Date: Thu, 16 Sep 1999 22:51:21 PDT From: Jason Clarke Subject: Loving Nick - Part 12 This story involves members of the bands Backstreet Boys and N'SYNC. I am in no way implying anything about the sexuality of any of their members. This is purely a fictional story. Enjoy! This is my first attempt at writing a story like this so please bear with me. Please send any comments and/or suggestions to jaclarke@hotmail.com (ICQ #7964029) * * * * * * * * * * * * Loving Nick - Part 12 The car's blinding headlights blinded Lance. Despite seeing the oncoming danger, Lance found that his feet refused to move. Just as the car was about to hit him, Lance felt himself hit the ground and rolling towards the curb. Dazed, Lance tried to get up off the ground. Sitting there for a minute, he realized that he was not hit by the car since the car had now stopped at the other side of street, having hit a fire hydrant. As he gained his senses back, Lance realized to his horror that aside from the car, there was someone lying in the middle of the road. Lance rushed over and saw the person with his face to the ground. Lance immediately knelt down to see if the person was alright. He gently turned the person over and he gave a scream of horror. There, lying in a pool of blood, was Nick, unconscious. Lance went into a panic, screaming for help. He yelled at the top of his lungs until his voice began cracking. He could see blood seeping through Nick's clothing and he tried his best to stop the bleeding. Within minutes, a small crowd had surrounded Lance and Nick. Staff from the hotel came rushing out, assuring Lance that the paramedics were on their way. "Hang on, Nick. You'll be okay," Lance said to the unconscious Nick. Lance said these words mainly to convince himself that everything was going to turn out okay. Meanwhile, Justin sat in the room with the rest of the guys. He was hurt by what Lance did to him but more so by what Lance said to him. "Are you okay, Just?" JC finally asked quietly. "I'm fine, JC. Look guys, I know how you all feel about me right now and I don't blame you. I won't bother you guys anymore okay? After the tour is over, I'm going to leave the group. It's for the best, I think." Justin slowly got up from his seat and headed for the door. "Just, wait," Brian called out. "Who told you that we wanted you to leave?" Justin turned around and smiled weakly at Brian. "Thanks, Brian. I know you guys are trying to be nice to me but I know what I did was despicable. You don't have to pretend that you guys are not angry with me. I understand." "Yes, Justin, we were angry with you. Very angry, in fact. When we first heard about what you did, we couldn't believe that you would do this to Lance and Nick," JC explained. "We felt betrayed by you, Justin." "I know I let you guys down, I'm sorry," Justin said, looking at the ground. "We were cold to you because we were angry with you," JC continued. "But Nick made us realize how selfish we were to treat you that way." Justin's head shot up as JC mentioned Nick's name. "What did Nick say to you guys?" "Well, he just said that you made a mistake but that we all make our share of mistakes and that we should give you another chance." "I don't deserve it," Justin whispered. "Well, Nick certainly thinks you do," AJ answered. "And if Nick can forgive you, who are we to continue holding a grudge against you. We still care for you a lot, Justin. I'm sorry we treated you that way." "Thanks, guys. This means a lot to me. I won't let you guys down again," Justin said, smiling at last. "Just don't let Nick down, Justin. He's placed a lot of confidence in you," JC said as he smiled at Justin. At that moment, a woman frantically ran into the room. By the looks of her clothing, it was obvious that she was one of the hotel staff. "I'm so sorry for interrupting," she said, trying to catch her breath. "What's wrong?" Joey asked, noticing how frazzled the woman looked. "There's...there's been an accident," the woman began. Justin's face turned ghostly white. "Is Lance and Nick okay?" he screamed in panic. "Mr. Carter has been in an accident at the front of the hotel. The paramedics are on their way. Mr. Bass wants you to go down immediately." Without another word, everyone rushed out of the room. As they got to the lobby, the guys could see the flash of police and ambulance sirens. There was a crowd gathering outside and scores of emergency workers were on scene. The guys rushed out only to see Lance on the ground holding Nick in his arms. "OH MY GOD!!!" Brian screamed as he pushed the crowd aside to get to Lance and Nick. "What happened????" "Nick got hit by a car!!!!" Lance answered, sobbing hysterically. "Hang on, there, Nick. You've gotta hang on," Brian pleaded. Justin could not bear to look at the blood-covered Nick lying helplessly on the ground. He buried his face in JC's shoulders as he cried. JC tried to comfort him but found himself also on the verge of tears. Everyone was hugging each other, trying to find comfort in one another. As the paramedics carried Nick onto the ambulance, the rest of the guys followed close behind to the hospital. * * * * * * * * * * * * Everyone sat in the waiting area, holding a silent vigil for Nick. It has been several hours since Nick was wheeled into the operating room and no one has yet to emerge from the room. JC and Joey sat by Lance, trying their best to comfort him. Lance was absolutely devastated as he slowly pieced together the events of the past few hours. "It was my fault," he began to mutter. "Stop it Lance, stop blaming yourself," JC said softly. "No, Nick is in there because of me!! He pushed me away from the veering car. I was the one who was supposed to get hit!!!" Lance replied as he collapsed into hysterically sobbing. "No one wanted this to happen, Lance," Joey explained, trying in vain to calm Lance down. "If I didn't run off, this wouldn't have happened..." Lance continued. "Look, Lance, stop beating up on yourself. The most important thing now is for Nick to be okay," JC reasoned. At the other end of the room, Brian and AJ sat with a sombre Justin. "Why? Why Nick?" Justin sobbed. "It was an accident, Justin. No one could've known," AJ said softly. "But why Nick???" Justin asked. "Why does Nick always have to have things so difficult?? Aren't nice guys supposed to have good things happen to them???" Neither Brian nor AJ could answer Justin's questions, partly because they were asking the same questions themselves. "Why Nick??" Justin continued to whisper, as if he was in a trance. Soon, he began to cry again on Brian's shoulders. After another hour or so, the doctors finally emerged from the operating room. Everyone rushed towards the doctor. "How is Nick, doctor?" Kevin asked nervously. "Why don't you all have a seat first," the doctor said calmly. "Mr. Carter suffered severe head injuries as a result of the car accident. In addition, he lost a lot of blood and there's also internal bleeding." This was not what Justin and Lance wanted to hear. The doctor's words only added to their grief. "Is he going to be okay?" Brian asked. He was almost afraid of what the doctor might say. "Fortunately Mr. Carter was brought to the hospital in time. We've done the best we could, the rest is up to a bit of luck and Mr. Carter's will power." "What do you mean?" AJ asked, not quite understanding what the doctor was trying to say. "Mr. Carter is in a coma. The next 72 hours will be crucial. If he can get through the next 72 hours without any further complications, his chances of recovery will be much higher. But within this period, his life is still in danger." Lance collapsed onto the chair, stunned at the doctor's words. Justin let out a small cry while Brian turned around, tears streaming down his face. "Even if Mr. Carter does regain consciousness, he has suffered such severe injuries that he may never fully recover." Everyone sat in stunned silence. "What do you mean never fully recover?" JC asked. "There are several possible scenarios," the doctor explained. "He may lose his memory..." "NO!!!! NO!!!!!" Justin yelled. "I don't want to hear anymore!!!" AJ held Justin tightly as Justin's sobs became more hysterical. "Our preliminary observations indicate some paralysis in the lower part of Mr. Carter's body. It is possible that he may lose the function of his legs." Upon hearing this, Lance ran out of the room in tears, with Howie chasing after him. "I'm not saying that this will definitely happen, but you need to be prepared for the worst case scenario," the doctor concluded. As the doctor left, everyone tried to take in the doctor's revelations. Never in their worst nightmare did they find their own beloved friend and band member in a hospital room fighting for his life. After a while, Lance and Howie came back to the waiting area. Lance's eyes were puffy from his crying and it looked like Howie had also cried. They all took a deep breath, and slowly walked into Nick's room, holding on to each other for comfort and for support. As they entered the room, they saw Nick wrapped in bandage and with numerous tubes and wires attached to him. He had to breathe with the assistance of a respirator. They watched Nick in silence, each of them silently praying for their friend, each trying to come to terms with Nick's condition. Finally, Lance could not control his emotions any longer. He fell on his knees beside of Nick's bed and buried his face in the blankets. His sobs became louder and more intense. "Nick, I'm so sorry!!!!" The guys watched Lance, feeling the pain that he was feeling. Tears were swelling in everyone's eyes. "Please, Nick, please wake up...Please!!!" Lance pleaded. "I'm so sorry!!! Please Nick, please wake up. You can't leave me like this!!!! I need you!!!! I can't live without you!!! I LOVE YOU, NICK!!! I LOVE YOU!!!!!" ...to be continued.... This must be one of the most emotional chapters to date...hope you guys liked it. What should happen to Nick now?? Please send any comments and/or suggestions to jaclarke@hotmail.com (ICQ #7964029)