Staring at the walls, all Nick could think of was how bored he was. He had done everything a person could possibly do while laying in the hospital bed from counting the tiles on the ceiling to the number of drips going into the tube from his IV soloution per minute.

The other thing that Nick discovered, was that his appetite had seemed to have perked up since he woke up this morning. It seemed almost impossible to satisfy his hunger and quickly decided it was because he was starting to feel a little bit better and also the fact that he had gotten sick a few times since the bus incident outside of the hotel.

A young woman entered his private hospital room carrying a luncheon tray. Normally Nick would turn his nose up at anything that didn’t come from McDonald’s or Burger King in a foreign country, but he thought that his breakfast was awesome so he was actually looking forward to lunch.

After the girl left the room, Nick anxiously picked up the cover on the large platter. He didn’t recognize the food, but it smelled delicious. Unwrapping the utensils, he plowed his fork into the meat, potatoes and gravy mixture.

Just as he was finishing his cheesecake, Johnny appeared. “How are you feeling?”

“Better,” Nick replied, mouthful of the rich, fluffy mixture.

Johnny started shaking his head in disgust. “My god, you act like you haven’t eaten in months.”

Feeling the heat rise to his cheeks, Nick slowly continued chewing what was in his mouth.

“God, you stuffed your mouth so full you look like a chipmonk storing nuts,” the tall manager pointed out.

“Can’t you get off my back for a change?”

“Carter, at the rate you’re going....” Johnny sighed, “I give up! How many times have you been told to watch what you stuff into that fat face?”

Taking the fork, Nick started playing with the last of the cheesecake on the plate, making grids like a tic tac toe game. Johnny stared at the mess the young singer was creating.

“You should be eating healthy, light foods like tossed salad and yogurt. You keep up at this pace eating a full dinner for lunch, you won’t be able to fit through the door of the tour bus.”

“I can’t help it, I’m hungry, is that so wrong? Besides, I’ve been throwing up lots before I came to the hospital, so this isn’t gonna kill me,” Nick mumbled.

“You’re getting fat, I’ve told you that and you don’t listen. It use to be a cute type of baby fat maybe two years ago, but now, god, it’s just gross!” Johnny snapped. “Lay off the meat and potatoes Carter. I’m serious! And I’m here to take you back to the hotel. I can watch you better there.”

”That’s just about enough!”

Both Nick and Johnny jumped when Nurse Hildegard bellowed as she entered the room. Upon turning and seeing the fat nurse, Johnny narrowed his eyes.

“You need to leave, you’re upsetting my patient!”

“I’m his manager I have every right to be here,” Johnny bristled.

“I don’t care who you think you are, this is my patient and I would like to see him following doctor’s orders which includes eating what he is given.”

Johnny rubber necked from Nick’s nearly empty tray to the nurse’s face. “Oh, does that mean it’s a good thing for him to be eating a 6,000 calorie lunch?” He stopped his words, sizing the fat nurse. “Wait, you’re used to eating a meal of that size must be about four times a day, right?”

“Name calling doesn’t hurt me, herr. My patient has been prescribed a healthy diet of fats and proteins, a proven method of healing the body. He is young and soon will be healthy, as many of my patients. I pride myself in my patient’s recoveries.”

“Oh for the love of god, I want him signed out now!”

“No, he will stay as the doctor ordered. He is still getting an IV and he needs bedrest to heal his kidneys.”

“Carter? Is this what you want? Don’t you think it would be better to be back at the hotel around the people you know?”

Keeping his head lowered, Nick replied quietly, “No, I don’t feel well enough to make the trip back to the hotel.” He knew that as soon as Johnny had him in his grasp he would be working again and more than likely eating bird food. As much as he hated to admit it, he sort of liked being waited on, breakfast in bed, food at his fingertips to satisfy his gnawing hunger pains.

“Fine, have it your way, but just so you know, doctor’s orders or not, you will be signing out tomorrow, I’ll be back to get you early,” Johnny warned. “Try not to eat too much at dinner, Carter, your body needs a break.”

“Asshole,” Nick muttered bitterly after the manager left the room.

“You do not seem to like that man much, do you?”

Wiping his eyes with the back of his free hand, Nick shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t have much of a choice. He’s hired by our recording label and we have to listen to him whether we like the bull that’s coming out of his mouth or not.”

“He likes to pick on you about your weight, I see,” Hildegard said.

“Constantly,” Nick agreed.

“Well you are my patient and he cannot tell me how to care for you! He is an ass.”

Nick managed a slight grin when he could tell that the nurse seemed to hate Johnny as much as he did.

“The cook is making chocolate chip cookies, I’ll be right back with a plate and a nice tall glass of cold buttermilk.”

“Make it plain milk and I’ll be happy,” Nick grinned.

“Johnny, you know that the fans will understand if we miss some tour stops,” Kevin remarked as he walked alongside the manager towards the hotel shuttle van.

Johnny shook his head emitting a sarcastic laugh. “Richardson, you aren’t looking at this from a business aspect. You see, there’s these little things called contracts---”

“I know what they are,” Kevin angrily interrupted. Taking a deep breath, he tried to calm his voice before speaking. “It’s just that what Nick has can turn into a more serious problem.”

“Did I say Carter was going to be performing?”

“No, but you’re talking about---”

“What I’m talking about is we have schedules and they need to be kept. We can’t take time out for fatass Carter and be stuck in some damned hotel in fucking England--”

“Germany,” Kevin corrected.

“Germany then wherever the fuck we are. The point is, Richardson, that we have to be on the goddamned tour bus tomorrow afternoon and Carter will be on it with the rest of you.”

Climbing into the shuttle van, Kevin bowed his head forward, rubbing his eyes.

“Headache again?” Brian whispered sympathetically.

Kevin moaned in reply. “Not yet, but it’s coming.”

The silence in the van was interrupted by Howie blowing his nose and AJ’s coughing. Kevin and Brian seemed to be getting over the Backstreet Flu while the other two band members were in it’s tight grip. In Kevin’s thoughts the tour so far was nothing but a disaster.

“Maybe Howie has some Tylenol,” Brian suggested.

“Tylenol won’t cure this kind of a headache.”

“Migraine?”

“No, it’s a stress headache.”

Brian looked at his cousin, concern evident in his voice. “What’s got you so stressed out?”

Rubbing his face, Kevin sighed.

Brian placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. “I want to help, tell me please.”

“Johnny is being a dick,” Kevin muttered.

Grinning, Brian replied, “That’s nothing new.”

Kevin started to tell Brian about his conversation with Johnny when the van arrived outside the music store.

“Showtime guys,” Johnny commanded. “Put the Backstreet smiles on your faces and make love to the crowd and the cameras!”

“Jesus,” AJ mumbled.

The doors were quickly opened to the van, barely allowing the boys to gather their personal items they carried with them let alone their composure. Howie barely managed to grab his box of tissues before he was literally jerked out the door by Johnny.

“Step it up Latino man, it’s show time,” he hissed into Howie’s face.

The men were led into the music store like cows heading into a slaughter house, teens crowded against the barriors to the right and left of the carpet that had been laid on the cement sidewalk leading to the entrance. The fans were screaming and holding up pictures and posters. Cameras flashed, hurting AJ’s sunglass covered eyes.

Five places were arranged with water bottles and black felt markers with their names on place cards. As soon as AJ sat down, he uncapped his bottle of water, taking a drink trying to quench his dry throat.

“Wo ist Nick?”

“Er dose nicht seien sie beachten,” Kevin quickly replied.

AJ slid his glasses down his nose peering over at Kevin. Johnny rushed up to the singer’s side. “Richardson, not a word about where Carter is! Not a word about his ailment either!”

“Tell them yourself, fett esel.”

Johnny faced the store owner, sweat beading on his forehead. “Nick Carter will not be present today.”

“Oh? Why not? I have a contract that says we were getting all five boys,” the owner replied, his face flushed with anger.

“It’s something that can’t be helped.”

“I’d like to have an explanation,” the owner snapped and then gestured towards the crowd, “I’m sure we all would like an explanation!”

“B-but I can’t speak German,” Johnny stuttered trying to stall and get his way out of the predicament.

The owner flashed a false smile. “I can translate then or better yet, you could have the tall one tell the crowd since he can speak German.”

As Johnny wrung his hands staring at the crowd, the sweat started running off his face. “Goddamn Carter,” he muttered, “he’s going to pay for this.”

“It’s not his fault,” Kevin defended through a gritted smile, glaring at the manager with his eyes. ”Tell them!”

“Where’s Nick?”

“I wanna see Nick!”

The crowd was starting to voice it’s discontentment that the autograph signing hadn’t started and that Nick wasn’t there yet. Johnny looked at the table and was met back with ‘you-got-yourself-in-this-dig-yourself-out’ look followed by forced smiles.

“Uh, um, Nick’s feeling under the weather,” Johnny began in a slow and calculated voice, “so I’m sorry but he can’t be here.”

A young voice shouted, “Howie’s sick and he’s here!”

There was grumbling and moans coming from the crowd, indicting to Johnny that this could soon turn into a riot.

Kevin cleared his throat to indicate to the manager that he would speak for the group. “We’ve enjoyed your beautiful city so far, but I’m sorry to say that the travel hasn’t been pleasant. We’ve been hit with a flu bug and it’s taking turns on who gets it and hasn’t. Nick wasn’t the luckiest one and he’s in bed as I speak,” Kevin explained speaking in perfect German. “Howie is just starting to get over it, but he didn’t want to disappoint you and he insisted on coming. AJ is still under the weather too, but well, we all know how Nick can be when it comes to getting sick or hurt!”

The crowd was buying what Kevin was telling them and the sympathy was clear in the expressions. Johnny seemed to look relieved for the moment when he noted that he manager looked soothed but somewhat sympathetic as well.

“What did you say to them?”

“Don’t worry, I took care of it.”

“You didn’t tell them about--”

Kevin leaned towards the manager and whispered sharply. “I told them that he was in bed, satisfied?”

Carrying an ice bucket, AJ met Johnny in the hall of the hotel, nearly colliding head on. “Whoa, where you off to in such a hurry?”

Johnny glanced at his watch. “McLean? I thought you’d be in bed sleeping off the bar you drank up last night.”

“You’re such an asshole. I stayed in last night, I’m still sick, remember?”

“Yeah and I have some swamp land in Arizona I’d like to sell you. I’m going to the hospital,” Johnny replied, pulling out the collar on his jacket.

“Whoa... whoa, hold on a sec,” AJ called out, waiting for the tall manager to stop. “You’re not really serious about taking Nick out of the hospital today are you?”

“Yes, we have deadlines and he’s a costly obstical. Carter needs to be on this bus this afternoon, he knows I’m coming to get him so he’ll be ready.”

“Brian said the doctor ordered Nick to be there for at least two, possibly three weeks.”

“Well doctors don’t pay our bills and besides, this is just some quack from Germany, I hardly trust his damned judgement.”

“What did Clark say about this?”

“This doesn’t concern Clark,” Johnny hissed. He threw a dark look at AJ before adding, “make sure you don’t go running to Clark either or your life will be hell if I get wind that you did.”

Shrugging, AJ left the manager. He decided against going to anyone for fear of getting on Johnny’s bad side. “Just hope Nick has some balls,” he quietly mumbled to himself.