Justin wasn't really looking forward to his meeting with Dr. Hughes. He had met with him twice a week since being released from the hospital for check ups and for the doctor to get an idea of how Justin was coping. It seemed like the same process over and over and Justin couldn't understand why he had to keep going back. When the cast needed to come off then he could understand having to go in. If something happened or he experienced pain of any kind then he would be more than happy to come in and see Dr. Hughes. But having to go in to the hospital twice a week was just a very unpleasant inconvenience to Justin.
Ryan had to practically drag him out of bed that morning, while Justin whined and complained and thought of every excuse possible to get out of the appointment. Finally Ryan had to go to her last resort. Bribery. She told Justin that if he went to his appointment without complaining or giving her a hard time, that she would make Lois add a Slave-for-a-Day. By Lois. coupon to his book.
That had basically done the trick and Justin had gotten ready rather quickly. He was able to dress himself without getting stuck under the bed this time, and even made his own breakfast, which consisted of a bowl of cereal and orange juice. Of course, he spilled the milk all over the top of the counter, but at least he tried.
Ryan also reminded Justin that he would get to see Doc, since he promised the old man that he would come and visit him after his appointment. Justin perked up at the reminder, thinking of fun little ways to torment his new friend in the shortest time possible.
Pulling into the parking lot of the hospital, Ryan slid her car into a spot by the doors and turned off the engine. Turning to look at Justin, she was faced with a look of melancholy from him. He was staring at his feet, his hands placed gently in his lap as he tapped his shoe against the side of his cast. A steady tapping noise accompanied his actions.
"What's wrong, Justin?" she asked, turning her body to face his.
Justin shrugged. He didn't really know what was wrong. For some reason, he just felt really strange all of a sudden. Ryan was used to his mood swings. He was one of the worse people she knew for that. One moment he would be happy and laughing, the next he would be sulking in a corner.
Ryan continued to stare at him for a long time. He seemed to be off in his own little world, oblivious to his surroundings or even the fact that she was sitting next to him.
Finally he looked up and turned to her. His face was still drawn into a look of deep thought, but his eyes weren't so lost anymore.
"Okay," he whispered quietly as he shook himself out of his trace. "Lets go."
Watching him for a moment longer, Ryan nodded as she stepped out of the car and headed across to help Justin out. By the time she reached his door, he was already standing and placing the crutches under his arms.
They were silent as they headed into the building, familiar nursing staff smiling at them as they headed down the long corridor to Dr. Hughes office.
Entering the small, private waiting room, Justin took a seat by the window while Ryan checked him in.
"Hi. Justin Timberlake is here for his 10:30 appointment." she informed the middle aged secretary at the desk.
Looking down at her schedule, the woman nodded before smiling sweetly back at Ryan. "Okay, thank you. The doctor will see him shortly.
Taking a seat next to Justin, Ryan watched him as he stared out the window silently. He seemed to be deep in thought again, and she wondered what had come over him.
He had been a virtual basket case when they had left that morning, and had been chattering away for the duration of the drive there. Now he was silent and thoughtful, and Justin was very rarely either.
Assuming he was just sulking that he had to yet again see the doctor, Ryan left him alone with his thoughts.
Justin couldn't understand why he was all of a sudden so down. He had felt fine that morning, even making a point to give Ryan a hard time. But for some reason on the way to the hospital, he just sank. He felt physically fine, but his mood had lowered. He figured it was because of the medication, knowing that it had made him rather moody and emotional over the last few weeks. At one point, he even cried at a Pampers commercial because the little baby elephant couldn't get over the tree stump.
"Mr. Timberlake?" a voice called to Justin.
Turning to face the secretary, Justin awoke from his thoughts.
"The doctor will see you now."
Nodding, Justin stood up and headed for the office door.
Ryan stayed in the waiting room, casually flipping through a magazine.
Opening the door to the office, Justin poked his head inside. "Dr. Hughes?"
"Come in, Justin." the doctor greeted him happily.
Slipping the rest of the way inside, Justin closed the door behind him before hopping over to a chair across from a large oak desk in the middle of the room.
"Please, sit down." Dr. Hughes extended a hand towards the chair, inviting Justin to take a seat.
Sliding down into the chair, Justin placed his crutches on the floor beside him and began to squirm nervously in his seat.
"So, how are you feeling today?" Dr. Hughes asked as he sat behind his desk.
"Not bad." Justin nodded as he looked around the office like he had many times before.
Huge bookshelves lined the walls on either side of him filled with hundreds of medial books, as a huge picture window backed the desk where the doctor currently sat. Framed diplomas and credentials adorned the walls along with pictures of his family. It was the typical doctors office.
"So, have you been experiencing any pain? Discomfort?" the doctor asked as he flipped through Justins file.
"Nope. Ive been feeling pretty good, actually." Justin informed as his eyes locked on a picture of Dr. Hughes little girl. She appeared to be around the age of seven, hugging a tiny kitten close to her chest.
"Have you been taking your medication as directed? Getting enough sleep?"
"Yup."
The doctor nodded as he scribbled more notes in the file. He had asked the same initial questions at every meeting he had with Justin. And every time, he was told the same.
"Okay, Justin. Lets take a look at you and make sure everything is in working order." the doctor instructed as he stood from behind his desk.
Justin slid out of the chair and across the office to a door at the side which led to a small examining room. The walls were white, with a tiny counter and sink, cabinets and small examining table. The typical doctors examining room.
Hopping up onto the table carefully, Justin slid his leg out across the surface as he had at every meeting. The doctor began to feel Justins leg, asking if he felt any discomfort or pain at any spot.
Leaning back, Justin removed his shirt while the doctor checked his healing ribs.
Luckily, Justin had been behaving himself and not putting unnecessary pressure on his ribs. They were healing nicely, and Dr. Hughes felt that as long as Justin kept to his routine, that he would be healthy enough to rejoin rehearsals by the time Johnny had suggested.
"Well, Justin." the doctor said as he stood back to allow Justin to sit up and pull his shirt back over his head. "Looks like everything is good. If you keep this up, you'll be back in top shape and on that stage in no time."
Justin grinned at the thought. It was funny to him that when he was on the road, all he wanted was time off. To sit back and relax without having to worry about press or meetings or concerts. Now here he was with that exact scenario and all he wanted was to be back out on that stage, performing for his fans.
"I'm going to make you another appointment for a week Friday, and if all is good at that meeting, then I will probably schedule you in to have your cast removed the following Monday. Sound good to you?" the doctor called from over his shoulder as he scribbled more notes into Justins file.
"That sounds great!" Justin exclaimed. His mood immediately brightened at the thought of having the cast removed. He had gotten pretty used to it, but that didn't mean that he didn't want it off as soon as possible.
"Well, is there anything else you need to know. Any questions or concerns?" Dr. Hughes asked as he straightened to look at the young man on the table across from him.
Justin smiled at the doctor. No matter how much he hated having to come to these meetings, he had to admit that he liked Dr. Hughes. He had helped him through the toughest time in his life, and was always willing to answer any questions Justin had, no matter how stupid. He hadn't even laughed at him when Justin had asked if his one leg was going to be shorter than the other because of the break.
"No, I think I'm good." Justin smiled appreciatively.
"Alrighty then, you're free to go. If you have any problems you know the drill. Just call or drop in at any time." the doctor extended a hand, which Justin took without hesitation.
Saying their goodbyes, Justin returned to the waiting room to find Ryan right where he had left her.
Raising her eyes to Justin, Ryan noticed immediately the change in his mood. He was smiling, and seemed to be much more at ease and happy.
Tossing the magazine onto the table top beside her, she stood and walked up to him.
"Well? How did it go?" she asked.
"Great." Justin exclaimed happily. "He says everything is cool and I have another appointment next Friday. If everything is good, then Ill be gettin' this cast off the next Monday!"
"Great!" she said as she reached up to hug him close.
Pulling back, Justin smiled down at his cast leg. "I'm gonna keep the cast, though. All these signatures and artwork on here is a cool souvenir."
Ryan laughed as she looked down at Justins cast. Everyone had signed it a few days after Justins accident. All the guys, his mother, Lois and the girls, and even Doc. A few days later, Joey and Chris were bored out of their minds while Justin was sleeping and decided to draw all over the cast with magic markers they had borrowed from the children's ward. Justin woke up to shining suns, flowers and happy little people smiling up at him. Chris and Joey had been so proud at their creation that Justin hadn't had the heart to bitch at them for drawing on him while he slept. He even joined in and did some of his own artwork. It had become a fun pass time for everyone, whenever they were bored they would draw on his cast. Lois had written out little sayings, like her infamous "Life, my friends, is not a Mentos commercial" and had even drawn Justin a portrait of himself. Of course, it looked nothing like him other than the frizzy hair, but at least she tried.
Heading out of the waiting room, Ryan and Justin turned down the hall towards the elevators which would carry them to Docs floor.
Justin felt so much better after talking to Dr. Hughes, that he completely forgot about his depressed mood earlier that day. Ryan was glad that he was out of his junk, because he was a pain in the ass when he was depressed. He would usually whine more than normal, and she didn't want to have to kill him only days before his cast was removed.
Stepping out onto the desired floor, Justin shuffled out and into the hall.
Stepping up to the nurses desk, he smiled flirtatiously down at a familiar young nurse.
"Hel-lo, nurse!" he teased.
Looking up at Justin with a wry grin, she laughed. "Very original, Justin." she taunted.
Looking around his old floor, Justin sighed. "Ah, the memories."
"I bet. You have no idea how nice it is around here now that we don't have to listen to your complaining." the nurse teased as she stood to file a patients records in the cabinet across the office. "For the first few days, we didn't know what to do with ourselves since we didn't have to pacify you."
Justin laughed dramatically at her, stopping suddenly to give her a stern look. She giggled before handing him a lollipop.
Justin grinned happily as he took the sucker from her. "Aw, you remembered."
"Of course. How could I forget the day out almost took out the lollipop man when he forgot to bring your favorite flavor?" she teased.
"Hey! I just asked him why in the hell he could forget the grape suckers! I mean, its the best kind, damn it!" he pointed.
"Whatever you say Justin." she nodded as she returned to her work.
Looking between the two, Ryan shook her head. She could only imagine the things that went on around there when she wasn't around to keep Justin in line. She felt some odd sense of sympathy for the staff, feeling that she should apologize for Justins behavior.
Justin winked at the nurse one last time before hobbling down the hall towards Docs room.
Stopping at the door, Justin waiting for a moment before bursting into the room, singing "My boyfriends back and your gonna be in trouble......hey ya, hey ya, my boyfriends back......"
His song was cut short as he entered the room to find it empty.
Docs jacket that was usually tossed over the back of the chair in the corner was gone, as was his cane which could normally be found hanging from the side of the table by the window.
The pictures of his wife and family were gone, as was his deck of cards, candy bars, and books.
His bed was made, with the edges turned down neatly.
Looking around the room, Justin couldn't stop the confused look from crossing his face.
Ryan entered the room behind him, laughing at his song before stopping to mimic his expression as she looked around the empty room.
Venturing into the room further, Justin called out. "Doc?"
No answer.
"Doc, where are you, you old fart?" he repeated in a louder voice. Maybe Doc didn't have his hearing aid in.
As Justin went to call Doc again, a nurse entered the room, fresh pillows in her arms.
"Hey Justin." the familiar nurse greeted solemnly.
"Hey Maureen." he replied as he took another look around the room. "Where's Doc?"
Placing the pillows gently on the bed, she looked up at him. Her eyes were sad, as her face dropped. "You didn't hear?"
"Hear what?" Ryan asked as she joined Justins side.
Maureen dropped her eyes for a moment. She knew this was going to be hard on Justin, since he and Doc had grown so close. Doc had rambled on and on to her the evening before about the day he had spent with Justin. How they had gone to his favorite park, and talked the day away. He had said to her that it was the most fun he had had in a very long time.
"I'm sorry, Justin," she said as she brought her eyes to his. "Doc died last night."
