Slowly sinking his body onto the bed, AJ slipped a clean shirt. Looking over at the clock on the stand, he noted the time and then glanced over towards his sleeping brother.

“Poor kid,” AJ sighed as he looked at the crumpled mound of blankets and pillows strewn over the bedding. Soft snoring was the only indication that there was somebody in that bed. As much as he hated to wake Nick, he had no other choice since breakfast was going to be held in the conference room adjacent to Lou’s hotel suite. “Nicky.... Nick? Time to get up and get ready.”

“I’m tired.”

“Yeah well so am I, just get up and get dressed and maybe if we’re lucky, shit got cancelled and we can go back to bed.”

Nick grunted a reply, leaving the covers over his head.

“Kaos, for the last time.... you gotta get up!”

“I don’t wanna,” Nick whined.

“Suit yourself, but I am not gonna take the heat for this!” AJ grumbled as he stomped out of the room.

Nick burrowed further into the blankets, thankful that AJ finally got the hint and left him by himself. The peace and quiet he was craving was short lived when another need made itself known and interrupted the warm haven he had created for himself under the blankets.

His bladder was crying for relief....that and the fact that he was once again unbelievably thirsty. Reluctantly, he tossed the blankets aside and slowly sat up.

“God, my back hurts like a mutha,” he mumbled as he stood up, quickly hunching over. As he slowly padded toward the bathroom, Nick tried to remember what he had done that would make his back ache so. Only once in his life had he ever experienced “the dreaded bladder infection” but he never remembered the back pain being that bad except the one time after he got nailed by the group of hyper teens and he was thrown against the bus.

Nick finally made it to the bathroom only to find himself standing in front of the toilet wishing he could go. As much as his bladder hurt, it seemed like he had already emptied it when only a tiny dribble of urine was all that he could manage to force out. He suddenly cried out in pain but quickly bit his lower lip to quiet it.

Slowly, he made his way to the bathroom sink. Picking up a glass with shaky hands, Nick stopped his movements momentarily when he caught a glimpse of his reflection in the mirror.

“God..... I look like shit still,” he mumbled. Turning the faucet on, he filled the glass with water, leaving the tap running as he quickly downed the drink. Although his thirst didn’t seem satisfied after glasses, he shut off the water only to turn it back on and fill the glass one more time to take with him back to bed.

As he was slowly making his way back to the bed, Nick painfully bent over to retrieve the jeans he had left on the floor after he stepped out of them. Pulling the wadded tissue out of his front pocket, he grabbed two of the tiny diet pills he had stolen from Kevin.

Shoving them into his mouth, he quickly washed them down with a gulp of water. He wondered why he still was gaining weight when he hadn’t been eating. Lou Pearlman convinced Nick that he would be fat no matter what he personally did to correct the situation but taking those diet pills would be the only solution to his troubles.

And lately it seemed that his weight was only the beginning of his troubles. The back ache that had been plaguing him on and off the past week seemed to be sticking around now, not to mention the constant headache and his unquenchable thirst.

Moaning, he hobbled back to the bed, slowly laying down and curling over onto his side. Just as he managed to get comfortable, the door banged open.

“I came back,” AJ announced loudly as he flung the door shut. “Nick, you still haven’t got up yet?”

“I was up,” Nick mumbled quietly, “talk a little softer please...”

AJ sighed. “Are you still feeling like shit?”

Putting a hand across his face, Nick managed a moan in reply. “My head hurts so bad.”

“Another migraine?”

“Kinda, but this feels weird....different I guess.”

“Different how?”

Nick didn’t reply as he drew the blankets up closer to his neck. “AJ, you remember when you wanted to take me to the hospital and I told you no last night?”

“Yeah?”

“I think I want to go now...”

AJ stood over Nick’s bed as he lowered his sunglasses. “For a headache?”

Nick pulled the covers over his face as he faught back the tears that sprung into his eyes. “Forget it.” He kept his tight grasp on his shield of blankets when AJ automatically tugged on them.

“Let go!”

“No..... just forget about it okay?”

“Nick let me look at you! You said you didn’t feel good..... let me look at you!”

“Forget it,” Nick choked out, his voice cracking.

“C’mon you little creep, lemme see your face!”

Nick quickly flipped the covers down only to pull them back up over his head again. “Leave me alone now!”

AJ reached down at the foot of the bed and tore the blankets off Nick’s body, tossing them down to the floor. “Ah-ha!”

“Hey why did you do that?” Nick cried.

“I just wanted to look at your face.....are you crying?”

“No,” Nick sniffed, trying to reach the blankets without leaving the bed. The movement sent a sharp pain through his back, causing the blonde to cry out in pain.

Hearing the cries of his baby brother sent AJ’s concerns in a sudden worried mode. “Shit... Nick, are you okay?”

Frantic, AJ rubbed Nick’s back while the blonde sobbed into his pillow. “Nick where does it hurt? Nick?.... um, I’m gonna grab Kev, don’t go anywhere....”

Running out of the hotel room, AJ nearly knocked over a group of girls that were staked out in the hallway. He apologized as he continued to run, forgetting that he had left the door open in his haste to get Kevin and the girls immediately took advantage of the situation, thinking they would be able to go in and steal some souvineers from the tattooed singer’s room.

The girls tentatively edged their way into the open room, quietly taking in the sight of clothes strewn on the floor and it wasn’t until they heard some sobbing did they realize that they were not alone.

“Shit.....someone’s still in here!”

“Nick...Nick Carter..is that you?”

“Awww, why are you sad Nick?”

Although he felt awful, he was able to realize that girls had walked in on him laying in bed, crying. “Who let you in?”

“Don’t cry Nick,” one of the girls soothed.

“Please go away,” Nick begged as he wiped the tears from his reddened face.

“Did that Manda hurt you again?”

“She didn’t hit you, did she?”

Nick frowned as he listened to the girl’s accusations about Manda. “What are you talking about? Y-you you don’t even...” Before Nick could finish his sentence, another sharp pain ripped through his back, causing him to cry out in pain.

“Omigod, Nick are you okay?”

”WHO THE FUCK LET YOU IN HERE?” AJ boomed as he and Kevin entered the room.

“We’re so sorry!” The girls quickly raced out of the room, not daring to say anything for fear AJ would yell at them again.

Kevin sat gently on his brother’s bed, smoothing the bangs from the blonde’s sweat soaked face. “Nick, what’s going on?”

“I don’t feel good,” came the whimpered reply.

“He’s been up and down most of the night last night puking and god he’s been drinking water like he drinks soda,” AJ offered.

“Maybe your stomach needs a break Nick,” Kevin stated in a fatherly tone. “You don’t feel feverish, but your face is really red.”

“He is really in a lot of pain too, he’s said he has a weird migraine,” AJ remarked stopping when Kevin tossed a glare in his direction. “I’m just helping out by telling you what’s going on, Jesus Kev.”

“I think Nick can tell me what’s wrong with himself better than you can.”

“I just don’t feel good.”

AJ didn’t add anything but smugly gestured with his hand toward his ailing brother.

“Okay so Nick doesn’t go into detail like you, sorry I looked at you cross,” Kevin snapped out the apology.

“He said he wanted to go to the hospital because he hurts so much.”

Upon hearing those words, Kevin jerked his head toward his young brother. The hospital was a place that Nick hated the most and he acted almost like a cat being held over water when they have had to take him to a hospital in the past for a simple injury. “Is that true Nick?”

Nick moaned as he nodded.

Reaching into his front pocket, Kevin pulled his cell phone out and punched in some numbers.

“The guy said he wants to go to the hospital, who the hell are you calling?”

“Pearlman, we have to get permission to leave,” Kevin stated as he waited for the phone to connect.

AJ grabbed the phone from Kevin and closed it. “Screw that, you know what he’s gonna say. Let’s just take Nick in ourselves.”

“You’re crazy, we can’t do that!”

“So he fines us, big whoopie shit!”

Kevin sighed as he drew a hand over his face. “How about I call the hotel doctor? Would that be okay Nick?”

“I don’t care....I just wanna feel better,” Nick whined.