Ryan paced nervously around the waiting room, chewing on her nails as her mind raced with thoughts of what was going on in the room down the hall. It had been over an hour, and there had not been one update on Justins condition. She was driving herself crazy with worry, and if she wasnt driving herself crazy, then Chris was.
He sat in a chair in the corner of the waiting room, changing his position in the seat every few seconds. First, his legs were crossed. Then uncrossed. Then he rested his elbow on his knee, propping his head up with his hand. Then his foot was bouncing out of control, gyrating his entire body. Ryan knew he was hyper, but when he was worried, he was spastic.
Lance and JC sat quietly across the room, both staring ahead at the wall in front of them. Neither said a word, or moved at all.
Joey was constantly getting up from his seat to get something from the vending machines. As soon as he would finish his chocolate, chips or pop, he would get up and get more.
Lois tried reading a magazine for the first fifteen minutes, but that didn't last long. Now she was pacing around the room, fidgeting with the hem of her shirt.
Justins mom had been called as soon as the nurses and doctor entered Justins room. She arrived twenty minutes later, and was even more frantic than Ryan. She sat quietly in the corner, a hand placed over her eyes. No one bothered to try and comfort her. Mama Lynn was a strong woman, and didn't like anyone trying to pacify her.
Ryan didn't know how much more of this she could take. It was bad enough not knowing what was wrong with Justin to begin with, but couldn't they just send someone out to at least tell them that he was alright? If they just knew that he was okay, then this waiting wouldn't seem quite so unbearable.
Sitting down hard into a chair, Ryan sighed loudly. She dropped her head into her hands, propping them up on her knees as she stared at the floor between her feet. She thought nothing would ever compare to the fear she felt when she had learned Justin had been in an accident, but this came pretty close. This time, she had heard his pain, seen the agony in his eyes, and had been unable to do anything to help him.
Ryan felt the chair beside her move, as Lois sat down next to her. Looking over at Ryan, she tried to give her a reassuring smile. "I'm sure he's fine." she said. "They are probably just being really thorough in checking him over."
Ryan only nodded in response. She knew Lois was just trying to help, but she didn't want to be reassured. What she wanted was for someone to come out of that damn room and tell her for sure that Justin was fine.
Staring hard at the carpet between her feet, she heard a door open down the hall. Her head flew up from her hands, looking down the hall with wide eyes. Her heart fell slightly when she noticed that it was only Doc, shuffling out of his room and down the hall towards them.
As he entered the waiting room, he looked around at the concerned faces of his new friends. "No word yet, huh?" he asked as he headed for a chair beside JC.
"No." Lance responded. "We've been waiting for almost an hour. No one has even come out to tell us if he is alright."
Sitting down carefully, Doc nodded in understanding. "That's the way doctors are sometimes. I'm sure he's going to be just fine. I know I don't know him as well as you all, but I think he's a strong kid. He'll pull through this just fine, you'll see."
The small group sat in silence for a long while. All their thoughts were the same, yet no one voiced a single concern. It was one thing to have to think about what was going on, and a completely different situation having to talk about it.
Just when Ryan thought she couldn't take it anymore, the door to Justins room opened. Her eyes shot down the hall, locked on the now open door as she waited to see who would come out.
Dr. Hughes walked out slowly, followed by two of the nursing staff. He stopped at the door, turning to the nurses as he signed something on a clipboard and discussed something quietly to them.
Turning to look down to the end of the hall and into the waiting room, Dr.. Hughes noticed the group of concerned faces staring back at him. Ryan felt her pulse quicken as he headed for them. She wanted to know so badly what was going on with Justin, but now that she was about to find out, she didn't know if she really wanted to know. What if it was bad news? What if something else had happened? What if there had been more complications and he was in worse condition than they had originally thought? If it was any of those things, she definitely didn't want to know.
Stepping into the small room, Dr.. Hughes placed his hands behind his back as he smiled politely at the people inside. They all stared at him, their eyes wide as they waited for him to inform them on the condition of their friend.
"Well," Dr.. Hughes began. He paused to clear his throat before continuing. "I'll set your fears at ease right now and tell you that Justin is alright." A collective sigh rang through the room, and the doctor grinned at the looks of relief on their faces. "He is sleeping comfortably now. It seems as though when he was laughing earlier, the movements caused one of his ribs to fracture further. This causing the tightening in his chest and the pain he felt." Looking around the room briefly, the doctor waited to make sure everyone understood his explanation so far. "He suffered two broken ribs, and one more was fractured badly, but didn't seem to be a problem. This was the rib at fractured further today, causing Justins discomfort. We've checked him over, and everything seems to be fine." A few nods around the room indicated that everyone understood. "I am going to tell you all this now. Justin needs to rest. He had been getting enough sleep, and has been cooperating with our staff to some degree, but he has been told more than once that he should not be so, how do I put this?" Dr.. Hughes paused as he thought of an appropriate word. "Bouncy?" A few giggles sounded in the room at his choice of words. "His ribs need time to heal, and his active nature is making this hard. Every time he jumps around in bed, laughs too hard, or tries to wrestle chocolate away from Doc," the doctor gave Doc a playful look of warning before continuing. "He is making it harder for his body to repair the damage done. So my orders are simple. He rests more, and is not allowed to push himself. He seems to forget that he was involved in a serious accident. He figures because he feels fine and that he doesn't require any immediate medical attention that he is okay to fool around like he normally would. But this is simply not the case. If he wants to get back out performing again anytime soon, he needs to give his body the time it needs to heal. Even when he is released from the hospital, it will be at least a month before his cast his removed from his leg, and at least another month before I give the okay for him to begin rehearsals again. I want him to take things slow and be patient. It will be better in the long run if he doesn't push himself and cause more harm than good."
"Is there anything we can do?" Joey asked.
"Yes," Dr.. Hughes nodded. "You can help us keep him under control." he laughed as everyone in the room smiled. "He is a very active young man, and I understand that being in a hospital bed twenty four hours a day is not something he is enjoying too much. But it is necessary, and it would be of great help to us if you would make him realize just how important it is for him to not push himself. Just keep him relaxed and calm, and don't let him jump around too much."
"We can do that." JC smiled. "We're used to having to keep him in line."
Dr. Hughes laughed as he nodded to the group. "Good. Now if no one has any other questions, I'm going to check on him one more time and then you all can see him briefly. But only for a few moments, because I would like him to sleep undisturbed for the rest of the day."
Everyone assured Dr.. Hughes that they understood his requests and had no questions for him. Thanking them for their patience, he turned and headed back in to Justins room.
Ryan breathed a sigh of relief, falling back into her chair hard. She had never been so relieved in all her life. Well, other than the morning she woke up to find Justin smiling back at her from his hospital bed. But this came in a close second.
Everyone was hugging each other, all finally allowing themselves to comfort each other a little. Mama Lynn was anxious to see Justin, waiting by the door for the moment Dr.. Hughes stepped out of his room to give her the okay.
JC stepped up in front of Ryans chair, smiling down at her. "Well, looks like we're going to have to baby sit him for a little while." he joked.
"Like we didn't have to before?" she responded cheekily.
JC laughed as he pulled her from her chair and into his arms. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she sighed as his arms tightened around her comfortingly. She admitted to herself only then that she really needed this right now.
Stepping out of the room, Dr. Hughes headed towards the waiting room again. "Okay," he said. "Justin is awake, but very groggy. We've given him some medication to help him sleep, so you are going to have to be quick. You can go in and see him now."
Mama Lynn didn't waste any time rushing into the room, followed closely by the rest of the group. Doc shuffled in quickly behind them, as fast as his old legs would carry him.
Stepping up to Justins bed side, Ryan smiled down at him. He looked around at his friends, a tired grin pressed to his face. "Hey, ya'll" he croaked softly.
"Hey, baby." Lynn whispered as she leaned down to kiss his forehead. "How are you feeling?"
"Okay." Justins eyes squinted for a moment as he tried to reposition himself on the bed. "I feel a little funny, but I'm okay."
"They gave you some medication to help you sleep, dude." JC said from his spot at the foot of the bed. "We just came in to see how you are, then we're gonna go."
Justin nodded sleepily. The medication was beginning to kick in. His eyes were droopy, and his head fell from side to side as he forced himself to stay awake.
Looking over at Doc, an taunting smile crossed his lips. "Hey old-timer. Sorry, but I think we're gonna have to postpone our Batman marathon."
Doc grabbed Justins toes from his place beside JC at the foot of the bed, shaking them lightly. "That's okay, youngin'. Its repeating again tomorrow."
Opening his eyes wide, Justin looked over at Lois. "Whoa," he said. "I must be feelin' it now, cause I see three of ya!" Shaking his head lightly, he looked at Lois again, squinting his eyes as he tried to focus on her. "Aw man, that cant be good." he whined. "I cant even handle the original, there's no way I can handle triplets."
Lois smiled cheekily down at Justin. "You wouldn't know what to do with me if you had me, little man."
"Yeah, he's fine." Lance laughed. "He's already whining and picking on Lois. He's gonna be just fine."
The room laughed lightly as everyone took their turn giving Justin a hug and saying their goodbyes. Lynn was hesitant to leave him, but the doctor requested that no one stay, figuring that if Justin awoke to find someone else there, he would feel the need to entertain them and not rest like he needed to.
Ryan leaned down and placed a soft kiss on Justins lips. He smiled up at her sleepily. "Hey, I know you."
She grinned back down at him. "You bet your ass you know me." she warned.
"Okay," Dr.. Hughes voice called from the door. "If you guys don't mind, I would like Justin to rest now."
The group took each took a moment to say goodnight to Justin again before leaving the room. Lynn hugged him gently before running a hand over his hair. "Ill see you in the morning, baby."
"Night Mama." he whispered.
Lynn placed a reassuring hand gently on Ryans shoulder before leaving the room.
Turning to look back down at Justin, Ryan took his hand in hers. "You did it again."
"What?" he asked, his voice growing more tired.
"You scared the hell out of me."
A weak grin crossed his face. "Its all part of my plan."
"What plan?" she asked, confused.
"To show you that you cant live without me." he teased.
"Justin," Ryan whispered as she leaned down to him. Kissing him gently on the cheek, she smiled at his innocent face. "I already know"
Stepping out of Justins room, Ryan was shocked to find everyone still waiting out in the hall. They wanted to make sure she was alright before heading home. Lois offered to stay with her at her apartment that night, just so she would have someone to talk to if she wanted. Ryan was grateful for the offer, but declined. She was still concerned for Justin, but felt much better knowing that he was alright. Hopefully now he would follow the doctors orders more closely and not always feel like he had to entertain everyone around him.
They all headed for the parking lot together, saying their goodbyes at the doors to the hospital. It was only four o'clock, but Ryan felt like she had been awake for days. That single hour of worry drained her of all energy, and all she could think about was going home to sleep. Lois and JC said they would come by later that night to check in, and maybe bring a movie or food. Ryan was going to protest, but Lois gave her 'the look', so she didn't bother to fight it. She was thankful to have friends like them, not wanting to think about how difficult this ordeal would be if she didn't have them to lean on.
Turning to Lynn, Ryan gave her a hug. She had become like a second mother to Ryan, always being there when she needed her. She knew this was probably even more difficult on Lynn than it was on her, so she assured Lynn that if she needed anything to not hesitate to call. Lynn thanked the young girl, kissing her on the cheek before heading for her car.
Ryan returned home by five that afternoon, and headed straight for her room. She thought about calling her parents to update them on Justin, but she didn't feel like having to talk about it just then. It would probably end up in a drawn out discussion, and she was already tired enough.
Changing in to her pajamas, Ryan closed her drapes, darkening the room before she slid under the security of her covers. Turning over on to her side, she could still make out the picture sitting on her night stand.
It had been taken during her first tour with the guys. The day Justin had asked her to be his girlfriend.
Lois had taken the picture one night at the concert in Memphis, saying that Justin always kept a picture from each time he played in his home town.
The picture was simple. Just him standing on stage, singing out to the crowd. He had a broad smile, his arm extended to the audience in front of him. You could tell just how much he loved to perform, just by the look in his eyes.
Ryan had to giggle at how nervous he seemed that day. He had been acting strangely all day, seeming rather jumpy and jittery. She just assumed that it was because of the show that night, since it was in his hometown.
"Dude, is it dumb to ask a girl to be your girlfriend?." Justin had said to Lance as they sat on the edge of the stage waiting for sound check to begin.
"Why would that be dumb?" Lance asked, adjusting his ear piece.
"Well, because. Its like, old fashioned or something to actually ask a girl to be your girlfriend, isn't it?" Justin asked, leaning his weight on the arms at his side.
"No, I don't think so. They like being asked. It makes it official or somethin'. At least, that's what my sister told me. Its better than just assuming that your a couple." Lance said, turning to give Justin a smile.
"But what am I supposed to say? I mean, its been forever since Ive actually done this, man." Justin complained as he bounced his feet off the edge of the stage.
"Probably something like, 'Will you be my girlfriend?'" Lance grinned at him.
"I was hoping for something a little more romantic, Poofoo." Justin rolled his eyes at Lance before resuming his attack on the stage with his feet.
Lance thought for a few moments before turning his body to face Justin. "Okay, try this." he said, grabbing Justin to turn him towards him.
The two sat in front of each other, legs crossed Indian style as Justin waited for Lances divine insight. "Well?" he whined.
"Shut up, JuJu. Do you want me to think of something good, or do you want to go with Joeys ever popular, 'Hey girl, I'm with the band?' line?" Lance scolded as he thought out his plan.
Justin pouted as he waited for Lance to say something.
"Okay, I got it." Lance nodded his head affirmatively before looking up at Justin. "Okay, so you set up some little romantic scene. Like her favorite meal, with her favorite song playing in the background. What is her favorite song, by the way?"
"This I Promise You" Justin smiled proudly.
"Smart girl, ya got there." Lance grinned before continuing. "Okay, so you do that. And you have her favorite flowers spread around the room. So you blindfold her, and lead her into the room. You walk her over to a place on the floor, before removing the blindfold."
"What's so great about that?" Justin whined.
"I'm gettin' to the good part!" Lance reprimanded. "Anyways, so you take off her blindfold, and on the floor you have 'Will you be my girlfriend' or something like that spelled out in the petals from her favorite flower."
Justin stared at Lance for a few minutes, and Lance wasn't sure if Justin had actually understood his plan. "Well?" he asked.
"That's awesome! Man, I'm gonna start askin' you for love advice instead of Joey." Justin exclaimed excitedly.
"Why in the hell would you go to Joey in the first place?" Lance asked, giving Justin a shocked looked.
"Because the last time I went to Lois, she somehow turned it around to have me hitting on her." Justin commented as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Damn woman bugged me for weeks, sayin' that I was warm for her form or some shit like that."
Lance could only laugh at the pout on Justins face. He had wondered why every time Lois was around Justin a while ago, she always winked at him or grabbed his butt. It wasn't like she didn't do that normally, but she did it a whole lot more for a few weeks. Even folding down pages in the Victoria Secret catalogue and leaving it in Justins bunk on the bus. Justin would get all mad, saying that he wasn't meaning her when he asked for advice. But it hadnt turned out all bad. Joey sure had fun looking through the catalogues.
"Guys, com'on. We've gotta get started." A voice called from behind them. Anthony stood at the back of the stage, signaling them that the sound check was ready to start.
Thanking Lance, Justin stood and took his position on stage. If he could pull this off, there was no way Ryan would be able to resist him.
That night, Justin had Lois take Ryan out for a night on the town. When Lois had asked him repeatedly why she should do this, Justin only told her that she would have to wait and see. Lois, not being one to go along with things easily, agreed on one condition. That Justin be her slave the next day. He refused, but then gave in knowing that he had no other choice. Hopefully she would go easy on him, but knowing her, she would make things up for him to do like pick the fluff from her bellybutton or something.
Justin was more nervous than he had been in a long time as he waited for the girls to return. Lance had helped him set up Ryans hotel room as he had described, with her favorite meal on the table, her favorite song on repeat playing from the stereo, and her favorite flowers scattered around the room. Justin had spent over two hours laying out the petals to spell 'Would you be my girlfriend?" on the floor. He was so proud of himself when he had finished, only to have Lance point out that girlfriend was not spelled g-r-i-l-f-r-e-n-d. Justins jaw dropped as he looked over the word, before slamming his head on the bed in frustration. Luckily, Lance offered to fix it so Justin could go and get changed before Ryan got back.
Standing outside her door with a rose and a blindfold, Justin stood waiting. John, one of the bodyguards stood at the elevator, keeping watch for any fans who may try to sneak on to their floor. That would be a sight they would never forget. Justin Timberlake, dressed up in a blue dress shirt and black slacks, rose and blindfold in hand.
The bell sounded, signaling that the elevator had stopped on their floor. Justins heart raced then the doors opened, and Lois and Ryan stepped out. They smiled sweetly at John before heading down the hall towards Justin.
He could see Ryan give him a smile, before her face turned to one of confusion. Lois was looking at him like he had grown a second head, before putting two and two together and realizing that this was probably why he had her take Ryan out that night.
Stepping up to him, Ryan smiled at him. "Hey, Justin. What's going on?"
"I have a surprise for you." he grinned.
"What?" Ryan hated surprises. The last surprise she agreed to had resulted in finding Joey in her underwear with Chris wearing her bra as a hat.
"Just trust me." Justin smiled seductively at her before turning her around to place the blindfold over her eyes. When he was satisfied that she could not see anything, he turned to Lois.
"Thanks, now go." he said in a low voice.
"Okay, fine." she agreed before pulling him down to her face. "But you tell me everything tomorrow! And if I am satisfied with what I hear, then maybe I will let you off the hook with the slave thing."
Grinning at her, Justin agreed before turning back to guide Ryan into the room.
Opening the door, Justin felt his stomach flutter. He smiled at the look on her face when the sound of This I Promise You hit her ears. Leading her over to the far bed by the window, he sat her gently on the edge. Kneeling down on the floor beside her, he looked down at his message. Thank God Lance spelled better than him. It was probably a mood killer to see a message like this, and have it not even spelled right.
Looking back up at her, Justin took one last deep breath before removing the blindfold from her eyes.
Ryan blinked for a few moments as her eyes adjusted to the dim light of the room. Looking over at Justin, she was confused at to why he was sitting on the floor. Her eyes scanned the room, and her breath caught in her throat as she saw the beautiful scene he had displayed for her. Turning back to him, her eyes caught something on the floor. She looked over the message several times before it registered.
She looked over at Justin quickly, his face showing his nervousness. Looking back to the message, she smiled. She couldn't believe he had done something so sweet. All he had to go was ask, and she would have said yes. The fact that he had gone to this much trouble, melted her heart.
Leaning down to him, she placed a soft kiss on his lips. Justin placed a hand on the side of her face, rising from the floor to sit beside her on the bed.
The continued to kiss for a few moments, before Justin pulled back to look at Ryans content smile. "So, I take that as a yes?" he joked.
"Of course."
If he had smiled any wider, he would have surely cracked his face. Pulling her into his arms, he hugged her tightly as the gentle sound of the music played in the background.
Justin smiled over her shoulder. This was definitely good enough to get him out of being Lois' slave.
Looking at the photo for a moment longer, Ryan closed her tired eyes.
That night had been so long ago, but seemed like only yesterday. She had thought it so sweet that he felt like he had to ask her to be his girlfriend. Most guys just assumed that you were a couple after a while, not taking the time or making the effort to make you feel special.
But Justin had, and it had been one of the best nights of her life.
She had had many wonderful nights with him since then. Too many to count. But that night stood out in her mind, and she smiled to herself as she snuggled closer to her pillow.
With the memory of the soft music still playing in her head, Ryan drifted off to sleep.
