In Sickness and In Health, Part 3<bR><bR>

Jane looked down at her sleeping son, absentmindedly reaching out her hand to brush the hair from his face.  At the touch of her hand he began to stir, slowly opening his eyes, "Momma?"  Jane smiled, even at 19 Nick still called her momma when he was sick or hurt, "Hi sweetie..." she trailed off, her heart breaking as she looked at her eldest child.  She looked at her watch, wondering how much longer it would be before the doctor came and talked to them about the results of the tests he had.  She kept trying to tell herself that Nick just had the flu, or maybe mono, or something like that, hoping that if she kept thinking it it would be true.  As she lost herself in her thoughts the door to Nick's room opened and Dr. Clark walked in.<bR><bR>

"No...this can't be," Jane said shakily, "I'm sorry...I had the lab go over the results twice, it's definitely Leukemia.  I'm very sorry to give you both this news.  What we all have to remember is that we caught it early...I am confident that with some aggressive treatment Nick can recover fully."  Nick just lay there in his hospital bed, the doctor's words echoing in his head, barely conscious of the conversation that was taking place around him.  Finally he spoke, his voice shaking, but calm, "Ok, just tell me what I need to do to get better."  Dr. Clark and Nick's mother both looked at him in surprise, totally not expecting Nick's reaction.<bR><bR>

Later that day<bR><bR>

"Hey little man, wassup??" AJ called out from the door of Nick's room.  He was followed closely by the rest of the guys, all of whom were eager to find out how their friend was doing.  The look on Nick's face stopped them cold, "Guys, I got something to tell you.  They got my test results back...I have Leukemia.  It's not as bad as it sounds," he said quickly, responding to the gasps from his friends, "I need 6 weeks of chemo and I should be just fine, really."<bR><bR>  

The following morning<bR><bR>

Brian, AJ, Kevin, and Howie sat silently at the table eating breakfast. Finally Howie spoke, "What time did they say we could see him?"  Brian sighed and looked down at his watch, "Noon.  He gets done with his first chemo treatment around 10 and will probably need to sleep after that for a little while..."  "Jesus!" AJ cried, jumping up from the table, "I can't believe you two are talking about this like it's no big deal!  Nicky has cancer!!  He could die!!"  Howie grabbed his arm, "AJ, it's not going to help Nick if we fall apart on him.  We have to be there for him and if that means plastering a fake smile on your face you'll do it!"  AJ stared at Howie open-mouthed, then turned and ran from the room. Howie sighed and looked at Kevin and Brian, "What time should we head over?"  Kevin looked at him and then at Brian and then spoke, "I have an appointment today that I can't change so you guys go ahead and let Nicky know I'll catch up with him later."  Brian shot Kevin a surprised look as if he were about to say something but then changed his mind.  Howie and Brian finally decided to find AJ and decide on a time to see Nick together, leaving Kevin to make his own plans.<bR><bR>

At the hospital<bR><bR>

She sat by Nick's bed, watching him sleep.  She'd seen him on TV and in magazines and she had to admit, neither did him justice.  Even as pale an thin as his face was he was one of the handsomest men she'd ever seen. Nick groaned and opened his eyes, catching sight of the beautiful girl with the long sweep of dark hair sitting by his bed.  He squinted, trying to clear his vision while ignoring the waves of nausea that were washing overnhim, "Who are you?" he croaked.  She smiled, "I'm Laura."<bR><bR>

In Sickness & In Health, Pt. 4<bR><bR>

Nick tried to focus on Laura's face but all of a sudden his vision doubled and he felt the nausea overtake him.  He struggled to get out of the bed and barely made it to the bathroom before he was violently ill.  Moments later he was dimly aware of someone leading him back to the bed, helping him get in, and then laying a wet washcloth on his forehead.<bR><bR>

Just then the door to Nick's room opened and Brian, AJ, and Howie stuck their heads in, a little surprised to see a stranger, dressed in street clothes, standing over Nick.  Laura looked up, saw them, and motioned them outside the room, joining them in the waiting area.  "We're here to see Nick," Brian began.  Laura laughed, "I sort of figured that part out!  I'm Laura, Nick's 'Buddy'."  "His what?" AJ said, thinking that Nick had been hiding his gorgeous friend from his band mates.  Laura laughed again, "The hospital has a special program where they pair patients who are newly diagnosed with cancer up with cancer survivors.  I'm paired up with Nick--my job is to answer his questions and basically help him learn the ropes.  He's going to be staying here for the next 6 weeks so he'll need to know his way around."  "So you're a survivor?" Brian asked.  "Yes, four years now...Anyway, you guys should probably get some lunch and come back in a little while...Nick's starting to feel the after effects of the chemo and needs to rest right now, ok?" Laura continued.  The Boys nodded their agreement and said they'd be back in an hour.<bR><bR>  

Laura sighed in relief as they left, she knew from her own personal experience that Nick would not have been in any shape to see his friends right then.  Her relief quickly evaporated when she saw the blonde woman with 3 children in tow.  "Hi, I'm Jane Carter, you must be Laura, Dr. Clark told me about you....How's he doing?"  Laura was just about to reply when one of the girls she was with spoke up, "I want to see Nicky, can we see him mom?"  Angel's twin, Aaron immediately added his voice to the clamor, followed by Leslie, their older sister.  "Kids, calm down, you're making a huge racket.  I'm sure that you can go in and see Nick, right Laura?" Jane asked, a silent plea on her face, "They want to make sure for themselves that he's ok."  Laura sighed, "Let me go and make sure he's ready, and then you can all see him" before turning and entering Nick's room.  "Nick" she whispered, "Nick...your family's here to see you.  I can tell them that you're not feeling up to it if you like..."  Nick opened his eyes, "Th...they're here now?"  "Yeah," she responded, "It looks like your mom didn't have much choice..."  Nick took a deep breath, "Ok, help me sit up." She did as he asked and watched as he hid the pain and nausea that he felt behind the mask that he usually reserved for protecting himself from the prying eyes of reporters and the public.  Nick was able to convince his siblings but not Laura and his mother, that he was doing great.  Laura admired the way that he tried so hard to reassure the twins and Leslie that he felt just fine despite how ill he was really feeling.  Finally the visit was over, and as Jane turned to leave she bent and kissed Nick's forehead, a plea for understanding in her eyes.  Nick waved goodbye to his family and then his shoulders slumped and the tears began, running silently down his face.  Laura felt tears come to her own eyes and stood there, suddenly not knowing what to do or say.<bR><bR>





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