"Take these with some water, they should make you feel a bit better." I smiled at him sympathetically, but Nick’s face was a permanent grimace.
"Thanks." he whispered.
"No problem, honey. You lay back down, okay?" Nick laid down and I turned the light off. I sat down next to him and stroked his hair. The flannel was no longer on his forehead, so I felt it. It was really hot, he had a temperature. So I fetched the flannel and made it cold again. I dabbed Nick’s cheeks and then placed it on his forehead once more. I continued to stroke his hair until he was asleep.
That night, I had to get up twice more to see to Nick…once at three, and again at around five. I didn’t sleep very much…but Nick slept even less. His stomach was killing him all night, probably from all the beer - but he really was ill.
I went and checked on him at seven, to see how he was. He was sound asleep, so I decided I’d better not disturb him too much. But the flannel wasn’t on his forehead, so I decided to see if he still had a temperature. His head was cooler, but still way above normal. He was gonna be feeling lousy all day.
I ordered a couple of pots of coffee and two rounds of toast and jam - although I didn’t expect Nick to be feeling very hungry.
He woke up at about half-seven, and groaned as soon as he tried to sit up.
"I’m sorry I was such a pain last night."
"Don’t even mention it, it wasn’t a problem, okay? How are you feeling this morning?" I sat down next to him (I had donned a bathrobe from the bathroom by now!) and checked his forehead again. It was about the same as it had been a half-hour earlier. "I think you’re gonna be bed-ridden today, Nick. You’re in absolutely no condition to get up - you’re not going anywhere with a temperature like that." Nick just groaned again, and got out of bed. He was still wearing his bathers from the night before.
"I need the bathroom." Nick went to the bathroom, and after a while I heard the toilet flush…and then I heard retching sounds. I winced as I heard Nick throw up. He was really unwell.
He reappeared about five minutes later, but he wasn’t walking very well. I got him to put one arm around my shoulder so that I could help him reach his bed without collapsing.
"You are definitely not going anywhere today. And I’m gonna play nurse."
"You don’t have to do that." Nick groaned. But then he said, "Please could I have some water, Holly?" I smiled.
"Sure." I fetched him some fresh water.
About an hour and a half later, there was a knock on the door. I opened it, and as I did, three people raised their eyebrows at me. It was AJ, Kevin, and Howie.
"We were expecting to see Nick." AJ said, trying to hide a smile. "Did you spend the night over here? I didn’t realise that kiss meant so much…"
"AJ, Brian went with Em into our room again, so I had to crash somewhere. It just happened to be Nick’s room. And I’m wearing a bathrobe ‘cos the only thing under this is my bikini from last night."
"Well where’s Nick?" Kevin asked.
"Still in bed, and in absolutely no state to get up. He’s got a really high temperature and I was up half the night with him while he puked. He’s not going anywhere today, and I’m gonna baby-sit him and play nurse."
"Well we’ll keep an eye on him while you go and get dressed." Howie offered.
"Are Bri and Em up yet?"
"No, they’re not." AJ told me.
"Then there’s no way I’m entering the room. I had to last night to get Nick some tablets, thankfully they were asleep. But I’m not gonna risk it in morning time."
"Can we see the patient then?" Kevin asked. I rolled my eyes.
"I’m sure he’ll be very pleased to see you - he’s had to put up with me all night!" The guys walked into Nick’s room - and he’d totally crashed out. He was fast asleep, but I could see AJ open his mouth to say (shout, more like) something. I quickly shoved my hand over AJ’s mouth. "Don’t even think about it, he barely got any sleep last night. Leave him be." I whispered to AJ as he rolled his eyes. He nodded though, so I took my hand away. "Don’t wake him up!" I whispered again.
"Okay, we won’t!" AJ stage-whispered back.
"AJ," I warned.
"Okay, okay." They left the room then, and I closed the door on the sleeping Nick.
"So he’s not doing anything today?" Kevin asked me.
"No, he’s not. He’s really ill, guys, c’mon. He’s in no fit state to go anywhere."
"But we have a radio show and two live TV shows to do!" AJ protested.
"We’ll have to apologise for Nick’s absence." Howie said. "It wouldn’t be fair to make him come with us if he’s not feeling well." AJ and Kevin nodded, finally agreeing that Nick was too unwell to go with them.
"Write down which radio and TV channels you’ll be on, and Nick can listen to you. But don’t forget to say hi to him and me!"
"Say hi to you?!" AJ looked incredulous. "They’ll think you’re Nick’s girlfriend."
"Oh yeah, I never thought of that. Okay, forget about me, but say hi to Nick. It might cheer him up a bit."
"What shall we say when we’re asked why Nick’s not there?" Howie asked.
"Just say that Nick’s feeling a bit under the weather today, but he apologises for not being able to make it and sends out his love to all the fans."
"Yeah, that’s good." Kevin smiled and nodded. "Okay, I’ll write down the channels for you and slip it under the door before we leave. Tell Nick we said hi."
"Will do."
When the note with the channels and times was passed under the door, I took the key once again and went back to my room (as Bri and Em wouldn’t be there, they would’ve gone to the studios). I got changed quickly and went back to Nick’s room.
Nick slept soundly for the next few hours. At 1pm, I woke him up ‘cos BSB were gonna be on a TV show. I helped Nick to move to the sofa and got him his water and blankets. He laid down and I turned the TV on for him. I felt a bit guilty for waking him, but knew that Nick would’ve been annoyed if I’d left him to sleep through the shows.
"Welcome to…the Backstreet Boys! Guys, welcome to the show!" the presenter of the local TV show said to the four remaining members of the BSB.
"Hi." they all said and shook hands with the guy (Trevor someone).
"Am I counting right here…there’s only four of you!" (Fans were screaming really loudly in the background.)
"Yeah," Kevin replied. "We’re missing Nick today! The poor guy’s feeling a bit under the weather today, but he apologises for not being here and sends out his love to all the fans."
"Oh, poor Nick! Are you gonna send him a get well message?"
"Yeah." Kevin nodded at the others.
"GET WELL SOON BRO’!!" they all shouted.
"That was nice. Okay, so have a seat, and tell me about your tour…" Nick was pleased they’d remembered him.
They said basically the same thing on the other TV show and the radio show.
"Holly, where did they get that ‘Nick apologises and passes on his love’ stuff from?" Nick asked me after their third and final interview.
"Oh, they needed an apology message and I just told them that one. That was all right, wasn’t it?"
"Yeah, it was great. Thanks."
"Can I get you anything else to drink? Anything to eat?"
"No thank you, I’m fine. But Holly, it’s about time you had a rest and stuff. You were running around after me last night and all you’ve been doing today is waiting on me. Sit down, relax, take it easy."
"Well I kinda need a shower, so will you be okay for half an hour while I go shower and wash?"
"Yeah, sure, I’ll be fine."
So I went into Nick’s bathroom and used the shower. It was good to feel the hot, soothing water run down my back. It eased my tense muscles, and soon I was feeling refreshed. I reached for the shampoo when I realised I’d left it back over in the lounge. I’d put it down while I got Nick another glass of water (he told me he didn’t need one, but I wanted to make sure). So I tied a towel around my hair and put the bathrobe back on. I expected to see Nick sitting up on the couch, watching TV, but he wasn’t. At first I thought he was asleep, but then I realised he wasn’t.
"Nick? Nick, can you hear me?" Nick was sprawled out on the couch, but as I shook him gently he moaned slightly. His eyes fluttered open. "Nick, baby, are you okay?" Nick grimaced and made whiny noises. Then he closed his eyes again. I checked his breathing and his pulse and it was fine…but he’d passed out. I tried to make him as comfortable as I could. Then I went to the phone and called the hotel doctor.
"It looks like he’s got a viral infection." the doctor told me. "I’ll prescribe some tablets for him to take. The other thing is, he needs someone to watch him regularly and he needs to stay in bed. No exercise, no dancing," the doctor smiled. "And definitely no performing on stage for the next five days." Nick had woken up, but was now fast asleep again in his room.
"We’re going on the road again tomorrow." I informed the doctor.
"Well this guy isn’t. He’s in no fit state for bus travel. Service station toilets aren’t gonna make him feel too good." The tour buses have everything you could possibly imagine…just not a toilet, and I’d told the doctor this.
"You mean he’s not allowed to travel?"
"Well, I can’t exactly stop him, but my professional opinion is that travelling on a noisy tour bus without it’s own bathroom, is likely to do him more harm than good. I suggest that he doesn’t do any travelling for at least the next two days."
"Okay, thank you very much."
"Here’s his prescription." The doctor handed me a piece of paper. "He needs two of those every eight hours. Not one every four hours, but two every eight hours. Okay?"
"Yup, got it. Thank you once again." I handed him ten dollars.
"My fee will be on the bill." I nodded and saw the doctor out.
I sighed and sank down on the couch. I needed to go out and get Nick’s tablets, but I was afraid to leave him in case he passed out again. I had just closed my eyes, hoping to catch five minutes or so, when Nick called me from his bedroom.
"Holly?" I sighed and walked tiredly into his room. "Could you get me another drink of water please?" I smiled and nodded.
"Sure, hold on." I got Nick some water and sat down next to him on his bed.
"Please could you stroke my hair again? That really helped me to get to sleep." I sighed and nodded. I started to stroke Nick’s soft, blonde hair. Within minutes he was asleep…and so was I. I’d also crashed out on Nick’s bed, sitting up against the head-board.
I was so tired that I didn’t hear when the Backstreet Boys (and their girlfriends) knocked on Nick’s door, and Nick didn’t hear either. They banged and knocked on the door really loudly, but we were both totally out of it. They were a little worried as they knew how ill Nick had been earlier. They asked the people at the check-in desk if Nick and me had gone out (‘cos you have to give your key in every time you leave the hotel), but we hadn’t. So they explained to the desk clerk, and she kindly gave them a spare key, but reminding them that they had to return it later that day.
They went back up to Nick’s room and let themselves in. They entered the bedroom and smiled to themselves when they saw me and Nick fast asleep. Nick was fast asleep under the covers, and I was fast asleep, sitting on top of the covers, leaning my head against the head-board still.
"Aw, bless, they got tired!" AJ teased.
"AJ, shut up! Leave them alone." Emily told him. "From what you’ve told me, neither of them got much sleep last night, okay? So shut up!" They left the bedroom but remained in Nick’s hotel room.
About an hour and a half later, I woke up and walked tiredly into the lounge. I got a bit of a shock when I was greeted by seven people, but I was happy to see them.
"Hey, guys." I said as I yawned.
"Tired?" Emily asked me sympathetically.
"You bet. Oh man, you’ll never guess what happened."
"What?" Kevin asked me.
"I went and had a shower, leaving Nick on the couch watching TV. But when I came back he’d passed out. I had to call the doctor, and he’s prescribed some tablets. Apparently Nick’s got some kinda ‘viral infection’, and he’s not allowed to do any travelling for at least two days."
"But we’re leaving tomorrow afternoon!" Brian exclaimed.
"I know, but Nick’s not allowed to. I’m just telling you what the doctor said, okay, don’t bite my head off."
"We’re not, but we’ve got tour dates tomorrow night, and the next two nights after that. Then we haven’t got any for two days. But then it’s almost Nick’s birthday."
"Well Nick’s not gonna be playing any dates for about five days." They all groaned. "It’s not his fault! It wasn’t the beer, it’s just something he’s picked up. Don’t have a go at him about it, okay?"
"Woah, chill Holly." Sam told me.
"Whatever." I yawned and picked up the phone. I ordered some tea and a large cheese pizza.
"Cheese pizza?!" Howie asked me incredulously.
"Yes. I’m hungry, and Nick might want something to nibble on when he wakes up. The only other thing in this room is Pringles and he’s not having any of them, they’ll make him puke."
"Well we’re going out for dinner in a couple of hours. We have a reservation for nine people at eight o’clock. If Nick’s feeling better later, you two can come. I guess that you’ll wanna stay here and look after him though if he’s unwell still, right?" Brian asked me.
"I very much doubt he’ll be up to it. But anyway, I’m not up to it! Don’t worry about it guys. But you never know, Nick might make a super-recovery. If he does, where shall I tell him to meet you?"
"Just say the lobby at 7:40pm. If he’s not there by 7:50pm then we’ll leave for the restaurant, okay?"
"Sure, no problem. You might see Nick later, then." I saw them outta the room. Emily hung back though.
"Holly, I’ll call you after the meal, okay?"
"Yeah, speak to ya then Em." And then she left.
I slept on the couch until 7:30pm when I heard Nick calling me.
"Coming, Nick." I walked into his room, yawning and rubbing my eyes.
"Sorry, did I wake you?"
"No, of course you didn’t." I lied. I didn’t wanna make him feel guilty about being ill.
"Did the guys come by?"
"Yeah, they did. They said that if you wanna eat with them tonight, meet them in the lobby in…ten minutes." I told him, glancing at my watch.
"Are you going?"
"No, I’m too tired. And besides, I’ve gotta keep an eye on you."
"I’m fine." Nick protested.
"The last time you said that and I left you, I came back to find you passed out on the couch! So there’s no way in hell that I am leaving you, okay?"
"Thanks, Holly."
"The only thing I can say is, sorry it’s me who’s looking after you. I’m sure you’d much rather have Bri come and take care of you, but unfortunately he’s still got all the BSB things to do and…"
"No, I’m glad it’s you. You’re a good carer. Thanks again."
"Well you’ve been a pretty good patient, so thanks for that." I sat down next to him on the bed again. "So, how’re you feeling?"
"A bit better, but not much."
"You don’t fancy any cheese pizza, do you?" I asked him, laughing.
"Not unless you fancy seeing it twice!" Nick joked. We laughed and joked for a little while. Then I saw that Nick was getting a bit sleepy again. I gently stroked his hair and hummed a song. "What’re you humming?" Nick asked me tiredly.
"One of my songs."
"You write songs?" he asked as he yawned loudly.
"Yeah."
"Could you sing it to me?"
"Sure." So I sang my song as I stroked Nick’s hair. Nick went to sleep just as I finished singing the song. I yawned, and looked for somewhere comfortable to sleep. The couch had been all hard and lumpy, so I needed somewhere better. I noticed an arm chair over by the window of the bedroom, so I dragged a blanket over with me, and made myself a little makeshift bed.
I slept right through to around 3am, when I woke to the sound of Nick puking in the bathroom. I hurried over to the bathroom, and as he’d left the door open, I went in.
"Nick? Nick, baby, are you feeling sick again?" Nick was almost crying, his stomach hurt so much. He was just leant over the toilet. I rubbed his back again, like I had before. He needed his anti-viral tablets. But I hadn’t got them for him. And Emily hadn’t rung me. Well, if she had, I hadn’t heard the phone.
I was desperate ‘cos Nick was so ill. So I called Emily. Brian answered the phone.
"Bri? It’s Holly. Look, can you do me a favour?" I asked Brian to come over and keep an eye on Nick while I went out to find a 24-hour pharmacy. He agreed and came straight round…wearing a bathrobe.
"Hey, Holly." Brian yawned.
"Sorry to get you up so late, but he needs the tablets he was prescribed. I didn’t get them earlier, I just forgot. Keep an eye on him, okay? He’s in the bathroom. I’ll be back soon, it depends on how long it takes me to find a drug store that’s open."
"Okay, no problem. But Holly,"
"Yeah?"
"Take care, all right?" I smiled and nodded.
"Sure."
I hurried outta the hotel room, and eventually outta the hotel. It took me about fifteen minutes of hurrying through the streets nearby to find a drug store that was open. I handed them the prescription and they gave me Nick’s tablets. (The doctor had written on the prescription that H. Cooper could collect the prescription for Nick, otherwise they wouldn’t have let me get it for him.) The cashiers kinda raised their eyebrows when they read the name on the prescription - Nickolas Carter. But I just shrugged and paid for it. I then hurried back to the hotel. All in all, it’d taken me about forty-five minutes to go out, get the tablets, and come back again.
When I reached Nick’s room, he was still crouched over the toilet. He was crying a bit too. Brian was rubbing his back (that helps if you’re throwing up), trying to make Nick feel a bit better.
"Nick? Nick, honey, you’ve gotta take two of these for me, okay?" Nick weakly put the tablets in his mouth and swallowed them down with some water. Then Brian and I helped Nick back into bed.
"You’ll be all right now, bro’." Brian reassured Nick. Nick just groaned and a couple more tears rolled down his cheeks. I saw Brian out. "That was a really good thing you did back there."
"Huh?"
"You know, traipsing through the streets at 3am. It was really good of you."
"No, it’s my own stupid fault Nick got so ill back there. I should’ve got his prescription ages ago. I just forgot. That’s not a very good thing, is it?"
"Holly, Nick’s really lucky to have you taking care of him. Really, he is. You’re doing a good job."
"Thanks Bri. You go get some rest, okay? You’ll be shattered tomorrow if you don’t get some sleep."
"I’ll be shattered? You mean you’ll be shattered! Holly, you haven’t slept for more than two hours at a time."
"Don’t worry about me. It’s you who’s doing a concert tomorrow night."
"Holly, stop thinking about others, and consider yourself for a change." I gave Brian a quick hug before he left.
"’Night Bri. And thanks again."
"No problem. See you in the morning." He smiled as he left. I closed the door and hurried back to Nick. He was still crying a little, and was obviously in quite a lot of pain.
"Nick, baby, I’m so sorry I forgot about your prescription." Nick just winced and shook his head. I sat down next to him and stroked his hair once more. I hummed my song, hoping it might help Nick to relax.
"Sing it?" Nick whispered huskily, looking at me. I smiled and nodded.
"Sure." I sang my song to him, and when I’d finished, I sang another one. I must’ve sung to him and stroked his hair for the best part of an hour, before he finally drifted off to sleep. I went back over to my makeshift bed, and tried to sleep. But I felt so guilty about the prescription and all, my sleep was very disturbed. I woke up every half-hour, and when I did, I’d go and quickly check on Nick.
!
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