Brian and AJ ran out to Brian’s BMW, and got in. With the squealing of tires, Brian backed out of AJ’s driveway and sped off down the street. After almost driving though five red traffic lights, he finally reached Nick’s street. He could see flashing lights flashing off of houses at the end of the road. He stopped across the street, and before the car came to a complete, stop AJ had gotten had and was running towards the house. Brian pulled the key from ignition and followed AJ.
“Do you two know this man?” A paramedic asked, stepping out onto the porch.
“Yes, his name is Nick Carter,”
”Has he had any previous problems with his heart or lungs?”
”No… but he’s in remission from Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.”
The paramedic wrote a few things down in his chart before going back inside. Brian and AJ followed, staying out of the way. The phone suddenly rang, and Brian made his way over towards the phone jack.
“Hello?”
”Bri? What are you doing at my house?” Meggie asked.
“Meg…um…”
”Brian? Is there something wrong? With Nick?” She asked, fear in her voice.
”Nick called earlier… he was having chest pains, then he passed out. There’s an ambulance here now taking care of him… why don’t you meet us at the hospital?”
”Ohmygod…Bri… what’s wrong with him?”
“I don’t know yet, Meggie.”
“What hospital?”
Brian turned around and asked the paramedic.
”Charlotte Memorial,”
”Ok… I’ll be there,”
Brian hung up just as they lifted a still-unconscious Nick onto a gurney. Brian locked the door as they followed the paramedics out to the ambulance. They took once last glance at Nick, before the ambulance doors were shut, and the sirens began to wail.
”Hey Bri, let me drive,” AJ said, taking the keys. The ride to the hospital was silent. Tension and fear filled the inside of the car. Brian stared straight ahead, lost in his own thoughts. AJ soon pulled the car into the parking lot, and parked outside of the emergency room entrance.
”I don’t want to do this again. D*mnit, why him?” Brian cursed as he got out of the car. AJ lowered his head and walked to the other side of the car. They walked inside together and followed the signs towards the waiting room. Other people joined and left them, yet the room remained pretty quiet, except for the dull-sounding music playing over the intercom. A blonde woman walked in and looked around, stopping as she saw Brian and AJ. AJ jumped up as he saw her, for Brian was staring down at the speckled tile floor.
”What’s wrong with him?” Meggie asked as AJ pulled her into a hug.
”I don’t know… they haven’t told us anything yet.”
”Was he awake?”
AJ shook his head, pulling Meggie down to sit beside him. Brian reached over and took her hand into his, a sign of sympathy.
”Where are the kids?” He asked quietly.
”At my moms,”
AJ’s cell phone suddenly rang, startling them all.
”Hello?” he asked solemnly. “I’m sorry Kev… we forgot to call. No… Nick’s sick or something. I don’t know. I’ll call when we find something…anything out. Bye,”
As AJ hung up, Dr. Torday walked into the waiting room. A grim look covered his face as he greeted a nurse.
Brian held Meggie’s trembling hands, as they watched the doctor near them.
”Is he ok?” Meggie asked.
”Truthfully, I don’t know yet, Meggie. We’re running blood tests and an MRI right now. We’re not sure why he had chest pains, or even why he was unconscious.”
”Do you have a hunch or anything?”
Dr. Torday looked down at his hands, then back up before he spoke.
”I think the cancer might’ve spread to his chest. I’m going to get back to him now. I’ll let you all know immediately, what is going on,”
As the doctor stood, AJ shook his hand, thanking him, while Brian held a sobbing Meggie against his shoulder. Brian bit his lip, determined not to begin to cry. AJ looked around for a box of tissues, but found none. He disappeared momentarily, but returned holding a box of Kleenex.
”Here,” he said softly, holding them out in front of Meggie. Gratefully, she took one and wiped her eyes.
”Thanks,” She said, trying to regain composure. AJ sat back down beside Brian, sighing as he did.
”I’m going to use the restroom… I’ll be right back,” Meggie said quietly. She left the room, her shoes quietly squeaking as she walked down the hallway.
Brian played with his watch as AJ absent-mindedly thumbed through a women’s magazine. He tossed it down on the table, and stood up. Brian watched him as he began to pace the room. After a few minutes, Brian spoke up.
”J, you’re going to wear a hole through the carpet.”
AJ shrugged as he sat back down beside Brian.
”How long does it take for a freakin’ MRI?” AJ mumbled.
“I’m not sure… an hour or so?”
AJ groaned, sinking down in his chair. Meggie returned and silently sat down beside Brian.
~ Two Hours Later ~
AJ looked at Brian’s watch for the tenth time in the past thirty minutes.
”It’s only been two minutes since the last time you checked,” Brian said, staring at the ceiling.
“Megan Carter?” A voice called from the front desk. Meggie’s stood up and walked over to the desk to speak with the woman. She returned and picked up her purse.
”Dr. Torday wants to talk to us in his office,” She whispered, holding back tears. AJ put his arm around her shoulders as the trio walked down the hallway to the office area. They found Dr. Torday’s office without a problem, and knocked lightly on the door. The door opened, and a worn-out looking Dr. Torday appeared.
”Come on in and have a seat.” He said, closing the door behind them. Brian and Meggie took the maroon couch, while AJ sat in the dark green leather chair.
The doctor pulled x-ray film out of a manilla envelope and stuck them onto the white board. He turned the light on behind it, and a picture of a chest appeared.
He slid another x-ray up, putting them side by side.
”This is a healthy patient’s chest. It’s clear and everything’s bright and white. This is Nick’s,” He said pointing to a darker x-ray. “These are his lungs… and this is the mass that has formed on his lungs and muscle tissue.”
Meggie’s hand flew to her mouth, upon seeing the large mass on her husband’s lungs.
”The reason Nick was unconscious, was because of his lack of oxygen. The mass finally grew to the top of his lungs, causing it to block off the airway. The pain was also from this.”
“Is… it cancerous?” Brian asked.
Dr. Torday turned off the x-ray light and sat down across from them.
“Yes, it is. It spread from his previous cancer bout.”
”But he was in remission?”
”He was. But between the six month check ups, the cancer spread and grew quickly.”
“The treatment?” Meggie spoke up, tears falling down her cheeks.
“Unfortunately, the mass is extremely large, as you can see. The only thing we can do for him, is try radiation treatment. It will hopefully shrink the mass, making it small enough to be operable.”
“And if it doesn’t shrink?” AJ asked, afraid of the answer he was about to receive.
“Then… he won’t live much longer. If we operated now, there would only be a ten percent chance he’d come out alive. If we try the radiation, and it works, then it can be removed, and then he’ll once again, be cancer-free.”
The room was silent for a few minutes before the doctor spoke again.
“Right now, I have a trachea tube inserted into Nick’s lower neck. Because the mass was growing around his lungs, cutting off his air, the tube was inserted in so he can breathe. It’ll have to remain in, until the mass shrinks,”
”Or until he dies?” AJ asked hastily.
Dr. Torday bit his bottom lip and nodded.
”You can all go up and see him now. He’s in the intensive care unit, but he’s awake now.”
”When will you start radiation?” AJ asked, seeming to be the only one able to talk.
“Early this evening. We need to start him as soon as possible.”
The three left the room in silence, and got onto the nearby elevator. Meggie shook from her sobs as Brian wrapped her into a hug.
”He’s going to beat this. He did it once, and he’s going to do it again,” Brian whispered into her shoulder.
The doors slid open, and they walked out onto the ICU floor.
“Excuse me, ma’am… could you please tell which me which Nick Carter is in?” AJ asked a nurse behind the reception desk.
She tapped the keyboard with her over-sized acrylic nails.
“Six oh four,” She replied.
”Thank you,”
They followed the signs down the hallway, until they reached his room. Meggie pushed the slightly ajar door open further. AJ and Brian followed her in, but stood by the door, as she neared the bed.
Nick’s eyes fluttered open as she touched his arm.
”Hey baby…” She whispered, brushing tuffs of blonde bangs off his forehead.
“Hi,” He rasped, unable to hardly talk because of the trachea tube. He reached up and brushed her tears gently off her cheeks.
“It’s back, isn’t it?”
She hesitated before she nodded.
”In my neck?”
”No. Your chest.”
“More chemo?” He cringed.
She shook her head, more tears welling up in her eyes. “Radiation to shrink a cancerous mass in your chest,”
He swallowed hard before speaking again. “I’m dying, aren’t I?”
”No, baby… you’re not dying.”
“Chances?”
“Who cares about your chances. You’re going to make it.”
“Meg, what are my chances?”
”Fifty- fifty,” Brian said from the back of the room. The two had never kept anything from each other, and Brian wasn’t about to start. Nick fought back tears as he said “ok”. Meggie kissed Nick on the forehead before excusing herself from the room. AJ nodded to Brian and followed her out into the hallway. Nick tried to wipe off his cheeks as Brian neared the bed.
”Don’t bother. I’ve seen you cry many times before, Nick.” Brian said softly, sitting down beside the bed.
“How big is the mass?” Nick asked.
“Pretty much the size of half of your chest cavity. It’s wrapped around your lung, and was blocking your airway. That’s why it hurt, and you couldn’t breathe. That’s also why you have the tube in your neck. Keeping your airway open, until it shrinks.”
”And if it doesn’t shrink… then I’m on this d*mn thing until I die?”
“If you look at it that way… yeah,”
“I know I know… don’t think about the bad stuff that can happen. But it’s hard… especially when you’re in this position,”
”I know,” Brian replied. “Lying in my hospital bed, right before my surgery, I kept thinking about the bad stuff. It’s natural, unfortunately,”
“Man… what about my kids? Meg can’t take care of both of them herself. She’ll never get any sle-“
”Nick… calm down a bit. I’ll take care of it. There are four of us guys that would be more than happy to help her out. You know I have no life outside of my career.”
“Speaking of which… guess the tour is off again, eh? The fans are going to be upset.”
”But they’ll understand. They’ve supported you through your first bout of cancer, your marriage, and the twins. They’re not going to stop now. Now before you worry about anything else, just worry about getting better. I promised to call Kevin back, so I’m going to let you get some sleep and go call him. I’ll be back later, and I’ll stay during your radiation treatment,”
“Thank you, Bri.”
Brian gave Nick the best hug he could, since he was hooked up to many monitors, tubes, and wires. He quietly shut the door behind him as he went in search of a usable phone. He finally found a public phone in the waiting room, where AJ was sitting beside an exhausted looking Meggie.
“Meg, why don’t you go home and get some sleep? I know you could use it, plus the twins aren’t home to keep you awake. AJ and I will stay here and be sure to call you if anything happens. Nick’s even asleep now.
Reluctantly, she agreed. After quick hugs, she climbed onto the hospital elevator.
”Thank god. I thought she was going to fall over. I’m going to run down to the cafeteria for a quick lunch. Want to come?”
“I’ll be down in a bit. I’m going to call Kevin back first,”
AJ also disappeared into an elevator, and Brian went over to the public phone. After dialing six to get out of the hospital, he dialed Kevin’s familiar phone number.
“Hello?”
”Hey Kev.. it’s Brian,”
“Hey… is everything ok, now?”
”Not exactly. Actually, not at all.”
”What’d they find out?”
“They found a mass in his chest. They have to do radiation treatment, to shrink the mass, before they can do surgery.”
”And if it doesn’t work… they’ll use another medicine?”
”No. Radiation is the only option.”
Brian heard a sigh, then Kevin’s voice cracked.
”Ok. I’m going to get off here, and I’ll call D and management,”
”All right. Take care, Kev.”
”You too. Bye,”
The cousins hung up, both sinking back into a chair as they did.
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