Kevin Richardson paced the floor of the surgical waiting room. It had been well over two hours that Nick had been rushed into surgery and he had yet to be notified as to what was going on. AJ, Howie and Brian sat quietly on the opposite end of the lobby, not daring to cross the path of the older Kentuckian. They knew all too well how Kevin's mood could change when he had something pressing on his mind.
"Mister Richardson?"
All eyes looked at the entrance where a tall man dressed in surgical scrubs stood.
Kevin rushed over toward the man. "Yes, I'm Kevin Richardson," he stated anxiously.
"Your friend has been moved to recovery now. He's not awake yet...."
"What happened?"
The man sighed as he walked into the waiting room and took a seat on one of the hard chairs. "Evidently he had an abscess or I guess you could say a pocket of the peritonitius wasn't caught initially when he was first opened. That infection spread and that was what led to his sutures breaking."
"What!?" AJ snarled. "Are you telling me the doctor fucked up?"
Kevin shot a dirty glare as AJ approached them.
The man wasn't flustered by AJ's actions. "As unexpected as it was, it can and does happen from time to time in any patient," the man calmly explained. "Fortunately, we were able to irrigate his abdomen and we have placed some drainage tubes this time."
"Which should have been done the first time!" AJ rasped.
The man dressed in surgical garb ignored the rebel's comments. "I'll send a nurse down when mister Carter is back in his room." Without saying anything further, the man stood up and left the room.
"I think we should get Nick and get him the hell out of here!" AJ snapped.
"Jay, don't talk like an idiot," Howie replied.
"Yeah, you know he's safer at a hosptial than anyplace else," Brian added.
"Yeah but we should take him back home to get taken care of," AJ defended.
Kevin's eyes bore into AJ's. "Do you honestly think that poor kid could survive a thirteen hour flight?"
"Well.....um.......no, I suppose not."
"Then keep your mouth shut unless you know what you're talking about then, okay?"
This time Brian was the one that offered a comment. "I guess you need to call Lou."
Kevin stared at his cousin. "Why? So he can threaten us about the fact that Nick is sicker now than what he was yesterday?"
Brian shrugged his shoulders. "I dunno, I just thought you had to check in with him or something."
"I'll call Lou," Howie stated firmly.
Kevin shook his head. "It's not your responsibility."
"I know but I'm thinking that you've got enough on your mind that you'll make matters worse when you blow up when you talk to Pearlman."
The older Kentuckian sighed as he tugged a hand through his hair. "Yeah, I guess you're right. Right now I would really love to bash that fat ass bastard in the face."
"Exactly what I'm talking about," Howie replied as he made his way toward the door.
"D...wait up," AJ called out as he stood up. "I'll come with you."
"Howie...don't let Bone talk to Pearlman and keep an eye on him," Kevin warned.
"I wasn't planning on talking to that fat ass," AJ defended.
"Yeah, whatever....."
The time went by slowly as Kevin and Brian sat in the waiting room. Brian was happy to see that his cousin had at least calmed down and was quietly sipping coffee. At one point, Howie had returned and told them that he left a voice message on the manager's cell phone to return his call and was quick to add that he didn't offer any explanation as to what the call was about to Pearlman.
During the time they waited for Nick to be transferred back to his hospital room, AJ and Howie had come and gone and they were gone when a nurse finally came in to say that Nick was now settled back in his room and they could go back and see him. Kevin quickly stood up from his chair and rushed out of the waiting room, anxious to check in on his young brother. Brian followed a few steps behind.
Entering the sick room, they found their young brother quietly sleeping, his face void of color. He also had numerous IV bags hanging from a pole beside his bed. Kevin didn't hesitate approaching the bed and gently scooping Nick's hand in his. Nick whimpered when Kevin's hand made contact.
"Easy there little man," Kevin soothed. "Everything's gonna be alright."
Nick's eyes fluttered open as he tried to focus on Kevin's voice. "Wha.....what happened?" he asked hoarsly.
"They had to do emergency surgery," the older man stated.
It took a few moments for the information to sink into the young man's anesthesia fogged brain. "Why?"
"I guess you had more infection in your belly than they thought." He paused as he looked at Nick. The young man's features grew consticted with pain. "Do you want me to ask the nurse to give you something for the pain?"
Nick shook his head in agreement silently.
As Brian got a nod from Kevin, he set off to the nurses station. A few moments later, Brian returned with a nurse in tow.
"Sweetie, you have a pump on your chest so you can give yourself some pain meds," the woman stated as she guided Nick's hand to the small rubber button. "It will administer your pain meds when you press it."
Nick's finger weakly followed her instructions and pressed on the device instantly feeling a warmth rush through his body.
The nurse could see that her young patient was getting the relief he needed. "Okay if you need anything else, please press the call button and someone will come in to see you."
A few moments later, AJ and Howie entered the room.
"Thanks for letting someone know that Kaos was back in his room, jackass," AJ rasped as he scaped a chair across the lineoleum flooring.
"Well if you didn't have to go out for a cigarette every twenty seconds you'd been around," Kevin shot back.
"Wow Kaos, you look plastered," AJ grinned.
Kevin looked down at his young brother's face. "Feeling better?"
Nick managed a slight grin. "You betcha."
Staring at Nick for a moment, Kevin wondered if it would be a good time to question Nick about interview he had seen on television. He couldn't help but think that maybe the young man's guard would be down while he was under the influence of the medication. Drawing a breath in, Kevin decided it was now-or-never with the question he so desperately needed to be answered.
"Nicky...I need to ask you something important and then I'll let you rest."
"Okie dokie."
"Okay earlier this morning I saw you on television. You were laying in the hospital," Kevin started slowly, "and it looked like it was live. Did Lou come into the hospital with a camera crew this morning?"
Nick rubbed a hand across his closed eyes. "You mean today?"
"Yes Nick. Did this happen today?"
"Yup....but I'm not to tell you."
"Who said that?"
"Lou said don't say."
"But this did happen this morning?"
Nick nodded. "Yeah he said it was good PR," he slurred.
"Okay Nicky, you're getting tired now," Kevin said as he patted the blonde lightly on the shoulder. "I'll leave you alone to rest for now."
Nodding, Nick burrowed his head deeper into the pillow, letting his eyes close. As soon as they closed, he quickly opened them again. "Kev?"
"Yeah Nick?"
"Please don't tell him I told."
"Just get some rest little man, don't worry about Lou," Kevin reassured. "I'll worry about him."