Chapter 18
One week
later
“I’m very sorry, but there’s nothing more we can do for him
here.”
It was the following Sunday, and Dr. Madden had called Bob
and Jane into his office to speak to them privately.
“Nothing?” Bob asked.
Dr. Madden shook his head regretfully. “He’s recovered enough to the point where he
can breathe fine on his own. His
physical injuries have healed. There
isn’t anything else we can do to make him any better. By keeping him here, you’d just be wasting
money and space.”
“Where will he go?” Bob asked.
“Well, you could take care of him yourselves, but it will
be a huge responsibility. You would
both have to be instructed on how to care for him. It would take up a lot of time. I would suggest placing him in a hospice
facility, where he can receive fulltime care by a professional nursing
staff. Would you like me to suggest a
few places?”
Bob and Jane exchanged glances.
“It would take up a lot of time to take care of him
ourselves, wouldn’t it?” Bob asked quietly.
Jane nodded slowly. “But I don’t
want to put him in a home,” Bob continued, looking torn.
“Brian can do it,” Jane said softly.
“What?” Bob asked.
Jane had not told him about the episode with Brian the week before. All he knew was that in the past week, Jane
had not had much to do with any of the guys.
“He said he would take care of Nick if we couldn’t, rather
than put him in a nursing home,” Jane replied, her eyes fixed on the floor.
“You talked to him about this before you talked to me?” Bob
asked, his eyes narrowing.
Jane shot him a look that said, We’ll talk about this
later.
“So you would like to place Nick in Brian’s care?” Dr.
Madden asked.
“For the time being, I suppose so,” Jane replied.
Dr. Madden nodded.
“Okay. I’ll need to talk to Brian
then. Is he here?”
“I saw him in the cafeteria earlier,” Bob replied.
“Okay. I’ll have him
called up then,” Dr. Madden said.
“When will he be discharged?” Jane asked.
“Well, Brian will need to be instructed on his care first,
so I would say in a few more days before he’ll be ready to take Nick home,” Dr.
Madden replied.
They nodded.
“Thank you for everything you’ve done for him, Dr. Madden,”
Bob said gratefully, shaking the doctor’s hand.
“You’re welcome. I
only wish I could have done more,” the doctor said.
Jane managed a small smile of gratitude towards Dr. Madden
as she took her husband’s hand and left the room.
***
Four days
later
“Welcome back to TRL for this Thursday, February 22. We’re just hanging here in Times Square,
counting down the top ten videos for today.
But before we get to the number one video, everyone welcome John Norris,
here to give the news,” Carson said on the TV screen.
“We’ve got some Backstreet news for you today,” John
started.
Marissa sat up straighter, staring intently at the TV
screen.
“After over a month in the hospital after the car accident
that nearly claimed his life, Nick Carter will be discharged late this
afternoon. It has been reported that he
has not yet recovered completely, but that he is well enough to leave. Supposedly, he is going to stay with bandmate
Brian Littrell for awhile, but that has not yet been confirmed. Check back for more information on Nick’s
condition,” John Norris reported.
“Thank you, John.
Now, here are the Backstreet Boys at number one with “The Call” on TRL,”
Carson said, as the video began to play.
Marissa
smiled sadly as she watched the Boys on the screen. She could only hope that one day, they would
be back to normal like they were in this video, that Nick would make a full
recovery. Yet, somehow, she had a
feeling that her wish would never come true.
***
“Now, Brian, I’ve arranged to have a nurse come to your
house around 2:00 in the afternoon every day, to administer some medication
I’ve prescribed for Nick and also just to check up on things and help you out
if you need it,” Dr. Madden explained to Brian.
Brian nodded.
“That’ll be fine,” he said.
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. Now
before you go, do you have any other questions?” Dr. Madden asked.
Brian shook his head.
“No, I think that’s it,” he replied.
“Okay then. Feel
free to call me if you have any questions or concerns, okay?”
“Okay,” Brian said, nodding.
“All right then.
I’ll have a nurse bring in Nick’s discharge papers for you to sign, and
then you can be on your way,” Dr. Madden said.
“Okay. Thanks,”
Brian said, shaking the doctor’s hand.
Dr. Madden nodded, offering a small smile, and left the
room.
A nurse came in shortly after he left, carrying a clipboard
with some forms to sign. Brian signed
them and handed them back.
“Thank you, Mr. Littrell,” the nurse said. “I’ll be right back to help you get Nick out
to your car.”
“Okay,” Brian said, watching as she left the room.
He glanced at Nick, who sat strapped in a wheelchair, then
towards Kevin, who had come with Brian to pick up Nick. He took a deep breath and said, “Well, Kev,
this is it.”
***
