't backed up," Moju replied. Brian sighed. "Thanks. I don't know what would have happened if you weren't there." Moju smiled sadly at Brian. "At least I know that all that learning came in handy, that I . . . that we tried our best." Moju walked closer to Brian putting a hand on the shorter man's shoulder. "There's nothing to regret now. Remember, we tried our hardest." Brian couldn't take it anymore. He cried, no longer feeling the shame, no longer fearing that his weakness was exposed, no longer able to hold in the hunger for Nick's return. He weeped like a woman who had lost a spouse after decades of marriage. He weeped until he could no longer see Moju's features. And still, the tears did not ease his heavy heart. They did nothing for him except make him feel emptier than before. He and Nick had come so close. They had come to an understanding. But they hadn't celebrated their first official date. He wanted to hold Nick in his arms that night and tell him that they would live a beautiful life together. He wanted to tell Nick that that night was the start of something more beautiful, that Nick no longer had to worry about Randy, about his past, about his shame. He wanted to hold in his hands a single red rose and place it in Nick's hands and tell him that his love was as pure as that rose and that nothing will ever destroy or even tarnish the love he had for Nick. As if sensing Brian's despair, Moju held him tight. The two men clung to each other for comfort, waiting for the doctors to come out and tell them Nick's fate. ******************* Brian didn't know how many hours had passed. Him and Moju had sat in the waiting area, counting the minutes, but not really keeping track. The initial shock was over, replaced by a period of numbness. It was as if time stood still, letting them breath for just one second. Neither could sleep. They waited patiently. Everything that happened in the waiting area was just background noise to them. Both jumped, though, when the doctor came into the waiting area. The doctor walked up to them. "Are you guys Mr. Carter's family?" "Yes!" Brian cried out. He didn't care. He wanted to know. The doctor smiled at Brian. "Well, Mr. Carter is very lucky. He has a small linear skull fracture that should heal without further intervention. There were no intracranial bleeds so his life is not in any sort of danger. We stapled up the gash in his head and should remove the staples in about ten days. However, he is unconscious so we'll have to keep him here one night to monitor him. Other than that, there's really nothing else to tell you." Brian wanted to laugh so hard. He turned around and hugged Moju tight. The tears began trickling down. "Did you hear that, Moju? Did you hear that? Tell me that Nick is gonna be all right one more time." Moju laughed hard. "I heard it Brian. Nick is going to be well. That's what the doc said!" Brian then pulled back suddenly. He looked shyly at Moju. "You know. You're not such a bad guy after all." Moju smiled. "Why? Because I rescued your boyfriend?" Brian smiled sheepishly. "You . . . you okay? I mean . . . " Brian stopped. He didn't know what to say. Moju looked at Brian, his eyes darkening. "Actually, the truth is, I'm not okay. I'm as jealous as hell." Moju smiled. "I still love him. I can't get that one night out of my head," Moju admitted. "You . . . don't mind, do you?" Brian rolled his eyes. "Just because everyone I know is fantasizing about Nick, no really, why should I mind at all?" Moju smiled. "Consider it a compliment." Brian smirked. "You're too kind." With that, the two walked off to the cafeteria to grab some breakfast. ************************* When Nick woke up, he didn't recognize where he was. The room was so foreign, and there were needles stuck in him. Nick groaned. His head throbbed. His throat ached so much. "Mmmmphhhhh," Nick let out. Just then, he saw a face pop in front of him. "Shhhhhhh, it's okay. Everything's gonna be okay. You're safe now. You're completely safe. Justin won't hurt you, not anymore." Nick gazed at the man, confused. He raised his eyebrow, not knowing what to say. Slowly, he rested his head on the pillow, nodding his head slowly. *************************