Chapter 26
Brit yawned, waiting for D to wake up. She's fallen asleep after the doctors had done a few tests on her, and Chris had insisted on being in the room the whole time. Chelle had shown up and had been there for almost an hour now. Britney leaned against JC, wiped. She yawned and looked at him.
"She's alright, right?" she asked him. "I mean, you heard from Chris how the test were, right?" JC nodded.
"The doctor said they couldn't find any signs of brain damage, and there is no left over water in her lungs. They said she is fine, just worn out," JC assured her. "I wish we didn't have to leave in an hour."
"Oh, you have to leave in an hour?" Britney exclaimed. "Why?"
"Well, we were supposed to be where we were supposed to be like 4 hours ago, but we stopped at D's," JC reminded. Britney nodded, understanding. "It's okay, we'll see each other soon enough." He kissed her lightly on the forehead.
"That's the best you can do?" Britney demanded with a smile.
"What are you talking about?" JC asked. Britney took JC's head between her hands and planted a kiss on his lips. She smiled at the dazed look on his face. "So, that's what you were talking about," JC said with a goofy grin. He leaned in and continued to kiss her.
"She's awake," Chris exclaimed, then rushed right back into the room. JC and Britney shot up from their seat (no, that is not a typo).
"I'll go get the others," JC said, moving for the café, where Lance, Joey, and the rest of the girls had gone.
"No, I can go get them," Britney told him. JC looked confused.
"Wouldn't you rather go in and see her before everyone crowds in?" Britney shook her head.
"I-I'm a little afraid, actually. What if there's brain damage that the doctors didn't catch? I have to, um, work my way up to it, actually." She gave him a guilty smile, then walked toward the hospital café. JC walked into D's room. Inside was Justin, Chris, and D (of course). Justin was sitting in the wheelchair, rolling around. He smiled at JC when he walked in.
"How you feeling?" JC asked D. She shrugged in response.
"I've felt better," she replied in a groggy voice. JC nodded as he leaned against the wheelchair.
"Nice shiner you've developed, too," JC kidded. D smiled, her hand going unconsciously to the bruise on her forehead, where the big ass bird hit her. There were small scratches where the claws had scratched her.
"Thanks," D responded, still running her hands over it lightly. Chris took her hand and held it in his. He muttered something to her.
"What?" Justin yelled from across the room.
"Did you ever think that I didn't mean for you to hear?" Chris inquired. Justin looked over at him innocently.
"Why would you want to do that?" Justin asked. Chris sighed, and repeated what he had said to D.
"I wish that I could be here while she gets better." Justin looked at him for a moment, absorbing this, then an evil look crossed his face. He motioned for JC to bend toward him, and he did.
"No way, uh uh, sorry, wouldn't do that if you paid me," JC responded.
"Fine, I'll do it," Justin told him. "You have to sit here though." JC switched places with Justin. "Just remember, Chris, JC had nothing to do with this."
"What are you planning?" Chris asked. Justin shot him another innocent look, and aimed the wheelchair.
"We love you Chris, and we want you to be happy," Justin told him. He pushed the wheelchair so it ran over Chris's foot.
Chapter 27
"You little--son of a-- you are gonna die you little--I think you broke my foot!" Chris screamed at Justin.
"Just remember, JC had NOTHING to do with this," Justin reminded.
"Ya, JC had nothing to do with this," JC repeated.
"He was just the one that weighed down the wheelchair so that it would have crushing capabilities."
"What? That's why you wanted me to sit down?" JC exclaimed. "Why you little--"
"Someone turn on the TV," Meagan shouted as the group walked in the room. Chris hobbled over and flicked on the TV set.
"What's the difference, you can't hear it without the ear phones anyway," Justin pointed out. Rae pulled out the ear phones from the TV, and miraculously, there was sound. "Oh," was all that Justin said.
"It has been reported today," the reporter began, "that at six o'clock, Chris Kirkpatrick, band member of one of the nations leading pop group, NSYNC, was rushed to the hospital. Sources say that Kirkpatrick reportedly nearly drown in someone's pool. It has been undisclosed who's pool it actually was, but Mr. Kirkpatrick is in stable condition. Their record company could not be reached for commenting. Bob?"
"Oops," Justin said innocently. "Guess we didn't have to break your foot after all."
"Son of a--" Chris exclaimed, stepping toward Justin. He stepped on it the wrong way and let out a yell. A doctor rushed in with a nurse. He looked at Chris jumping up and down in pain.
"What's going on?" the doctor asked.
"We accidently rolled a wheelchair over his foot, with someone sitting in it," Justin explained. "We're very sorry doctor." The doctor shook his head.
"Nurse, could you please take Mr. Kirkpatrick to the x-ray room?" the doctor asked.
"Yes, doctor," the nurse agreed. She walked over to Chris, who was in the middle of assuring D he'd be back in a few minutes, while she was assuring him he could leave at the same time, and pulled him toward the wheelchair. She forced him to sit, informing him that walking on it could cause more damage. He sat with a grumble and the nurse wheeled him out the door.
"So, how are we feeling?" the doctor asked D, giving her a quick check over.
"Great," D told him honestly.
"No pains when you breathe, numbness in your limbs?" the doctor asked. D shook her head. He quickly took her blood pressure. "Well, you seem fine. We'll just keep you for another hour or so, just to make sure, then you can be released." Chelle rushed over to D and gave her a hug.
"I'm so glad you're alright," Chelle whispered.
"Me too," D commented, although looked very sad. "Did you dump garage boy?" Chelle smiled herself, then shook his head.
"Couldn't do it. He's just so damn cute on that bass."
"Are you happy?" D asked out of the blue. Chelle laughed.
"What a weird question to ask."
"Are you?" D insisted.
"I guess, why?"
"Where're JC and Britney?" D asked instead, looking around.
"Over there, making out," Joey said with a cringe. He pointed to a dark corner. D nodded with an 'oh.'
"So, what did you mean by you didn't have to break Chris' foot?" D asked Justin.
"Well, now that everybody thinks that Chris is sick, he could stay here with you, and we could just let everybody believe that he was sick."
"That's mean," Jen commented, slapping him lightly on the arm.
"Sounded like a good idea tho," Justin told her.
"YOU broke Chris' foot?" asked Meagan. "As in purposely?" Justin nodded.
"JC helped."
"Did not!" JC shouted from the corner.
"Sorry, JC was the one sitting in the wheelchair to weigh it down so it would do damage, but had nothing to do with it," Justin said, rolling his eyes.
"I DIDN'T!" JC shouted.
"Okay, ya, whatever buddy," Justin returned.
"I wouldn't let him to that," D told Justin. He turned to her confused.
"What? Don't you want him to be with you?" Justin inquired.
"Ya, but I wouldn't let him lie to his fans just to stay with me. It's not right," she told him.
"Ya, Justin," Lance added. "Chris would never agree to that either."
"Well, then it's good I ran over his foot then. Now he has a broken foot, so he can't dance..."
"He still won't go for it," Joey told him.
"He might, you never know. And we wouldn't be lying. We'd just be...holding back the truth. We'd tell the fans when he gets back that it was just a major rumour, like it is. No harm done. What do you think, D?" Justin asked. He looked to the bed where Chelle was holding her sister's hand and lying her head on the bed.
"I think she's asleep," Meagan commented. "I think they both are. Chelle has been having a hard time with this."
Chris sat on the X-Ray table, wishing he was with D. This was so boring, and the foot wasn't even broken, he'd decided. It just hurt a lot. He felt something cross his cheek, something cold. Tears formed in his eyes suddenly, and he felt immensely tired, as if his body knew something that he didn't know yet. He felt a hand run through his hair, and it sent shivers down his spine.
"I will be watching you," came a soft voice out of nowhere. The tears began streaming down his face as he realized who it was.
Rae looked over at her friend in the hospital bed and her sister who was leaning against the bed. The first thing that she realized was that Chelle's shoulders were quivering. The second thing she noticed was that D's chest wasn't moving. She walked over to Chelle, who looked over to Chelle and put her hand on the older woman's shoulder. Chelle looked up at Rae with red eyes.
"Sh-she told me," Chelle whispered, "that she loved my p-parents and I, and then, she just quit breathing." Rae took D's pulse, and quickly found that she couldn't find one.
"What's up?" Nate asked, putting his hands on her shoulder.
"Call the doctor," Rae quietly told him.
"What?" he asked, confused. He looked over at Chelle's red face. "OMG. Justin, get the doctor in here!"
"Why?" Justin asked.
"Just do it, goddam you!" Nate shouted.
Chapter 28
The guys and girls all stood at the front of the church, looking solemn. Chelle, along with her parents sat in the front pew, tears in their eyes. Jon sat beside Chelle, holding her hand tightly. Chelle's mother turned to Chelle.
"I always thought you would be first," the older woman said. Chelle looked over at her mother, floored.
"Mother," Chelle exclaimed. "How can you say that on a day like today?" Chelle's mother shrugged.
"It's just that you're always-" The woman looked pointedly at Jon. "--out, is all. Never home. And you're so reckless. I just thought--"
"What are you trying to say, mother?" Chelle demanded. Both Jon and Chelle's father stepped in.
"Everything will be okay," Jon soothed.
"Now is not the time for you two to be acting like this," Chelle's father announced.
Up at the front, the girls were in tears.
"This is so sad," Britney sobbed. "I never thought that this would happen to D,"
"Ah well," Rae said with a shrug. Jen looked over at Rae's dry eyes through her tearfilled ones.
"How can you not be crying?" Jen demanded with a sniff. Rae shrugged again.
"I just don't cry over these things, that's all," Rae reported.
"But she was your best friend," Jen added.
"Sorry, can't do it. Incapable of it." Jen just sighed, and turned away. "Oh come on, people," Rae exclaimed. "Nothing's even happening yet."
"How can you be so hard hearted?" Jen asked.
"Just comes naturally I guess," Rae said with a smile.
Justin was thinking back to the time Rae was telling him about Randi's run in with her dead brother. The whole thing that had led up to her death. He looked over at his friends' solemn faces, trying not to laugh. He let out a snort. His friends all turned and glared.
"I see dead people," Justin said in an eerie voice, then began to laugh uncontrollably, although quietly enough. Jen glared over at him, and he tried to stop.
"This is neither the time nor the place," Chris scolded with a frown.
"What're you laughing at?" Meagan asked.
"I see dead people!" Justin repeated. Meagan cracked a smile, then began down right laughing along with Justin. Obviously she'd gotten wind that Randi had seen her dead brother before her death as well.
"Do you mind!!" Chris shouted, shutting them both up. The whole congregation stared at him. Chris bit his lip. "Sorry!" he apologize loudly. The people went back to their talking and weeping.
"Are we ready to begin?" the man at the front asked. All nodded. The organist started playing, and a woman in white walked through the back doors.
"I can't believe you are doing so soon after the.....accident," Joey whispered. "It just doesn't seem right."
"It's what she wanted," Chris said, looking sad.
"But this was Randi," Joey added. "Couldn't you have given it a little more time before you announced your engagement to....her?" Joey eyed the woman who came to stand beside Chris and smiled at both of them.
"No, I love her," Chris exclaimed. The priest cleared his throat. Chris snapped to attention. The woman turned to Rae and smiled widely, and Rae smiled back with a wink.
"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today.........." the priest began droning. Chris turned to talk to the woman standing beside him.
"Are you ready for this?" Chris asked. The girl nodded her head rapidly. "You don't think we're rushing into this, do you?"
"No, do you?" the girl asked quickly. Chris shook his head fast, wide-eyed.
"No, I want this. I just didn't think you would want it so fast after the... you know..."
"Well, when you're clinically dead, it kinda puts a few things into perspective," D told him with a sarcastic grin. "Besides, it's been almost a year now. It isn't really that soon anymore."
"Do you, Christopher Alan Kirkpatrick........"
"I do," Chris exclaimed enthusiastically.
"And do you, Randi Lynn......." D hesitated just enough to make Chris gain a look of fear in his eyes, then gave a little laugh.
"I do," she repeated, almost in a whisper. The two paid attention while they said their vows, put the rings on the fingers, etc. During a pause in being forced to pay attention, D spoke to Chris again. "So, are you glad I called in that favour?" D asked in half a whisper.
"Oh, ya," Chris agreed. "Proposing to you was the best favour I've ever had pulled in," he assured her. "And I love you for it." D smiled as the priest allowed Chris to pull her in for the kiss that made them husband and wife.
