Ryan ran into the room, her heart racing.
Pushing the curtain aside, she stopped. She looked around the room confused for a moment before her eyes fell to Justin.
"Hey." he smiled up at her. "Nice of ya to show up."
"What the hell were you yelling at!?" she yelled, throwing her arms up in frustration.
"He cheated!" Justin exclaimed, pointing to Doc accusingly.
"Don't be a sore loser, sonny." Doc scolded as he pulled candy towards him. "You're just bitter because an old man beat you at cards."
Ryan could only stare at the two. Justin lay on his bed, cards in his hand and candy in his lap. The small table which was usually over by the window was now at his bedside, with Doc sitting at it with a pile of candy in front of him. A small pile of popcorn, chips and Herseys Kisses sat in the middle of the table, as Doc reached out and pulled them towards him.
"You were late, so Justin here offered to be my card partner." Doc explained as he added the candy to his pile. "Now he's pouting because he's losing."
"I am not pouting! You cheated!" Justin whined, tossing his cards into his lap.
"Why were you yelling for help?" Ryan asked, still confused.
"Aw, he's been whining to all the nursing staff for the last hour. He's called them in here at least four times to have them check my sleeves for hidden cards." Doc explained as he shot Justin a taunting glance.
Justin only crossed his arms over his chest, sticking his bottom lip out in a definite Timberlake pout.
Ryan laughed at the sight they made. Here was an eighty-five year old man, candy piled high around him as a twenty-one year old sat in a bed pouting. Of all the times to be without a camera.
"What took you so long?" Justin finally spoke up, glaring at Doc from the corner of his eye.
"I slept in." Ryan said as she tossed her purse and coat into a chair before coming up to kiss Justin on the cheek. Pulling back, she smiled at the cute expression on Docs face. "Lois made me come over and play Monopoly with her, Cheryl, JC and Joey last night."
"Did you win?" Justin asked, rubbing the back of her hand with his thumb.
"No, Joey cheated."
"Looks like Doc taught him more than pick up lines, then." Justin jabbed, shooting the old man another glare. Docs only response was to mouth the word 'bitter'.
Sitting in a chair at Justins bedside, Ryan looked around the room. "Where is everyone?"
"They were here for a little while this morning, but they had to go. Lois is working on stuff for the new tour, so she made JC and Joey go with her for some fittings. Lance had some appointment, and Chris went out for McDonalds over an hour ago and hasn't come back yet. He probably got lost in the parking lot again." Justin explained as he popped a piece of popcorn in his mouth.
Ryan nodded before looking down at the candy that surrounded Justin and Doc. "Where did you get all this junk food?" she asked.
"It was part of Chris' hospital survival kit. There bags of it in the drawer over there." Justin pointed to the night stand behind Doc.
"What you got there?" Doc asked, looking over at the bag in Ryans hand.
"Cookies. I ran into Ralph in the elevator and figured it would be better to get them now before Joey sent me out on a wild cookie hunt." she giggled as she opened the bag.
"Hmm, is there one in there for me?" he asked, giving her his best 'cute old man' grin.
"Of course." Ryan smiled as she pulled out a huge chocolate chip cookie.
Passing it over to Doc, Ryan pulled out another cookie and handed it to Justin.
Justin looked at his cookie, then over at Docs, and back at his again. "His is bigger than mine!" he whined.
"Thank you for noticing." Doc teased.
Justins eyes widened at the perverted meaning of Docs comment. "Dude, don't say stuff like that around my girlfriend!"
"What? Afraid she'll leave you for me?" Doc asked, wiggling his eyebrows at Ryan.
Justin just gaped at him, before turning his attention back to his cookie. "His is still bigger than mine." he pouted.
"Ugh!" Doc groaned. Grabbing his cookie, he took bites around the edges before looking over at Justin. "There! They are the same size now!" Looking over at Ryan, who was trying her best not to laugh at their antics, he looked at her confused. "How do you put up with him?"
"He's a charity case. We're all paid to be his friends by out record company so he doesnt look like a loser." a taunting voice called from the door.
Joey bounced happily into the room, before looking at the cookies in Doc and Justins hands. "Hey!" he whined. "Where mine?"
Ryan rolled her eyes before tossing the bag to Joey. "Here!" she smiled. "I got you six, but these two took a couple."
"Dudes, give me back my cookies!" Joey demanded, walking up to the two.
Justin and Doc shot each other evil glances before licking their cookies. Holding them out towards Joey, Justin grinned. "Here ya go."
"Ew, you guys are gross." Joey complained before sitting on the floor in the corner to eat his cookies.
Lois and JC wandered into the room, their eyes scanning the people inside. Things got stranger each time they entered this room. First it was Chris sleeping in a bag, and now it was Justin and Doc surrounded by candy, with Joey sitting in the corner eating cookies.
"Why am I friends with you people?" Lois asked as she ventured deeper into the room cautiously.
"Because you want me" Joey grinned, his mouth full of cookie.
"What I want is for your butt to quit ripping the ass out of pants! I swear, Ry, I would be a happy woman if he would just stop doin' that!" Lois whined as she stepped up to stand above Joey.
"Did he do it again?" Ryan asked, smiling across the room at Lois.
"Yes, he did!" Lois looked down and kicked Joeys leg before continuing. "I put him in a really cool pair of leather pants. Then Mr. Brilliant over here decides to see how far he can bend in them, and rip! The ass is tore out of them!"
"Well," Joey spoke up, cookie crumbs on his chin. "At least I didn't whine when you walked in on me in the change room." he said, giving JC a teasing look.
"Dude, I was in my underwear!" JC defended. "She just barged right on in. What if I had been naked or something?"
"Then I would have made sure to make good use of the fact that the change room door locked." Lois stated plainly as she sat in a chair beside Doc.
"Girl, you gotta stop doin' that!" JC whined. "You do it all the freaking time!"
"I do not!" she protested.
Giving her a get-real look, JC placed his hands on his hips. "You've done it almost every week since Ive met you!"
"See how they pick on me, Doc?" Lois said, giving Doc her best innocent look.
"Now don't you boys be bothering my Lois." Doc reprimanded. Lois smiled up at JC triumphantly.
"Doc, she's not as innocent as she appears." JC explained. "One time, I came out of the shower to find her sitting in my hotel room watching a movie." JC paused to shoot Lois a glare. "She said her TV didn't work as well as mine, but I think it was because she wanted to see me in a towel."
"If I remember correctly, JC, I saw you in a whole lot less than a towel that night." Lois grinned.
The entire room turned their eyes to JC, who stared at her in shock. "Because you ripped the towel off!" he pointed. "I swear, ya'll, nothin' happened!"
"Yeah, but I will never forget that night." Lois sighed as she waved her hand in front of her face. "Pheph, do ya'll know what he's hidin' under those baggy clothes?" she asked, turning her eyes to Justin. "Why else do you think I put him in those tight red pants on the NSA tour?"
JCs jaw dropped as she continued to fan herself with her hand. "You stay away from me." he said, pointing to Lois in warning.
"Aw, now don't be like that." she said, turning to follow him with her eyes as he cross the room to stand beside Ryan. "I swear that today was just an accident."
"That's why you had your camera with you?" JC asked, raising an eyebrow at her.
"Call it an intentional coinsidence." she shrugged as she grabbed a Herseys Kiss from the table and popped it in her mouth. "So, Justin, how you feelin'?"
"Not bad." he said, readjusting his position on the bed. "My chest has been hurting a little today, but other than that I'm fine."
"Have you told the doctors?" Ryan asked, looking down at him concerned.
"Naw, its okay." he said, dismissing her concern. "I think its just because Ive been stuck in this bed all week. Ya'll, I'm young and virile. I need to be out and movin'!"
"Me too!" Doc spoke up, slamming his hand on the table in front of him.
The room erupted into laughter as a nurse stepped through the door.
"What's all this?" she asked, looking down at the candy surrounding her two patients.
"Um," Justin said, looking like a child who was just caught with his hand in the cookie jar. "Its his!" he yelled, pointing to Doc.
"Oh sure, blame the old one." Doc whined as he smacked Justins finger away playfully.
"Well, you two better behave. It was bed enough that you tormented the nursing staff last night with your bickering. Don't make me have to separate you." the nurse warned as she checked Justins pulse.
"Yes ma'am." they replied in unison.
After giving Joey a confused look as he sat on the floor with his cookies, the nurse left the room.
"Well, Justin." Doc said, standing from his chair. "I better go visit some other people. Their day wont be complete without a visit from me."
"Later Doc. Don't forget about the Batman marathon at four!" Justin called as Doc shuffled across the room.
"Ill be here!" he smiled happily before he winked at Ryan and left the room.
Smiling down at Justin, Ryan ran a hand through his hair. "You two have been spending a lot of time together." she said.
"Yeah. He's awesome." Justin grinned. "Well, when he's not cheatin' at cards."
They small group chatted quietly for a while before Lance and Chris appeared in the room.
"Chris, dude!" Justin said. "You left for food hours ago! What the hell took you so long?"
"I couldn't find my damn car!" Chris whined as he tossed a bag of McDonalds on the table. "Why does this hospital have to have so many levels?"
No one bothered to answer Chris' question. It was one of those things that he would surely turn into a huge debate, like the time he asked why the tour bus had a strange smell and the conversation turned into why they didnt sell hair gel for dogs.
"Dude!" Chris yelled, looking down at Joey. Stomping over to him, Chris reached down and picked up the now empty cookie bag. "You ate all the damn cookies!"
"You weren't here!" Joey defended.
Justin began laughing hysterically at the commotion of his friends. He laughed even harder when a nurse came in and told them to quiet down.
Suddenly, Justin felt his chest tighten. He placed a hand over his stomach, as he gasped in pain. His head fell back on to the pillow beneath his shoulders, as he groaned.
Ryan looked over at him, concern and fear crossing her face. "Justin?"
He only gritted his teeth in response. The tightness in his chest was increasing with each breath he took.
"Justin!" she yelled. "Joey, get the nurse."
Joey ran out of the room, calling down the hall to any staff that may be around.
"Justin, look at me." Ryan said, standing from her chair to hover over his body. "What's wrong?"
He couldn't answer her even if he had tried. A sharp, stabbing pain surged through his chest, intensifying with each breath or movement.
As he tried to take a breath, a sharp pain stabbed through his chest again, and he screamed out in agony.
