Three days had passed, and finally Justin had assured Ryan that he was alright and that she should go home at night and sleep in her own bed. He hated to watch her try and sleep on the chairs in his hospital room, knowing that it couldn't be comfortable. She protested, but knew that he was doing much better and that there was no need for her to be with him twenty four hours a day.
Johnny had come to see Justin a few days earlier, and explained that the press had only just then gotten hold of the story about his accident. They quickly went over a statement, which would be released to MTV and several other news sources around the country. Luckily, they made their statement quickly, setting the fears and concerns of his fans at ease.
In the few days that Justin had been in the hospital, there had been thousands of flowers, cards and notes from fans all over the world sent to their fan club. All his fans wanted him to know that he was in their thoughts, and their dedication to him amazed Ryan. Most of these people had never met him, but still they loved him and cared for him like they would a friend or family member.
Ryan had spent at least an hour or so each day with Doc, usually while Justin slept. She found herself becoming quite attached to the old man, seeing more and more of her grand father in him every day. She played cards with him, listened to his stories of the war, and even brought over Justins CD walk man for Doc to hear one of NSyncs songs.
She smiled as she watched him bob his head to the music. His hands placed on the headphones over his ears, his small body bopped to the sounds. When the song ended, he removed the headphones and placed them on the table in front of him.
"Well, I'm not too sure what they were sayin', but it had a good beat." he smiled sweetly at Ryan. "I think I could get a grove on to that."
She laughed at Docs choice of words.
"What? You don't think I have a grove?" he asked her, giving her a challenging glance. "Watch this."
Standing up from his seat, Doc shuffled to the middle of the room, and began to shake his rear back and forth, rocking his arms to a beat only he could hear. Ryan was laughing so hard her stomach began to hurt.
"Doc, what are you doing?" A nurse called from the doorway. "You're going to break your hip!"
"Aw, don't be a party pooper Maureen." he whined as she set him back in his bed. "We were just having a little fun." Doc winked at Ryan, who sat at the table smiling at him.
"Well, its time for your pills, so you're fun is going to have to be postponed for a little bit." The nurse grinned at the old man as she handed him three pills and a glass of water. He swallowed them down quickly before handing the empty glass back to the nurse.
"He's going to have to rest for a little while, Ryan. Justin is awake, and asked if he's going to have to fight Doc for your attention." the nurse smiled between the old man and Ryan.
"Tell him Ill take him on anywhere, anytime." Doc said from his bed.
Ryan laughed at his antics. Doc had come across to visit Justin a few times during his stay, and the two had clicked instantly. They would ramble on about cars and sports, and things that Ryan couldn't even begin to understand. They were too cute to watch. Doc had even flirted with Justins mom, to which Lynn called him an old charmer.
He had flirted with Lois as well, causing her to flirt right back. Lois would flirt with anyone, and Ryan knew that it had made the old mans day. "She's a cute one" he said when Lois left the room. "A little scary, but cute."
Standing from her chair, Ryan tugged on Docs toes before saying her goodbyes. "Ill stop in before I head home, okay?"
"You better. And tell that Justin boy to quit hoggin' the attention. I'm cuter than he is, anyway." Doc winked at Ryan as she smiled at him before exiting the room.
Closing the door behind her, Ryan turned to the nurse who had given Doc his medicine.
"Excuse me," she called. "Can I ask you something?"
"Sure, hon." the nurse answered, looking up from her cart of pills to smile at Ryan.
"What's wrong with Doc? I mean, why is he here? He seems to be fine."
The nurses smile dropped. "Well, his heart isn't so good. He had a heart attack a couple of years back, but recovered quite nicely. Unfortunately, he had another one a few weeks ago, and the doctors are still concerned about the condition of his heart. He's eighty-five years old, and even though he is very active, they aren't sure how much longer he's going to be able to hold out."
Ryan felt her heart break at the information being told to her. Doc seemed to happy and healthy, she never would have guessed that he was this ill. He hadn't had to have the IV in since the first day she met him, and was always walking about the ward, chatting with other patients and staff. He was that floors social butterfly, and everyone adored him.
Thanking the nurse, Ryan headed into Justins room.
He lay quietly on his bed, eyes closed peacefully. His breathing was deep, and Ryan assumed that he had fallen back asleep.
Walking over to the table by the window, she picked the remote up and turned on the TV. Muting the sound, she flipped through the channels. Deciding on Friends, she set the remote back on the table and pulled another chair in front of her to place her feet on.
She had only been watching for a few moments before she heard sounds coming from Justins bed. They were faint at first, just small whimpers. He would occasionally flinch, his head jerking slightly. Within a few seconds, he was calling out, a tear falling from his eye.
"Justin, wake up." Ryan called, standing quickly from her chair to race to Justins side.
He jumped up slightly, his eyes popping open to look around the room frantically. Resting his eyes on Ryan, he sucked his bottom lip into his mouth.
"It happened again." he whispered, looking down at his feet. "It was so real."
Sitting on the edge of his bed, Ryan wrapped her arms around his shoulders, pulling him close to her. "What? What happened again?" she asked softly.
"The accident. I dreamt it all over again." his voice was quiet, his arms wrapping around her tightly.
"You're okay. Its all over." she assured him, stroking his hair gently. He didn't reply to her, instead he pulled her onto the bed with him, leaning his head down on her shoulder. She placed a hand on the back of his head, running her fingers soothingly through his curly hair.
She had never seen Justin scared before. And it frightened her a little to see him this way. He was always so strong, his strength making her feel stronger. But now she had to be the strong one. She had to be strong for him, and help him through this.
Gently rubbing a hand along his arm which was placed across her stomach, she eased him back to sleep.
"Aw, aren't they cute." Lois whispered softly to Joey as they stared at the two in the bed.
"Yeah." Joey grinned down at them. "Wanna wake 'em up?"
"Naw, we better let Justin sleep. But we can wake Ryan up. We need to be entertained." she answered, stepping up to the bedside. Reaching over, Lois clamped her fingers over Ryans nose. She snickered evilly as Ryan shook her head, trying to free herself from Lois. Opening her eyes, she jumped slightly to find Joey and Lois standing over her. Justin was still sleeping beside her, rolled on his side with his back to her. A soft snore sounded through the room, signaling that he was deep asleep.
"What do you want?" Ryan whispered angrily at the two standing above her.
"Entertain us." Joey whined playfully. "Everyone else has gone home, and we're bored."
"Yeah, Joeys already eaten all the candy Lance brought for Justin, so he's got nothin' to do." Lois commented.
"What! You ate some too!" he pouted, pinching her arm.
"Shhh!" Ryan scolded as she gently rolled off the bed and on to her feet. Stretching her arms over her head, she yawned. "What time is it?"
"Almost six. Visiting hours are almost over, so we wanted to see if you wanted to do something tonight." Lois said as she began to flip through Justins CDs which were scattered across the night stand beside his bed.
Looking around the room tiredly, Ryan nodded. "Yeah, sure. Let me leave a note for Justin, and go say bye to Doc first." Writing a quick note to Justin telling him that she would be back in the morning, she gathered her purse and coat before heading for the door.
"Oh, I wanna see Doc too!" Joey bounced happily. "Last time, he gave me a really good pick up line!"
Ryan rolled her eyes at him before heading across the hall to Docs room. Knocking gently on the door, she stepped inside to find him already smiling at her from his bed.
"Well, hello there." he sang happily. "Good to see that you didn't forget a poor old man."
"How could we forget you, you got me a date last night!" Joey said as he followed Ryan into the room. Lois stepped in behind them, smiling flirtatiously down at Doc.
"Yeah, the poor girl was so confused as to why Joey was tellin' her that he was getting shipped out in the morning and may die in the war, that she felt bad for him and agreed to go out with him." Lois teased as she stepped up to kiss Doc on the cheek. "How's our favorite neighbor today?"
"Great." Doc smiled up at her. "You been behaving yourself?"
"Of course not" she grinned cheekily.
"Good." Doc winked up at her.
"Well, we're heading home. Visiting hours are over so we're just saying goodnight. I'll be back tomorrow, so you better get ready to have your butt kicked at cards again." Ryan said as she tugged on Docs toes.
"Ill be ready and waitin'" he smiled at her.
After saying their goodnights to Doc, the three friends left the room and headed through the hospital for the parking lot.
"So, where do ya'll wanna go?" Ryan asked as they stepped out into the cool evening air.
"We just thought we would go back to Lois' place and order a pizza. JC said he's gonna stop by later, and Cheryl is waiting for our phone call." Joey answered as he pulled his car keys from his pocket. "Everyone else already had plans."
"Sounds good to me. Ill meet ya there." Ryan called as she stepped up to her car.
"See ya there." Lois waved as she tried to open the door to Joeys car. "Joey!" she yelled, yanking on the door handle. "Open the door!"
Ryan could see Joey laughing from inside the car, taunting Lois as she glared at him.
"Fine," she said, her hands placed angrily on her hips. "You just wait until the next time you need your pants sewn up after you rip the ass out of them at a concert! We'll see how careful I am with a needle then, buddy!"
Joey reached over and opened the door quickly, knowing that Lois didn't joke around when she made threats.
Ryan smiled to herself and she hopped in her car and pulled out of the parking lot.
Heading out onto the highway, she smiled as she remembered the last time Joey ripped the ass out of his pants.
Lois had been sitting out by the stage, watching their performance when they ran back for a costume change. Joey ran up to her immediately, saying that he had ripped the ass out of his pants.
They didn't have any extra pants ready for him, so Lois was forced to sew the rip in the ones Joey was wearing, while they were still on him. It was quite a sight to watch her bent down at his crotch, needle in hand, while he changed shirts above her.
Joey was careful not to tease or start a fight with Lois when she was in such a position. He knew that she wouldn't have any problem sticking him with the needle, having learned that lesson the hard way.
Pulling up to Lois' house, Ryan smiled when she saw Lois and Joey out in the driveway, yelling at each other from across the car.
As she stepped out of her car, she laughed out loud at the first words to hit her ears.
"I did not grab your penis, Joey!" Lois screamed across the top of the car.
"Yes you did!" Joey pointed at her accusingly. "I just didn't mention it incase you stuck me with the needle! But I know I felt a full out grope going on down there!"
"That was your hand, Joey! You kept pushing mine away cause you were scared I was going to poke you!" she defended.
"And you did!"
"Because you pissed me off! And if you keep bitching at me, I'm gonna find another needle and poke you again!"
Ryan laughed out loud at the crazy conversation taking place in front of her.
The sound of laughter turned Lois' angry eyes away from Joey to smile at Ryan.
"Well, he deserved it." she said plainly as she headed towards the house.
"I'm sure he did." Ryan agreed as she followed Lois to the door.
Joey pouted as he followed them inside, closing the door behind him.
Lois headed in to the kitchen to order the pizza and call Cheryl, while Ryan and Joey sat in the living room.
"So, you feeling okay?" he asked as he flopped down on the couch. Grabbing the remote, he turned on the TV and began searching through the channels.
"Yeah. I'm a little tired, but pretty good." Ryan stretched her arms over her head as she sat down in one of the large plush chairs. "I think Justins doing much better."
Joey nodded in response as he landed on the movie The Fast and the Furious. Leaning back further into the couch, he propped his feet up on the coffee table in front of him.
"Get your stinky feet off my table, Joey. I don't need you staining the top." Lois teased as she entered the room and sat next to him on the couch.
"I don't have stinky feet. That's Justin." Joey corrected as he grinned at the TV.
Lois rolled her eyes before turning to Ryan. "So, have your parents been to see Justin yet?"
"Yup. They came and saw him yesterday. Katie jabbered on about something to do with a goldfish while my parents talked to him about how he was feeling." Ryan answered as she watched Paul Walkers cute little car be blown up.
"Hey, I meant to ask you this a while ago." Lois said, pulling her feet under her. "Did you ever find out what happened to the guy to hit Justin?"
Ryan turned to look at Lois. She hadn't realized that they hadn't actually talked about it. No one else had asked, and she was probably the only one who knew.
"Yeah," she said, pulling her feet beneath her to match Lois' position. "He suffered a broken arm, three broken ribs and a bump on the head. He was released the next morning."
"Are there going to be any charges?" Lois asked as she shot Joey an annoyed glance. He was bouncing his butt on the couch along with the music in the movie, the motions causing her to bounce as well.
"I don't know." Ryan shrugged. She didn't really want to be talking about this, so she was glad when the doorbell rang.
"I got it!" Lois yelled as she jumped off the couch and raced for the door. Opening it quickly, she smiled at JC. "Hey there, cutie."
"Hey." he smiled back at her. "I brought chips and stuff. Lord knows Joey wont be filled up with just pizza."
"I heard that, dickweed!" Joey called from the living room.
Just as Lois was about to close the door, Cheryl came running up the walk. "Don't leave me out here!" she yelled as she jumped inside. "I think I heard somethin' out there!"
"Are you still afraid of the dark?" JC laughed as she slammed the door behind her and looked out the window.
"Well, if you hadn't jumped out at me that night and scared the shit out of me, I would be over it by now!" Cheryl hit JC on the arm, causing him to laugh at her again.
"Hey, it was Chris' idea." he defended.
"Whatever." Cheryl pouted as she headed for the living room. "Hey, Ry."
"Hey, girl." Ryan waved at Cheryl as she hopped down beside Joey.
"Ugh, Joey!" she complained. "Does Lois know your feet are burning a hole in her table?"
"Shut up! They are not!" he whined. Pulling his foot up to his face, he sniffed. "They don't stink. See?" he asked as he shoved his foot in Cheryls face.
"Get those things away from me!" Cheryl screamed as she scooted across to the far end of the couch.
JC and Lois entered the living room, laughing over something they had been talking about. JC sat in the chair next to Ryan, while Lois sat between Cheryl and Joey.
"So, the pizza should be here in about twenty minutes." Lois stated, looking around the room. "What do you guys wanna do?"
"Doesn't matter." JC yawned. It was not even seven and he was yawning already.
"Hey!" Joey yelled, turning to the others in the room. "Anyone wanna play Monopoly?"
"Sure. Its better than the time you made us play Hi Ho Cherry-O" Lois commented as she stood to go find her game of Monopoly.
Monopoly had been a crew tradition even before Ryan had joined the team. Every night, she would find at least one group of people playing the game. She didn't know why they had such a fascination with it, but had to admit that it was fun to play.
When Lois returned with the game, they moved the coffee table aside and sat out around the floor with the game in the middle.
Within seconds, Lois and Joey were fighting over who got to be the thimble. JC and Cheryl watched them quietly, while Ryan found herself thinking of Justin.
She felt bad at the thought of him waking up all alone. He had been so scared when he woke from his nightmare, that she was afraid he would have another and she wouldn't be there to help him.
Her worrying was cut short by a metal game piece being thrown across the room at her.
"Here," Cheryl called. "Since these two cant play nicely, you get to be the thimble."
Ryan smiled down at her tiny game piece before looking up at the others. Justin always insisted on being the thimble whenever they played Monopoly.
"Sounds good to me." she smiled as she set her thimble on the board.
