When Angels Fall

Author's Note- My usual Chris angst story, therefor; this is mostly about Chris. (If you consider that a warning…) This will probably be pretty depressing, but that's what I do best! Warning: Death Story! Enjoy!
~~~~~~~

Things had been going good for the members of pop group Nsync. They had just wrapped up their tour of '99 and just released their new CD, No Strings Attached. Now they had some time to kick back and relax as they traveled home. In a few days, they were to attend the televised Tree Lighting, and they were excited about it.

Now they were just chilling on the bus, trying to decide if they were up to a freezing game of basketball in the winter temperatures. They had a few more minutes before the bus driver returned from lunch; they had eaten on the bus. Joey was channel surfing as they all sat around procrastinating.

"Well, if we don't figure something out soon, we won't be able to do anything," Justin sighed, not really caring if they did do anything.

"It's like, what, 30 degrees outside? I'm not going out there," Joey said, landing the channel on E!.

"I'm happy here too," Lance chimed in.

"Well, I guess we ruled that out," Justin hinted, hoping to get a response out of J.C. and Chris, who were studying a Magic Eye book. After getting no answer, he crept over and pushed the book towards them.

"Hey!" J.C. said, looking up. "What was that for? I almost had it!"

Justin smiled as he looked from J.C. to Chris and announced, "I said, what do you guys want to do?"

"You did not! You never even asked us!" Chris argued.

"Then why didn't you answer me, if you heard me?" Justin asked.

"I, uh, I don't have to explain myself to you!" Chris said, grabbing the book and pretending to be offended.

"I don't care what we do, but it's pretty cold out there," J.C. replied, looking at the others.

"You're very observant, are you a detective?" Joey asked, his eyes not leaving the TV.

J.C. rolled his eyes then looked at Lance and asked, "What do you want to do?"

"Don't know, don’t care," Lance said.

Then the bus doors opened, letting in a gust of cold air, and the driver. "Did you guys sit here the whole time?" he asked, jokingly.

"Amazingly, yeah, we did," Justin replied.

"Well, your secret's safe with me," he said, smiling as he got in the driver's seat.

Then Chris's cell phone rang, breaking his concentration again. "What?" he whined to himself as he pulled the phone out of a bag lying nearby. "Hello?"

"It's his girlfriend," Justin teased, elbowing Joey.

"He doesn't have one," Joey mumbled.

"Probably never will," J.C. whispered, loud enough for Chris to hear.

Joey started laughing and Lance remarked, "Well, look who's awake!"

The others started laughing too, until they looked at Chris, his eyes wet with unshed tears. "Thanks," he barley whispered, then hung up the cell phone.
~>~>~>~>~>~>
End pt.1

"You all right?" Justin asked, getting up and moving next to Chris.

They felt the bus go over a pothole before Chris answered sadly, "My mom just died."

"What? You sure? It's not a prank?" Justin stammered, disbelieving what his friend had just told him.

"You're right, it's one hell of a mean trick my own sister is playing on me!" Chris snapped, throwing his cell phone back on his duffel bag and getting up.

"Hey, look I'm sorry," Justin tried to explain. "I just meant…"

The others shot him a 'good job,' look as Lance spoke up, "Hey, I'm sorry man. Is there anything we can do?"

"No, just leave me alone for a minute," Chris answered softly, moving to his bunk and laying down.

The others could feel their own throats tighten with sorrow as they watched their friend and his newly crushed heart. "Poor guy," Justin mumbled so Chris couldn't hear. "Besides his sisters, that's all the really close family he had, after losing his dad."

"I know," J.C. agreed. "This is gonna be so rough on him."

"There's gotta be something we can do," Joey said, turning off the TV. "His last thread's been cut."

They all sat in stunned silence for a minute, unsure of what to say or do. There had to be something they could do. Chris would take this really hard; he still had trouble talking about the death of his father. All the guys had grown close, including their families. This would be hard for all of them, especially with Christmas approaching. One thing was for sure; this would take some time to get over.
~~~~~~~~~~

"What's everyone want for dinner?" J.C. asked. It was later that night, and they were still on the bus. After a quiet afternoon, everyone was doing there best to cheer Chris up. After about 45 minutes in his bunk, he finally emerged, but mostly he just sat, staring off into space and disconnected. Not getting more than a weak smile out of their friend, they decided to give him some space, hoping that was the right thing to do.

"Pizza!" Joey volunteered.

"Chinese," Lance added.

"Chicken," Justin further complicated.

"Chris, what about you?" J.C. asked.

"I don't care," Chris mumbled. Everyone had expected the usual 'Tacos!' answer, and was surprised at his response.

"I'll take that as tacos," J.C. teased. "Although that doesn’t help much in our deciding."

"I'm starving! Let's just go to the first place we come to." Joey whined.

"That would be Pizza Hut," the bus driver shouted back to them.

"Yes!" Justin sighed, smiling.

"Sounds fine to me, let’s go!" Joey replied.

The bus pulled in the parking lot and the guys eagerly got off. "Hey guys?" Chris said, calling them back. "I'm not too hungry, I think I'll take a little walk and meet you back here."

"You sure?" Lance asked sympathetically.

"Yeah. I'll be back soon, " Chris said as he walked off.
~>~>~>~>~>
End pt. 2

"Do you want us to get you anything?" J.C. yelled after him. Chris kept walking, shaking his head.

"One of us should go with him," Lance said as they stood watching Chris.

"But he said he wanted us to leave him alone," Justin said. "I think that's what he needs right now."

"We should still keep an eye on him. The last thing we need is a depressed Chris." J.C. said.
~~~~~~~

Chris walked through the city, the darkness offering protection from publicity. He had mixed emotions, a lot of grief, but some anger too. Angry in that he always trusted his mom; she always was there for him after his father died. Now, she too had deserted him. 'I can't think like that,' he scolded himself. 'It's not her fault she had a heart attack.'

Before he knew it, he was deep in the city with no clue as to where he was. As he walked along, he tried to watch the road signs to see if he could remember passing any on the way here in the bus. 'Great,' he thought. 'Now not only am I'm lost, but when I do find my way back, all the guys will laugh at me.' He smiled as realized, 'What's new?'

He looked down one of the side streets and saw a record store two streets down. They had passed it on the way here, he knew. "Well, I can't get any more lost," he said to himself as he turned down the street. 'I could always ask to use their phone, but where's the pride in that?' he thought. 'I'd be like 'Hey guys, I got lost and need you to come pick me up' and crap. Now look, I'm talking to myself.' "Well, thinking to myself anyway," he mumbled as he walked past some alleys.

"Get away from me!"

Chris stopped and looked for whoever had screamed. He looked down the side street he was in front of and could barley make out two struggling figures. One of them was of a girl.

"Hey!" Chris called as he started down the alley. The taller figure froze as his victim escaped and ran to the other side of the street, disappearing around a corner.

"Who the hell are you?" the figure asked as he approached Chris.

'Oops,' Chris thought as the other guy advanced. "It doesn't matter who I am, what do you think you were doing to that girl?" he challenged.

"That's none of your business, and that mouth is gonna get you in a heap of trouble," the guy threatened as he came to a stop in front of Chris. The man was about 4 inches taller than Chris, with enormous muscles to back him up. He had a dog chain dangling from his jeans, and a white tank top. He wore some gold chains around his neck and shoulder-length brown hair. This guy didn't need a weapon to pulverize someone. Someone that happened to be lost and alone.
~>~>~>~>~>~>

End pt.3

"I was just passing through, I don't want any trouble," Chris said.

"Well you just bought yourself some," the other guy said, pulling out a gun. He pointed it at Chris and ordered, "Give me all your money and shit."

Not wanting to get in more trouble, Chris reluctantly pulled out his wallet and gave it to the man. He looked around, searching for an escape, or if necessary, a means of defense.

"Hey!" the man shouted. "Don't even think about going anywhere."

Chris turned back to the man. "I don't have anything else. Just let me go and I'll forget the whole thing, okay?"

"I don't think so!" the man yelled, not taking his aim off Chris's chest. "Now back up and face that wall!"

Chris did as he said, and felt the cold metal pressed against his back as the man searched him for anything else of value. 'Looks like I'll be seeing you sooner than I thought,mom,' he said silently.
~~~~~~~

"Where is he?" Justin complained as he paced in front of the bus. They had been waiting for 10 minutes, and were starting to get worried. Joey and Lance went to the record store up the street to try to pass the time. Now J.C. and Justin were impatiently waiting for the rest if the group to show up.

Suddenly, a girl ran out from a side street up the road. She had brown hair, and looked terrified. She spotted J.C. and Justin and ran towards them. Seeing her panic, they started towards her as she kept running. Her dress was torn, and she had a red mark on her cheek.

"What happened?" J.C. asked before they even met.

She ran up to them and they tried to comfort her as she explained, "There's this man in the alley…he tried to rape me…now he's gonna kill this guy…" she said between sobs.

Felling a sort of parental instinct rise up, J.C. asked gently, "Is he still there?"

She nodded and J.C. told Justin, "You stay here. I'll go see."

Justin nodded and pulled the girl closer to him, comforting her. J.C. took off up the street as Joey and Lance come out of the store. "Come with me!" J.C. yelled without slowing down.

Joey and Lance ran after J.C. with questioning looks. The three flew down the street, and turned into the alley the girl came out of.
~>~>~>~>~>~>~>
End pt. 4

Chris closed his eyes in anticipation. The rapist held the gun out, loving to see how his victims reacted when they knew they were going to die. This one dampened his fun, as he seemed prepared. 'He's scared on the inside, though, I can see it,' the guy thought. 'He's a pretty good actor, I'll give him that.'

Chris opened his eyes when the gun didn’t go off, but the rapist was just playing with him; seeing how long he could hold out.

Suddenly, J.C. burst around the corner at the other end of the street, followed by Joey and Lance. "Hey!" J.C. shouted when he saw the figures.

The gunman turned around, giving Chris an opening to escape, but the rapist was too fast. "Freeze!" he yelled, shooting at Chris.

No sooner had Chris gone down, and then J.C. was on top of the man, throwing punches left and right. The gun dropped, and Joey picked it up and aimed it at the struggling rapist. "Knock it off!" he ordered.

The man stopped struggling as J.C. slowly let go. The man now had a bloody nose, and lay panting on the ground, staying where he was. J.C. looked up smiling. Then he saw Lance bent over Chris and ran over to them. Joey kept his lock on the man as he heard J.C. exclaim, "Chris! Are you okay?"

Chris pulled himself up, favoring his injured right arm. "Yeah, I think. He only got my arm." He lifted his arm out to see it better and saw the bullet wound on his lower shoulder. The blood was flowing freely and he painfully applied pressure to it.

Just then, Justin came running in the alley. "What happened? Is everyone okay?"

"We're fine. Where's the girl?" J.C. asked, looking up from Chris.

"I left her with these people and they're calling the cops- what the? How- What is he doing here?" Justin asked, seeing Chris.

"Darndest thing," Chris started. "I was going to get ice cream, when I saw this guy had a gun, so I asked him to shoot me- and he did," Chris teased.

Justin rolled his eyes. "Well, I guess he didn’t hurt ya too much." Then Justin saw Joey, guarding the man with a gun. "Wow, I missed a lot! Go Joey!"

Joey smiled, but did not look away from the prisoner. He wasn't about to let this scumbag get away.

Lance helped Chris get up and said, "Keep pressure on that. It's bleeding pretty good. Did anyone call an ambulance?"

"Yeah, after I heard the shot when I ran over here," Justin said, nodding his head.

"You better sit back down, you don't look so good," Lance told the ghost white Chris.

Joey shot Chris a glance and saw the blood still trickling from between his fingers. Chris nodded weakly and slid back down against the wall.

In that split second, the rapist pulled out a knife and lunged at J.C.
~>~>~>~>~>~>
End pt. 5

Without thinking, Joey pulled the trigger, hitting the man in the leg. Everyone jumped at the shot, and the man dropped the knife as he fell before reaching J.C. Everyone looked at Joey, who stood stunned at his own action. In the distance, they heard the cops and ambulance approaching. Joey slowly lowered the gun and asked hopefully, "It was self defense, right?"

J.C. looked as the knife on the ground beside him and agreed, "Yeah man. He was gonna kill me."

As the sirens approached, the guys slowly turned their attention back to Chris. The enormous amount of blood loss weakened him to the point where he didn't have to strength to put pressure on his arm. Even in the dim streetlights they could see how white he had become.

The ambulance and police cars pulled up at the same time, and they all ran over to the group of men. The paramedics went to work on Chris as the policemen began to question the others.

"What happened?" the first cop asked.

Just then, the girl from before came running around the corner.

She ran to Chris and cried, "Thank God you're alive!" She gave him a quick hug before the paramedics pushed her aside.

"Are you the girl that was attacked?" the cop asked, recalling what he was told over the phone.

"Yes, and that man almost raped me," she pointed to the man Joey had shot. "If this man didn't show up..." she continued, looking at Chris.

"Can I get your name?" the cop asked, pulling out a small clipboard and pencil.

"Asyia Quest."

The paramedics loaded Chris onto a stretcher and started to the ambulance as the cop replied, "I'm going to need all of you to come to the station and fill out a report."

"What? No, what about Chris? That's our friend they're taking to the hospital and he comes first!" J.C. argued.

As the medics headed back to get the rapist, the cop stopped them and asked, nodding to Chris, "Is he gonna be okay?"

"Well, he's lost a lot of blood, but nothing he won't recover from," a medic explained.

As they went to the other man, the cop turned back to the others. "Look, I'll cut you a deal. Two of you can go the hospital now, if my men stay with you. I'll have them bring you to the station in an hour, deal?"

Seeing no better option, they agreed nominating J.C. and Justin to go. They split into two different cop cars, Justin and J.C. following the ambulance, and Joey, Lance and Asyia in another.
~~~~~~

Once they arrived at the hospital, they rushed Chris into one room, and Justin and J.C. in another. J.C. and Justin had a seat in the waiting room, guarded by the police officers. After a few minutes, a doctor emerged from Chris's room and announced, "We have a problem."
~>~>~>~>~>~>~>~>
End pt.6

"A problem? What kind of problem? Is Chris okay?" J.C. asked.

"Not yet. What type blood do you two have?" the doctor asked.

" I have O," J.C. replied.

"What are my choices?" Justin asked sheepishly.

"See, you guys came at a bad time," the doctor explained. "There was a bad bus accident a short while ago, and we don't have enough type AB blood like your friend needs."

"That's it! That's me, type AB!" Justin interrupted.

"Are you sure?" the doctor asked.

"Yes! What do you need me to do?" Justin asked.

"Come with me," the doctor replied.
~~~~~~~

At the station, Joey, Lance, and Asyia were being questioned, but their minds were at the hospital. Joey and Lance didn't know what had happened between the time Asyia left and Chris they got there. Joey was not being held for shooting the man because it was out of defense. They listened as Asyia explained everything up until Chris arrived.

"I was walking home from a club by myself because my friends had been drinking, and this man jumped out of nowhere and grabbed me. I tried to scream, but he covered my mouth and dragged me in the alley. He started trying to take my dress off when I kicked him real hard in the shin. He let go of me for a second, and I screamed. That's when Chris showed up. He yelled at the man, and I ran. That's all I know. I found Justin and his friend and then his friend went to help Chris. When I heard the second shot, I ran over, and here I am."

"Okay, thank you Ms. Quest. Do you two have anything you want to add?" asked the officer.

"Can we go now?" Joey asked.

"I guess. Just don't plan any trips for now. I'll have some of my men to take you to the station and bring the others back. Have a good day."

They got up and left, two more officers escorting them to the hospital. When they arrived, they immediately hunted down J.C., who explained what was happening.

"They didn't have enough blood to give Chris, so Justin volunteered to give the rest. They're in there now," J.C. said.

"This is terrible," Asyia said, tears swelling in her eyes. "I feel like this is my fault."

"How's it your fault?" J.C. asked, feeling sorry for her. "You needed help, and it's not your fault if Chris helped you. Anyone would have."

She raised her head and looked him in the eyes, seeing the parental love he was displaying. It made her feel better, but she still blamed herself in some odd way. Joey moved closer to her, and comforted, "It's okay. They said it's nothing an old man like Chris can't handle."

"There's nothing Chris can't handle," Lance mumbled.

The guys laughed quietly as Asyia gave them a small smile.
~>~>~>~>~>~>~>
End pt.7

"Just keep squeezing that," the nurse told Justin as she hooked the tube to the blood bag. Justin did as he was told, as made a disgusted face as he watched the blood start flowing through the tube. Even nastier was the warm feeling that accompanied it. Then he looked up and saw Chris lying unconscious on the table across from him and he ignored the feeling. He had to do this to save his friend.

As he lay on the big chair, he turned his concentration back to the needle sticking out of his arm. It didn't hurt anymore, and the nurse gave him a Pepsi to keep his blood thin. He watched as the bag filled, and the one going into Chris emptied.

When the bag was full, the nurse came over and pinched off the tube. She took the needle out of Justin and placed a cotton ball and Band-Aid on it, and told him to hold his arm in the air as she injected a clear fluid into the bag of blood and turned it, mixing it up. Then she handed it off to another nurse who took it to Chris.

"Thank you," she said. "You can go back out and wait now."

"Is that it?" Justin asked.

"Yup. We'll let you know when he wakes up."

"Okay," he replied, getting up.

"Keep pressure on that," she called after him.

Justin glanced back at Chris before he continued out into the waiting room. 'You better make it, CK,' he thought. He took a deep breath and entered the waiting room. He saw the others and the girl from before and went over to them.

"How is he?" Joey asked before the others had a chance to open their mouths.

"He's still unconscious," Justin said, taking a seat next to Asyia. "Are you okay?" he asked her.

She nodded her head and answered, "Yeah, I'm fine, thanks to you guys. It's Chris I'm worried about."

"We all are," J.C. replied. He glanced at the cops, silently thanking them for not rushing Justin and himself down to the station.

They sat in silence for the next 15 minutes, occasionally smiling at each other to keep hopes high. After a little while, the doctor emerged, getting eager looks from the five early twenty-year-olds. "Well, I've got good news for you," he began. "Your friend is going to be fine. He suffered from major loss of blood, but thanks to Mr. Timberlake, he's out of the woods. He will be extremely weak for a day or two, but he will eventually regain his strength."

A round of 'Thank God's and relieved smiles sounded from the five friends. "Can we see him?" Lance asked.

"I suppose so. He is still sleeping though," the doctor replied.

The five quietly crept into Chris's room and gathered around his bed. Some of his color had returned, although he was still a sickly white. They noticed a bag half-empty of blood hanging from a pole, going into an IV in Chris's arm. The steady beat of a heart monitor reassured them as they stood there, realizing how close this had been.

"Look how peaceful and pleasant he can be! Who would have thought!" Justin teased, breaking the nervous silence.

"Yeah, all we have to do is kill his mother and shoot him," Joey replied, an edge to his voice.

"Hey, it was a joke! What's up with you?" Justin replied.

"Guy, chill," J.C. broke in, seeing the hurt confusion in Asyia's eyes.

"His mom died?" she asked.

"Yeah, he got a call earlier this morning from one of his sisters." J.C. said.

"That's why he was out walking around," Lance added. "To take his mind off things."

"Well, it worked, didn't it?" a weak voice broke in.
~>~>~>~>~>~>
End pt. 8

"Chris?" they asked in unison.

"The one and only," he replied, giving a weak smile.

Instantly, smiles broke out on all their faces as they gave relieved laughs. "Thank God you're all right!" J.C. said, gently patting Chris on the shoulder.

"I'm always all right," Chris smiled. "What about you?" he asked, seeing Asyia.

"I'm fine, thanks to you. Although I'm grateful, that was a stupid thing to do. He could have killed you!" she replied, starting to cry again.

"I'm sorry, but I wasn't gonna walk on by and let him hurt you!" Chris said, trying to sound forceful, but ending up coughing painfully.

"Chris, relax man, she didn’t mean it like that," Justin said.

"I'm sorry," she whispered as she started to turn. "I'll go if I'm just making him worse."

"No," J.C. argued, "Stay. That's what he gets for doubting himself. If he can't realize what he did is good, then we'll just leave him in here for a while," J.C. teased.

"I'm sorry, too," Chris replied. "It's just been a really bad day."

"I heard," Asyia replied. "About you your mom."

"Yeah, that," Chris sighed, looking down.

"I think that's our cue," Lance said, as he started to leave, motioning for the others to follow.

Asyia smiled at them as they left, then she turned back to her hero. "I know what you're going through. I lost my mom a year ago and I felt terrible. I stopped caring about life, didn't care what happened to me. I didn't care if I died."

Chris looked up with knowing eyes. "I just feel totally numb, you know? For a minute there, I almost wished he would shoot me. I felt like I didn't have anyone here, so why should I stay?"

"That's not true." Aysia said firmly. "You have tons of friends and would be missed by so many people. Don't even think about that again, understand?"

Chris met her brown eyes and saw the caring she held for him. "Okay," he agreed, a little nervous about her protection for him.

"Well," she said taking a breath, "I'd better get out of here so you can get your rest. Goodnight."

"Wait," Chris stopped her.

"Yes?" she asked, turning back to him.

"Will you help me get through this?"

She was flattered by the thought that he needed her that much. "Of course I will. I'll stay as long as you need me."

"Thanks," he yawned.

She smiled as she watched him fall asleep, then she headed out to the others.
~>~>~>~>~>~>
End pt. 9

A Week Later…

"Chris?"

"Yeah?"

"What's the speed limit?"

"60."

"And how fast are we going?"

"75."

"Okay. Just checking."

Chris smiled as he let off the gas. "You were the one that wanted to go so bad."

"Because it's Justin's birthday! We can't be late for that!" Asyia replied.

"Well, there you go," Chris said simply, giving her a teasing smile.

"I swear, you're impossible sometimes."

"Aw, you're cute when you're mad," Chris bribed.

"Shut up," Asyia laughed, looking out the window.

"Tickle, tickle," Chris teased, tickling her side and making her squirm.

"Stop it!" she laughed, trying to get closer to the passenger door. Chris started laughing too as he kept tickling Asyia. By the time he looked back to the road, it was too late.

They hit the weaving drunk head-on, throwing them into the dashboard. Tires squealed and glass shattered as the cars collided, killing the drunk driver of the other car instantly. Chris and Asyia were knocked unconscious as yet another car slammed into the back of them, the once headlight-brightened highway now dark.

There they sat, bleeding and unconscious, until the ambulance showed up.
~>~>~>~>~>~>~>
End pt. 10

"Well where the hell are they?" J.C. yelled at the nurse.

"I'm sorry, I don't know yet. Hold on, let me find out!" the nurse shot back, trying to defend herself against the four anxious men.

They sighed as they took seats in the waiting room; the same ones they had a week ago. "How does this always happen to him?" Joey asked, no really to anyone in particular.

"Lucky, I guess," Justin replied. "Happy birthday to me."

The nurse entered the waiting room, followed by a doctor. They came over to the four men and stood before them. "Well," the doctor started, "I'm afraid I've got some bad news."

"He's not-" Lance began.

"Your friend is fine. He has some deep gashes and a concussion, but nothing serious. He should be released in a few hours. The girl that was with him, however, was not wearing a seat belt. She hit the dashboard with such force, it cracked her skull and blood filled her skull before the ambulance got there. There was nothing we could do. I'm sorry."

"Oh, man." That was the only thing J.C. could summon up, yet it spoke for all of them.

"I'll send someone out when you can go in and see Mr. Kirkpatrick. He hasn't been told yet, though. Would you like to tell him, or should we?"

"Um, we will I guess," J.C. replied, unsure. They were all stunned. They had only knew Asyia for a week, yet she had become family to them. But more than that to Chris. She had single handily brought him out of his depression, and Chris never went anywhere without her. She was fun to be around; funny and bright, but not ditsy or annoying. She cared about all of them, and they treated her like a little sister. This would be hard for all of them, and they knew it.

Now they headed into Chris's room, following a nurse but too depressed to check her out. They entered his room with guilty faces, like when you accidentally kill your best friend's goldfish and try to but them a new one without them noticing.

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