The young men only had an hour granted to go to the hospital to visit Nick and much to their disappointment, per Lou Pearlman's orders, Johnny had them wisked away to another autograph session on the other side of town. Although Nick put up a good front during the visit, they knew that their brother still wasn't feeling the best and his painful movements demonstrated their suspicions.
"I can see where we'd be able to do the concert tonight but it would be without Kaos, thats for sure. I don't see fat ass Lou letting us put the tour on hold until Nicky is feeling better," AJ remarked to Kevin as they stood waiting in the green room at the studio.
Kevin shook his head sadly. "I don't think we have much of a choice, Pearlman is always on my back about our contracts. We have to do what he tells us."
"Can't we just remind him that the crowd pays for us as a group? There are lots of Nick's fans out there that will be disappointed," Howie added.
"You have no idea how much I wish I could, but I really can't," Kevin sighed.
Brian shook his head. "This will be weird being onstage without Kaos......who's gonna sing his parts?"
AJ ginned. "The fans?"
"Yeah they know the lyrics better than we do sometimes," Howie snickered.
"I remember when Nickster blanked out on his part during that one concert and judas he wasn't even close to what the words were when he tried to cover it up," Brian recalled with a smile.
"Yeah and Lou was glaring off stage," Kevin reminded.
"Lou can bite my ass...that dickhead," AJ sputtered.
"Watch your mouth McLean," Johnny Wright warned, startling the men.
"Hi Johnny, we didn't hear you come in," Brian said innocently.
"Knock off the bullshit Littrell, you are suppose to be sitting at them damn tables signing your names on crap. Hustle out there! Now!"
"Since when did you start becoming such a hard ass?" AJ grumbled as he headed out of the green room.
"Since I've been left in charge of you lazy asses and you seem to think it's okay to put off your contractual obligations," Johnny replied.
All of the men shook their heads expect Kevin. He knew all too well about the contractual obligations that had been set forth. With him being the designated leader of the group he had the headaches that came with the knowledge of their obligations.
Nick eyed the breakfast tray with digust. Cream of wheat had never been one of his favorites and he wondered how anyone in their right minds could expect a person to eat that! "They should call it cream of shit," he muttered quietly to himself. He pushed a slice of soggy toast around on the plate, watching with childish amusement as the butter oosed out of the bread.
"Good morning boy....I see they brought you breakfast!"
Nick jerked at the booming voice that carried into his room. He looked up to see Lou Pearlman in all his glory approach his bed.
"Hi," he replied in a tentative voice.
Pearlman lowered his bulk onto the hard plastic chair next to the bed. "Has the doctor been in to see you yet this morning?"
Nick shook his head. "No, not yet but probably soon."
Pearlman looked at the untouched breakfast tray. "Is there something wrong with your breakfast?"
Nick shrugged his shoulders, "I guess not if you like cream of wheat and soggy toast."
"You must not be feeling well since you didn't dig into your breakfast, the Nick Carter I know wouldn't refuse any meal good or bad."
The blonde folded his arms defensively across his chest. "People can change."
Pearlman let out a hearty laugh. "You of all people don't change when it comes to food!"
Nick's expression soured. "Why is it always about what and when I eat with you?"
Pearlman patted the young man lightly on the thigh. "You're reading me wrong boy....I was just teasing you."
A man wearing a white lab coat breezed into the room. "Good Morning Nickolas."
The young teen eyed the man warily. "Good morning."
The man sensed that Nick wasn't familiar with him. "I'm Dr. Rosenbaum, I was the one that did your surgery."
Nick smiled sheepishly. "Oh, sorry I didn't know who you were when you first walked in."
"That's quite alright, you were a pretty sick young man when I last saw you. My assistant had been doing the rounds for me the past two days so it's expected you wouldn't be aware of who I am."
"Okay."
Dr. Rosenbaum stared at the man sitting next to his patient's bed. "Are you his father?"
"God no!" Nick cried out in horror.
Pearlman threw a disgusted glare at the young man. He offered a hand to the surgeon. "Lou Pearlman, I'm his manager."
The surgeon didn't accept the Lou's hand. "So you're the reason why this poor boy had gotten so sick that we could have lost him?"
Lou let out a forced laugh. "Carter? No, you're mistaken I doubt that he was ever that bad off," he continued, gesturing with a thumb, "that boy is quite the young actor."
The doctor eyed the manager dubiously. "He may be an actor but I seriously doubt that anyone can fake their own blood tests. I find no humor in how you view the seriousness of the situation here. He had a ruptured appendix and we got to it in the nick of time because his abdomen was full of infection! I think if you were responsible for this child you would have seen fit to see him days before he was finally brought here!"
For a moment, Nick thought that Pearlman had actually been shot down and belittled by the doctor - something only he had been the receipent of. When he waited for an apology from the manager, his mouth dropped open when Pearlman buttered up the doctor.
"Thank God for fine surgeons like yourself that you were able to take charge of this situation when you did. I can only go by what this young man tells me and he is committed to his craft and the fans and he would have performed despite his condition. You don't know the capabilities this boy has!"
Laying the steel chart on the bed tray, the doctor pulled the blankets away from Nick's chest. "Lets have a look at that incision and see how it's healing...sorry if my hands feel cold."
Nick looked down as the doctor drew the hospital gown off to one side, exposing his stomach and the thick bandages that covered the incision.
"I'm going to have to pull the tape so I can look under the bandages," the doctor warned as he gently pulled on the surgical tape.
Nick hissed when the motion pulled at his skin. He looked down at his swollen stomach and rolled his eyes. "How come my stomach looks bigger?"
"Young man, you had quite an infection and I had to irrigate the peritoneum so I would expect marked swelling."
"Just peachy," Nick muttered.
Pearlman raised up from his seat to inspect the incision. "How long will that last?"
The doctor looked at the manager. "I don't think that is really an appropriate question," he snapped.
"You are taking my question out of context and twisting it against me!" Pearlman cried. "I'm simply asking how long the swelling will last because I'm sure Nick is concerned. Can't you see by the look on his face?"
The doctor didn't bother with a response as he pulled the bandage back over the wound and laid the hospital gown back in place. Pulling a pen out of his front pocket, Dr. Rosenbaum flipped the chart open, hastily scribbling down orders in it. "I see you've been passing gas---"
Pearlman interrupted the surgeon with a laugh. "Carter never has had a problem farting!"
Nick blushed at the mention of his bodily functions by the doctor, especially in front of the manager.
The doctor found no humor with the American's manners. He ignored the remark, continuing his attention toward his patient. "I will see that you get an advance in your diet." In a kind gesture, Dr. Rosenbaum patted his young patient gently on the shoulder. "You keep doing what you're doing Nickolas, your last labs are showing some promise with the infection. If there aren't any problems, I'll see you in the morning."
Nick wasn't too upset to know that he would be staying at the hospital for another day. Truth be told, his stomach was still very tender and when his morning nurse had him walk to use the 'loo' - as they so pleasantly call the bathroom, he thought he would pass out from the pain that was racing through his lower abdomen - that or have his stomach rip open and his insides drop out.
A few moments had passed when Nick's day nurse came into the room carrying a small IV bag of antibiotics and hung it on the pole, threading it into the tubing. She handed Nick two brown pills in a paper cup. "Here, take these with the water I brought in," the stout woman said.
Nick peered into the paper cup. "Pain pills?" he asked hopefully.
"No, Fibercon," she replied crisply.
Unsure of what he was putting in his mouth, Nick decided it had to be something that was going to make him better so he swallowed the pills with a generous gulp of water. He twisted his face in digust. "Eww that tasted gross!"
"You were supposed to swallow them Cater, not eat them!" Pearlman muttered.
"I didn't chew them!" Nick quickly defended. "The taste got on my tongue."
"Carter I think laying in bed all day is making you soft," Lou decided. "I'll be back in a few minutes, I have to hit the head."
After roughly ten minutes had passed, Lou re-entered the hospital room, opening up a closet door, pulling Nick's street clothes out and tossing them onto the bed. "Get dressed son, I'm taking you back to the hotel."
Nick's eyes widened in horror. "Huh?"
"I said to get dressed, I got you discharged so you can be cared for at the hotel instead of the hospital."
"I-I thought the doctor wasn't discharging me yet," Nick stammered.
"Well I talked to the medical staff and they said it was okay for you to go home in my care."
"I still hurt."
"They gave me pain pills to take care of that."
Nick stared for a moment at the manager.
"They gave me instructions. Hurry up and get dressed so we can go," he demanded in a hushed whisper.
Leaning forward, Nick gingerly moved his body in an attempt to get into a sitting position.
Pearlman moved closer to the young blonde. "Do you need help with your pants?"
Nick furrowed his brows and glared at the man. "NO! I think I can dress myself!" As he started fumbling with the opening to his jeans, Nick remembered the IV line connected to his left hand. "What about this?"
"That comes out after you get your blue jeans on," the manager barked.
Although the movements made him feel lightheaded, Nick forced himself to sit up; dangling his legs over the edge of the bed. Pearlman seemed anxious to move the process along and helped put the boys legs into the jeans. "Stand up and I'll hold the pants and pull them up for you."
It seemed like a bad idea at the time, but Nick didn't have any choice but to comply with the manager's wishes, sliding off the bed as he stepped into his pants. He suddenly fell foward and his body thankfully came to rest against the flabby manager.
"Whoa boy, I gotcha."
Sweat dotting Nick's forehead as the movements strained his weakened system. As he pulled the sides of his jeans together he suddenly realized that his stomach was too distended to zip the pants up or button them for that matter. "I can't fasten my pants," he cried.
"Just leave that alone, the doctor said you'd be swollen," Pearlman reminded. "Give me your left hand!"
Nick obeyed and then quickly pulled it away when he realized that the manager was going to pull the IV out. "Don't you think a nurse should be doing this?"
"We'd be waiting all day for a nurse to come and do it," Lou growled.
Nick kept his hand away from the manager. "Don't do this! I can wait...why are you in such a big hurry?"
"I'd like to get you back to the hotel where we can properly take care of you," the manager explained.
The young man moved his hand away from Lou. "Go get a nurse to do this then because I don't want you to touch it."
"Would you stop being such a baby? Give me your hand!"
"NO!"
"YES!"
Tears welled up in Nick's eyes. 'Why is Lou acting like this? He said I can go home but he is acting like he's sneaking me out,' the teen wondered. Pearlman seized the opportunity as Nick was spacing out to grab the IV line and yank it out of his hand.
"WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU DO THAT FOR!" he screamed before Pearlman's hand clamped over his mouth preventing further shouting from the boy.
"Stop yelling," Pearlman hissed. With blurry eyes, Nick stared at the threatening manager. "You gonna shut up?"
Nick nodded.
"If I take my hand off your mouth, do you promise not to yell anymore?"
Again, Nick nodded.
Once the hand was removed, Nick instantly let out a string of obscenities. "Sonofabitch...motherfucker......jesus.."
"Stop the swearing Carter."
"It hurt like a bitch," he defended, looking down at his hand. He gasped when he saw that the hand and sheets were covered in blood. "I'm bleeding!"
This set the manager into action and he made his way over to the sink and grabbed a handful of paper toweling.
"Put your hand on this to stop the bleeding," the older man growled.
"Are you alright Nickolas?" the day nurse asked as she entered the room. "I thought I heard you screaming."
"He accidentally pulled his IV out, kid was anxious to get dressed I guess and forgot about it," Lou lied with a smile.
"Oh and look at how you're bleeding," the nurse stated as she quickly made her way to the linen cupboard, grabbing a white wash cloth and then running it under the tap.
As the nurse went about her task, Lou made sure he made eye contact with Nick and shot him a warning glare to shut up about the IV. Nick nodded quietly, scared of the manager at this point.
"There you go sweetheart," the nurse soothed as she gently scrubbed the blood off his hand with the warm washcloth. The woman looked up at her patient and instantly noticed that his face was the color of chalk. "Are you feeling okay?" Without waiting for an answer, the woman pressed on Nick's shoulder directing him to lay back onto his bed. She looked over at Lou, narrowing her eyes at him. "This is why he should stay here and not go out running all over the countryside. Dr. Rosenbaum is not very happy with you right now," she spat,
"He is not the doctor's concern right now. I'm in charge of Nick, I call the shots," Lou defended.
"Well he almost fainted, or I'm guessing you were fully aware of that since you're in charge?"
"I saw he looked a little pale," Lou admitted.
"He was close to passing out!"
"I'm okay now," Nick mumbled. "Get my shirt and I'll put it on."
"Lad, your shirt got soaked with some of the blood from you hand, I'm afraid you'll have to slip on a fresh gown. you can wear it with your pants."
The nurse didn't hurry fast enough for Lou Pearlman's satisfaction and snatched the garment out of her hands when she approached the bed.
"I'll help him with this, go get the wheel chair so we can go," he hissed.
Just as the nurse turned to retrieve a wheel chair, an orderly entered the room pushing the wanted object. Nick gave the wheel chair an apprehensive look.
"Okay Nick, hop in so we can get out of here!" Pearlman ordered.
"If you read his instructions, you will recall that he will not be hopping, jumping, running or skipping rope for that matter for a number of weeks. He is barely able to cross the room without someone holding onto his arm. I think you're making a huge mistake taking him home."
Pearlman brushed the woman off. "Carter is a fast healer, you don't know the boy, so save your lectures, right Nick?"
Nick swallowed nervously. "I guess."
Jerking an arm with his chubby hand, Pearlman snactched the young man from the bed, practically dragging him over toward the waiting wheel chair, the nurse looking on with disapproval in her eyes.
"You've got enough pain medication to get him through this afternoon but you will have to make sure you fill the prescription as soon as possible along with the antibiotics. It is very important that he takes them as scheduled," she called out.
"Yeah sure thing," Lou grumbled as he glared at the orderly. "He's set, lets move this thing!"
The nurse quickly placed a curved emesis basin on Nick's lap. "Here.....you may be needing this on the ride home."
Clutching the basin Nick gave the woman a worried smile. "Thanks....I hope I don't," he whispered.