Chapter 3

“Sirs, I need for you to move back so that we can have some room to work,” said one of three firemen who had followed Chris into the backyard.

One of the firemen quickly knelt down beside JC and reached for his carotid pulse as another pulled out a blood pressure cuff and stethoscope from one of the medical boxes that they had carried with them along with a backboard and stretcher.

“Can you tell me what happened,” the third firemen asked as he looked at Lance who had moved away from Justin without realizing that his friend had not moved with him.

“JC was trying to do a back flip off the diving board when he hit his head. Joey and Chris jumped in after him and we started CPR when we found out that he wasn’t breathing.”

One of the firemen moved around Justin causing Lance to suddenly realize that his friend had not responded to the fireman’s request to move. Lance stepped forward, apologizing.

“I’m sorry…Justin’s pretty shook up about JC…”

The fireman who had spoken to Lance looked over at Justin and quickly rose to his feet and stepped over JC to reach Justin’s side. He then shook his head at Lance and held up a hand indicating that he should not approach any closer as he realized that there might be a second victim.

“It’s alright,” he said to Lance as he again focused his attention on Justin. “What did you say his name was again?”

“Justin.”

“Justin? Justin?” the fireman said, waving a hand and clicking his fingers in front of Justin’s face, which had remained frozen in the same blank _expression he had worn since he had sat down by Joey not 5 minutes earlier. Getting no response, the fireman glanced over his shoulder at one of his partners.

“Kevin, we’ve got one in shock here.”

The fireman then turned back around in time to see Justin’s body go completely limp. Lance heard Joey and Chris gasp, while he took a quick, but halting step forward as the fireman managed to grab Justin’s shoulders and lower him to the ground.

“He’s out.”

In dismay, Lance, Joey and Chris watched the working pace of the firemen quicken as they began caring for not just one of their friends, but for two now.

Joey, with a look of anguish, turned and walked away. He couldn’t watch anymore…it was just too much. He silently began walking across the grassy lawn leaving Chris and Lance behind.

Suddenly at a loss as to who to stay with, Chris looked at Lance for guidance in what he should do. Seeing Chris’s look of indecision, Lance motioned for him to follow Joey as he spoke.

“Take care of Joey, Chris. I’ll stay here with JC and Justin. We’ll be okay.” Lance’s quiet tone lacked the confidence that he was trying to convey to Chris, but it was enough to help Chris in deciding who he needed to help.

Chris quietly nodded and gave Lance a pat on the back before quickly running to catch up with Joey who had made his way to the basketball court across the large yard. Lance watched as Chris caught up with Joey, who had leaned against one of the goals before sliding down its surface to sit on the court. Lance then sorrowfully watched as Joey drew his arms around his knees then rested his head on them, knowing that the older man was crying by the way his body violently shook.

Lance was relieved to see Chris sit down beside Joey, wrapping the larger man into his arms before rocking him back and forth.

As he watched Chris taking care of Joey, Lance felt his body aching with the same need to be comforted too, but for the time being, he needed to keep it all together for everyone right now. His would draw comfort from his friends later…if at all.

“How long was JC in the water?” a voice asked, breaking through the quiet haze that enveloped Lance in its tight grasp.

“Huh?” was the confused answer that Lance gave as his attention was torn from watching Chris and Joey.

“How long was JC in the water?” the fireman patiently asked again.

“About 2 minutes…maybe less,” Lance answered as he watched one of the firemen place an oxygen mask over JC’s face.

“Was he breathing at all when he was taken out of the water?”

“No, sir...um…his heart wasn’t beating either. We…Joey and I performed CPR on him then he came to...vomited water and kinda talked to us for a few minutes then passed out right before you got here.”

“How long did you and your friend perform CPR?”

“I’m not sure…maybe 5 minutes…time just seemed to stand still…I don’t know…I just…” Lance’s voice fell away as he suddenly became frustrated at the fact that he could not remember such an important detail as that. He could normally spit out the exact times that he and the others had to be somewhere and for how long and exactly where it was that they needed to be. Good grief. That was how he earned the nickname Scoop. All of that seemed so trivial now compared to what the fireman needed to know now.

The fireman noted Lance’s distress and quickly reached up from his position beside JC and gently grasped Lance’s arm squeezing it to gain the young man’s attention.

“What’s your name, son?” the fireman asked once he had the young man’s attention.

“Lance…Lance Bass,” he quietly answered.

“Lance, my name is Gage Randolph. The fireman with Justin is Kevin Mann and the other fireman taking JC’s vitals is Mike Lopez.”

Lance glanced at each of the firemen who now had a name to go with their faces. Somehow, that seemed reassuring to him and made him less afraid. His thoughts were interrupted by fireman Randolph once again speaking to him.

“I want to let you know, Lance that you and your friend did a great job.”

Lance numbly nodded at the fireman’s words. They weren’t actually registering with him.

“You and your friend…what’s his name again?”

“Joey. Joey Fatone.” Lance quietly answered.

“You and Joey kept your friend alive, Lance. You did just fine, son...just fine. Thanks to your quick thinking, your friend is alive.”

What little control Lance had held over his emotions was lost at the fireman’s last remark. At the sudden realization that he and Joey had actually held another human being’s life in their hands, tears began streaming quietly down Lance’s face.

The fireman quietly turned his attentions back to JC and picked up a walkie-talkie that was lying nearby then began speaking into it.

“Mercy General? This is Rescue 15…how do you read?”

“Go ahead 15,” a disconnected voice answered.

“Mercy General we have 2 male victims. Victim #1 is an apparent near drowning. Age is…”

The fireman looked to Lance for an answer.

“24,” Lance answered quietly, still fighting his emotions.

“Age is 24. Weight approximately 150. Victim hit his head on diving board approximately 5 feet from water’s surface. Was pulled unconscious from pool and found to be in full arrest. CPR was immediately performed for approximately 5 minutes. The victim began breathing at that time and expelled water. The victim is now unconscious but had a brief episode of consciousness before our arrival. We have immobilized victim on a backboard and have applied a c-collar. Vitals are to follow.”

The fireman handed the walkie-talkie to one of his partners who began reciting numbers to the hospital.

“Mercy General. Victim #1’s vitals are b/p 90 over 60, pulse is 110 and regular, respirations are 12 and shallow, pupils are sluggish, but reactive. Victim does respond to painful stimuli. Victim also has a scalp laceration above forehead, approximately 2 inches in length. A pressure bandage has been applied and bleeding is under control. High flow oxygen with non re breather is being administered.”

“10-4 15, administer IV D5W, continue oxygen, inform of vitals every 5 minutes. Transport as soon as possible.”

“10-4 Mercy General. IV D5W, continue oxygen, report vitals every 5 minutes.”

That fireman once again turned the walkie-talkie over to his partner who had been working on Justin. Lance watched as one of the firemen began swabbing JC’s left hand with alcohol before inserting a needle to begin the IV. Lance inwardly cringed knowing that at that moment it was best that JC was not aware of what was going on.

“He’s afraid of needles,” he whispered without even realizing that he had been loud enough to be heard.

“It’s okay Lance. He isn’t able to feel it right now…he doesn’t know what’s going on right now, okay?” said Gage Randolph with a wan smile.

“Okay,” Lance answered, unsure if JC’s being unaware of what was going on around him was reassuring or not.

“Mercy General. This is Rescue 15.”

“Go ahead 15.”

“Our second victim is also a male. Age is…”

“19,” Lance answered without even thinking about it.

“Age is 19. Weight is approximately 165. Victim is in apparent shock and is unconscious at this time. Vitals are B/P is 80 over 50, pulse 95 and regular, respirations are 18 and shallow. Pupils are equal and reactive. We have him on 6 liters O2.”

“10-4 15, begin IV normal saline solution, keep victim warm and continue oxygen. Transport as soon as possible.”

“10-4 Mercy General. IV normal saline, keep warm and continue oxygen.”

The fireman quickly began carrying out the instruction given to him as Lance suddenly realized that his friends would be going to the hospital. And, in previous experiences, the hospital meant meddling press and concerned fans. He needed to let everyone know who they all were before they left.

“Could you ask for security to be there?” asked Lance in a near whisper.

“What do you need security for, Lance?” asked Fireman Randolph as he continued to monitor JC.

“Have you heard of the music group, Nsync?”

“My daughter listens to them, but does that have to do with you needing security?”

He looked up at Lance as the possible answer suddenly occurred to him at the same time that Lance began to speak.

“We’re Nsync. Victim #1 is JC Chasez and Victim #2 is Justin Timberlake,” Lance said pointing at his friends. “And, like I said earlier, I’m Lance Bass and over there are Chris Kirkpatrick and Joey Fatone. We’re Nsync.”

The two remaining firemen jerked up their heads and instantly their faces showed recognition.

“I thought that there was something familiar about you guys, but I just didn’t put two and two together,” Fireman Lopez said absently as his gaze fell to JC and Justin and then back up to Lance.

“You sure Mike?”

“Yep, positive. My daughter has these guys faces plastered all over her room.”

Fireman Randolph quickly picked up the walkie-talkie and began relaying the new piece of information to the hospital.

“Mercy General. This is Rescue 15. How do you read?”

“Go ahead 15.”

“Please go to a private line Mercy General.”

“10-4.”

After a moment of silence, the hospital came back on the line.

“What is it 15?”

“Is this Dr. Shannon?”

“Yes.”

Lance’s attention was quickly captured by this news. Dr. Shannon had made a house call to Justin’s home some 9 or 10 months earlier when Joey, in the middle of a nightmare, had accidentally hit him, giving him a slight concussion. All 5 of the young men now considered Dr. Shannon a friend and had used his medical services on more than one occasion since then.

“Be advised. Victims #1 and #2 are members of the music group Nsync. Victim #1 is a JC Chasez and Victim #2 is a Justin Timberlake.”

Dr. Shannon took a step back in a mixture of shock and disbelief and drew in a deep breath before responding to the news.

“Security will be present. Is the rest of the group there?”

“Yes sir.”

“Transport as soon as possible then.”

“10-4.”

Dr. Shannon stepped back once again from the phone and quickly gathered his thoughts together, before approaching the head nurse of the emergency department with the news.

“I have treatment rooms 4 and 5 ready for 15’s victims,” said RN Sarah James.

She could see that Dr. Shannon seemed distressed about something, but before she had the opportunity to question him about it, he spoke.

“No Sarah. I need you to get treatment rooms 15 and 16 ready instead.”

“Those are the VIP treatment rooms,” she said in confusion.

“Yes, I know that but we have members of a music group coming in and we need privacy and security here to keep media and fans out of the way.”

“Yes sir,” the nurse replied as she nodded her head at the doctor’s words.

“Use discretion Sarah in changing the rooms…please.”

“No problem Dr. Shannon,” Sarah said over her shoulder as she snagged two nurses coming out of the previously prepared treatment rooms.

“We need to move things down to 15 and 16 now. No questions asked.”

The two nurses raised their eyebrows at the head nurse, but did not question her decision as they quickly re entered the rooms and began their work.

Meanwhile, as Lance watched the firemen began loading Justin and JC onto stretchers, a police officer made his way into the backyard.

“What do you have fellas?” the officer asked as he stooped down beside fireman Randolph

“We have a drowning victim and a victim in shock,” Gage answered as he checked to make sure that JC was securely strapped on the stretcher. “We need you for security Mel.”

“Giving you any problems?” the policeman asked as he stood up and looked at Lance who didn’t seem to notice the officer’s scrutinizing gaze.

“Nothing like that Mel,” Randolph answered as he shook his head at his poor choice of words.

“The victims are members of the music group Nsync. This young man and the two on the basketball court are also members of the group.”

“You need me to follow you in?” the officer asked as he reached up to his shoulder and began speaking into a small radio that was attached to his shirt.

“Yeah, we’d appreciate it Mel,” the fireman answered before turning to Lance.

“Lance, do you and your two friends need to ride in to the hospital with Mel or do you want to take your own vehicle?”

“We’ll take our own.”

“Start packing up, Gage, I’ll get them ready to go,” the police officer said as he put his arm around Lance’s shoulder and guided him rapidly toward the basketball court where Joey and Chris were. On their way to the basketball court, the officer began giving Lance instructions.

“Lance, you and your friends will be behind the ambulance and I’ll be behind you. I want you to turn on your hazards and lay on the horn when we go through all intersections. Do not follow too closely to the ambulance and we’ll be there in no time. Do you understand my instructions?”

“Yes, sir,” Lance answered. “Hazards, use my horn at intersections, don’t get too close.”

“Good, Lance,” the officer praised the young man before giving final instructions to him. “Go tell your friends that we’ll be leaving in about 3 minutes.”

Lance thanked the officer then ran towards Chris and Joey, yelling for them to get their shoes and shirts so that they could leave. Both young men quickly jumped up and ran after Lance into the house and grabbed what they needed before heading out to the garage where they saw JC and Justin being loaded into an ambulance at the front of the house.

“Remember Lance,” the police officer called out as Joey and Chris got into their vehicle. “Get between us. Hazards on, not too close and hit the horn through intersections.”

“Yes, sir,” Lance yelled as he slammed the door to Joey’s 4-runner. He didn’t question why Joey had handed him his keys once they were in the garage. Instead, he just took them, got in the vehicle then started the engine and pulled out of the garage to follow the ambulance down the drive and into the street.

“Dr. Shannon is there at the hospital waiting for JC and Justin to get there,” said Lance, not daring to take his attention from the ambulance in front of him.

“How do you know?”

“He was the doctor that the firemen were talking to while they were treating JC and Justin.”

No one said anything else in the vehicle...there was too much to say but none of them were willing to speak. Instead, they were each saying their own silent prayers for their friends…their brothers’ recovery and Dr. Shannon’s abilities to care for their friends.

Four