The next day, Denise was
getting ready for the surgery. She was a
little scared. " Hey, Denise." Nick said.
" Hey." Denise replied softly.
" Are you nervous?"
" Yeah."
" Just don't be like your daddy when he had to have surgery."
" Why?"
" He was a wreck. He was scared and nervous. You should have saw him."
" I heard he was okay
when he came out, I guess that's true. He's
pretty wild these days."
" You heard? You didn't know?"
" Nope, I wasn't a fan then. No offense, I just had never heard you before."
" Oh, it's okay." Denise started to cry. " What's wrong?"
" I'm scared."
" Come here." Nick gave her a hug. " Aw, don't cry. It'll be okay. Don't be scared."
Denise's cries were rocking her body. She was scared.
" Denise, it's 6:30." Leigh said in the door.
" Okay." Denise was playing with her brother.
Leigh came in the room. She laughed at the sight of her son playing. " Hey little guy." Leigh tickled his tummy. " Denise, we better go. Hospitals are a nightmare."
" Okay."
Leigh took Nick downstairs and fed him. She packed up his diaper bag and put him in the car. Nick, Brian, and Denise were just coming out the front door. " Hey, baby." Brian kissed Leigh. " Denise, you nervous?"
" Yeah." Denise replied. "Daddy, what's it like to have surgery?"
" Well, you get a shot. Then, they hook up all these things to you when you have the surgery, you can't feel anything they do, that's a good thing, and when you wake up, your friends and family will be there. After you wake up, you'll be weak, so you can't talk."
" Yeah, and we'll
be the first to see you when you wake up." Nick
said.
" Okay."
At the hospital, Denise was put into a room. She had a gown on and in a bed. She was scheduled to have the surgery at 7:30. She lay in her bed, scared, nervous, shaking, and cold. Nick was in there talking to Denise. It was 7:00. " Well, Denise, half hour. You had your shower already." Nick said.
" Yeah." Denise said.
" Yeah, so, do you wanna see your family?"
" Yeah."
Nick brought her family in. " Hey." Brian said.
" Hi."
" Hi, honey." Leigh said.
" Hi mom."
" Hi, I'm Dr. Corozon. Denise, I am gonna explain to you and your family what we are gonna do during the surgery." Dr. Corozon said.
" Okay." Denise said quietly.
" Okay, we are going to bring you to the pre-operation room. First, we will give you anesthesia, which will make you sleepy. You will become numb and not be able to feel anything. We are going to open you up, sew your hole together. The operation will take an hour long. Do you or your family have any questions before you take you into pre-op?"
" Not me."
" Nah." Nick said.
" Will this surgery help her at all?" Brian asked.
" Yes, a lot actually. She won't have any problems breathing anymore. If she does, either it's because she's been working too hard, or she is in a small place. If the problem persists, she'll probably have to come in for an ultrasound, like yesterday's."
" Okay."
" Mrs. Littrell, do you have any questions?"
" No." Leigh said.
" Well, we are going to give you anesthesia now. Then take you into pre-op. Okay?"
" Yeah." Denise said.
They took Denise into pre-op. Denise faded out and her family and Nick went into the waiting room. Brian held Leigh's hand. Brian's hands were shaking. He didn't like hospitals, neither did Nick. Nick was fiddling with his hands. Brian was staring into space. Leigh was playing with Nicky.
The door opened, Dr. Corozon came in. " I'm afraid that we may have some bad news."
Brian snapped out of his world. " What is it? What happened?" Brian asked.
" We are having some complications with the surgery."
" What's wrong?" Leigh asked holding Nicky.
" She has went into shock a few times, and we almost lost her. If this keeps up, it'll keep getting worse. We don't know if she'll make it through the rest of the surgery."
" Oh my God. This isn't happening." Brian cried.
" I am sorry, Mr. Littrell. We are trying to put this situation under control. Please, calm down."
" Baby, calm down, please!" Leigh pleaded.
Nick was in awe. A single tear fell down his face. " Dr. please, don't stop trying. Their daughter means everything to them. She's a good friend to me. Please, don't let her die." Nick pleaded.
" Mr. Carter, we are doing our best to help this. Calm down." Dr. Corozon said. " I'll be leaving now."
Nick collapsed in his seat. " This bites! I can't calm down, my friend's daughter is having problems in surgery, and I'm hungry!"
Brian was crying. " She'll be okay, she'll be okay, she'll be okay." Brian said between choking back sobs. He kept repeating it over and over.
" Ma ma." Nicky said.
" What?" Leigh asked in incredulity.
" Ma ma!"
Brian looked up. " He's talking! Oh my God!" Brian said. Brian wiped his tears and held his son in his arms. Nicky was tired; he yawned and fell asleep on Brian's shoulder.
An hour after Denise's doctor came in, he came in again. " How is she, doc?" Brian asked nervously.
" Well, we had more complications." Dr. Corozon said. Brian got tears in his eyes. " She came out of the surgery fine. We have her in ICU for observation. Y'all can go up to see her, two at a time though. The baby can go in with any two. She's in room 458B and she's not awake."
" Thank you, doctor." Brian said.
" Thank God!" Nick said loudly. He practically ran to Denise's room. When he got to the door, he stopped. He found Brian and Leigh at the end of the hall. They arrived shortly. " Oh, you guys can go in first. Sorry."
" Thank you, Nick." Leigh said.
Nick went and sat down in a chair by the door. His cell phone rang. " Hello?" Nick asked.
" Hey, Nick, where are you? I tried calling Brian's house, and no one answered the phone." Kevin said.
" Oh, we're at the hospital."
" Is everything okay? Brian's not dying or anything, is he?"
" No, Denise had surgery."
" What? Why?"
" She wanted it because her heart as giving her trouble. Remember?"
" Oh, okay. Is everything okay? It's like almost 10."
" She almost died on the operating table. Kevin, I was worried. She saved my life, I don't know how to re pay her."
" Nick, I'm gonna go, okay? Kristin is wanting me in bed."
" Okay, just don't do anything I wouldn't do." Nick laughed.
" Bye."
" Bye."
In Denise's room, Brian was sitting and staring at Denise lying in her bed. He was thinking. Thinking back to when he was having surgery. He knew how she felt. He knew how scared she was. He knew everything about surgery. Nicky was in his carrier on the floor sleeping. Brian looked down at him and smiled.
Denise woke up about fifteen minutes later. Brian jumped at the sight of her opening her eyes. He didn't expect it. " Hey, honey, how you doing?" Brian asked. He knew she couldn't talk. Denise put her thumb up. " Nicky talked when you were in the operating room." Denise's eyes widened. " Nick is out in the hall. He was worried about you. Do you know what happened on the operating table?" Denise had a lost look in her face. Brian started to cry. " Denise, you almost died. You went into shock a few times, and something went wrong with your heart."
" Baby, stop crying. You aren't gonna make her feel any better doing that." Leigh said.
" Okay." Brian wiped his tears. " You want to see Nick, or do you want to wait?"
" Nick." Denise mouthed, she whispered so softly.
" Okay, I'll get him." Brian went out in the hall. " Nick, Denise wants you."
" Is she okay?" Nick asked with his head down.
" She's fine."
Nick got up and ran into the room. " Hey." Denise smiled.
" I'll leave you two alone." Leigh said.
" Okay." Leigh left with Nicky. " So, you doing okay?"
" Good." Denise mouthed.
" Okay. You can't talk, can you?"
" No."
Nick chuckled. " I know it's not funny or anything but, you scared your daddy. You should have saw his face."
In the hall, Brian and Leigh were sitting. Kevin walked out of the elevator. " Hey, Brian." Kevin said, solemnly.
" Hey." Brian said.
" I'm so sorry." Kevin gave Brian a hug.
" It's okay. She's okay. Nick's in there with her."
" You were crying."
" Kevin, why are you here?"
" Nick told me what happened. I'm the one that found her, the first one of us to know about her heart problems, I think I should come see her if she's having surgery."
" Yeah, I knew you were gonna say that."
Kevin smiled. " Are you guys okay?"
" Yeah, I'm fine." Leigh said, feeding Nicky.
" Yeah, me too. I'm glad this is over with. I couldn't take it."
" Now, you know how I felt when you had surgery."
" Yeah, I know. Kevin, thank you."
" For what?"
" For being there when I had surgery. I would have done the same if it was for you."
" You're welcome."
Nick came out of the room, crying. " Nick? What's wrong?" Brian asked.
" Nothing. She's sleeping now." Nick said.
" You sure nothing's wrong?"
" Yeah, I'm sure. I just can't stand seeing her in there. Like you."
Brian smiled. " Nick, everything will be okay."
Nick smiled.
The next day, Denise was talking. " Nick, I want to thank you for being there. Through my rough times, my good times. My happy times, my sad times." Denise said.
" No problem. I owe you." Nick said.
" For what?" Denise smiled.
" For saving my life last year. Denise, you are blessed. God has blessed you with a heart that cares for and helps people."
" Why, thank you!"
" No problem, kid." Denise smiled.
The next year, Denise had all her stories published, sang as the opening act on the BSB' tour. Denise was happy. She had up-beat songs, and some slow songs. Her father had written some songs for her. Brian was happy to do it. Little Nicky was talking more. He could say the names of the BSB and her sister and her parents.
" Brian, baby. I have to tell you something." Leigh said.
" What is it, honey?" Brian replied.
" I'm gonna have another baby." Brian fainted. Leigh laughed. " That's the second time he did that." Leigh picked Brian up and put him on the couch. " Brian, wake up, baby."
" Another baby? Wow! That's amazing. I'm gonna be a daddy again! I'm gonna be a daddy again!" Leigh laughed. " I love you baby."
" You mean to tell me you haven't noticed I was getting big?"
" I was on tour, how would I know?"
" 2 months."
" 2? 2 months?!"
" Yep. It's a girl."
" A baby girl!"
" Yeah."
Brian held Leigh's stomach. " I love you, baby. I can't believe we made another baby."
" Yeah, well, it happens."
Two months later, all the BSB were in the waiting room. " IT'S A GIRL! IT'S A GIRL!" Brian came out yelling.
" Congratulations, Brian." Kevin said.
" Here, have a sucker." AJ said. Brian laughed.
" Way to go, Frick!" Nick said hugging Brian.
" What are you gonna name her?" Howie asked.
" Jessica Marie Littrell." Brian said. " Well, I better go back in there with Leigh. She's exhausted."
THE END
.