Shortly after the guys left, doctors entered the room in order to run some more tests on Katie. Jessica got out of their way and returned to the chair in the lobby that she had left earlier. Right as she took a seat, she heard a familiar voice.
"Hey Jess." Her sister Emily said cheerfully. "Where's Katie?"
"You can't see her now. They have to run some more tests, but you can sit here and keep me company."
Emily sat down in the chair next to her. She hated hospitals and wished that she could go visit Katie now instead of having to wait.
The girls' mother was also there and Jessica was glad that she actually had people to talk to while waiting. That way her mind couldn't wander and she couldn't think about all of the possible things that could still go wrong.
After about a half-hour had passed, Katie's family entered the lobby. They too sat down and joined in on the conversation.
Jessica was happy to see everyone together and smiling.
Their conversation helped pass the time, and before they knew it, Kat was standing in front of them.
"You can go see her now." She said.
Both families walked down the hall, and entered Katie's room.
Katie was very happy to see Jessica's family, as well as her own. Having people around her made her feel more comfortable with the situation. The concept of it all was still hard for her to grasp, everything seemed like a dream.
They visited with Katie for a while, but she was exhausted. Everyone thought it best to let her get some rest; she already had to deal with enough commotion for one day.
Both families left the room, but Jessica stood there for a minute.
"You didn't say much while they were all in here." Katie said rubbing her eyes.
"I was thinking…that's all."
"About what?" She asked.
"A lot of things."
"Like…?"
"Like, how lucky you are, and how lucky I am…things like that." Jessica explained. "I mean, we're all very lucky that you're ok now. We were so scared, there was like an empty space without you."
"I'm so glad that you've been here Jess." Katie said smiling.
She then let out a big yawn.
"Why don't you get some sleep." Jessica suggested.
"Yeah, I think I will."
"Ok, I'll see you tomorrow…get some rest."
Katie closed her eyes ad Jessica walked to the door. She paused for a second to look at her friend. She let out a sigh of relief and walked out.
During the next few days, things were going much better for Jessica. For the first time in a week, the knot in her stomach was gone. She wasn't stressed out and she found herself enjoying her life more than ever.
Monday, December 13th, was her birthday. She had a small cake with her family, and then she visited Katie. Everything was going great for her.
By the following weekend, Katie was out of the hospital. The doctors said she was very fortunate, with the way the car hit her, there was not much physical damage. She didn't have any broken bones, just some large bruises and cuts, especially on her back. Also, after running a lot of tests, they discovered that there was no damage to her organs. One doctor said that it was a miracle that she could walk again.
She was prescribed some strong painkillers for her muscle and joint aches, then she was free to go. Her activities were limited, and she would have to return back for checkups, but Jessica found it safe to say that her best friend was officially back.
On Saturday, Jessica went to see Katie at her house. It was nice for the girls to spend time with each other outside of the hospital.
They were sitting up in Katie's room when she decided to get Jessica's help with writing a letter to the guys.
"Hey, Jess, what the hell do you write in a letter to NSync?" She asked laughing.
"Hmm…how about 'Hey guys, how are you? We're fine. I'm out of the hospital. Bye' how's that?"
"Oh, see, I was thinking something along the lines of, 'Hey guys, how are you? I'm doing really well. I'm almost back in shape. But the only thing is, I'm not quite there yet. So, why don't you come back and help me out a little bit? I sure could use an extra workout, and I don't mean dancing or weightlifting, catch my drift?' now, isn't that better?" She asked laughing.
"Yeah, much better."
The girls eventually did come up with a letter, but only after suggesting about 20 stupid things that they could write.
The whole following week, the girls were pretty busy. Jessica was off school, so she had a small belated birthday party with a few of her close friends. The girls also spent a lot of time at the gym, and getting ready for the holidays. They exchanged gifts during the week, and spent Christmas weekend with their families.
Two days after Christmas, the girls celebrated Katie's 17th birthday, and over the weekend they celebrated the millenium together.
Their winter break went by so fast, but they definitely enjoyed themselves.
Jessica went back to school on Tuesday, and come Friday, after a long week of school and gymnastics, she was exhausted. It had been a long time since she had gone to school and gymnastics full time.
She came home from school that day, and sat on the couch to watch TV. She reached for the remote and turned it on. It was still on The Box Music Network and the "I Drive Myself Crazy" video was on. She started laughing…it had been a while since she'd watched the guys on TV, and she remembered how funny that video really was.
She started thinking.
As she laughed, she realized that the guys really were that funny, she really did spend time with them. It just hit her. The guys gave up so much of their time to be with her and Katie…they were real people…really wonderful people.
She put her head back, closed her eyes, and fell asleep.
No one was home, except her mother, who didn't wake her.
She was so sound asleep, that she didn't even hear someone knocking on the door.
