Lou Pearlman had a bad feeling as he took the elevator from his suite down to the floor that the members of Backstreet had been assigned. He had been angry at how Kevin Richardson managed to keep him out of the dressing room after Carter had collapsed off stage. He laughed despite himself. He theorized that Carter was a better actor than he had ever dreamed of giving the kid credit for.

Fainting! What a wonderful excuse to get the rest of the guys in the group to pity him!

To Pearlman’s surprise as he exited the elevator, he discovered two paramedics guiding an empty ambulance cot down the hall in the same direction he was heading. At first he thought nothing of the coincidence, but as he walked further down the hallway, he was shocked to see the men stop outside of one of the Backstreet member’s room.

“What seems to be the trouble gentlemen?”

The two paramedics looked at Pearlman with weary eyes and without a reply started knocking on the hotel room door.

Twice in one evening had Lou Pearlman been ignored and he didn’t particularly care to be treated this way. He was accustomed to being treated in a manner that reflected a “respectful fear.”

“You do not have permission to enter that room, do you understand?”

The paramedics continued to knock on the door despite Pearlman’s objections.

“You idiots probably don’t speak English. I’m telling you that you can’t enter that room! Typical stupid German idiots!”

The door opened but not until after Pearlman cussed out the two ambulance drivers. Dr. Grost promptly met the paramedics. “You arrived quickly,” he stated to the two in German.

Nick eyed the arriving cot and the two paramedics with fear in his eyes. Catching the sight of Lou Pearlman walking behind them sent chills down his fever plagued body.

“I’m f-fine, we don’t have to do this,” he protested, more for Pearlman than for himself.

“The boy is right, you people have no business taking Nick anyplace without my authorization,” he boomed.

“It’s because of you that Nick is being taken to the hospital,” Kevin spat.

“What are you talking about?” Pearlman challenged.

“You know damn well what Kevin’s talking about!” AJ sputtered, taking a threatening step toward the manager.

“I really don’t have any idea what you’re talking about.”

“This young man is having kidney failure and from my understanding it’s from his methods he’s used to diet,” Dr. Grost explained.

Pearlman’s face paled, but he was still trying to keep control of the situation. “Nick? What is he talking about?”

“Jesus....man, you fucking know exactly what the doc is talking about,” AJ replied through gritted teeth. “The diet pills, the laxatives, the bingeing and throwing up, all just to make you happy you son-of-a-bitch!”

Pearlman laid an icy glare in Nick’s direction. Everything he had told the boy not to say was out in the open. He desperately tried to come up with some type of excuse. “Is that what Nick told you?” He shook his head as he forced a chuckle. “Well you know how Nick likes to make up stories to protect himself. I was wondering if he had been up to something by the way he’s been so sick on this tour, with all that----”

”Stop the bullshit Lou!” Kevin yelled; his fists balled at his side.

Before Kevin could punch Lou, AJ got to the fat man quicker, fists landing everywhere from the man’s face, to his jaw and then squarely in the gut. Howie and Brian had to pull AJ off before something seriously happened.

“I’ll make sure this is the last show you ever do McLean,” Pearlman hissed as he tried to straighten out his brown suitcoat.

Nick could only helplessly watch from his bed as the scene unfolded. It was all happening because of him. He fucked up again.

“Can we take the patient down to the ambulance?” a paramedic questioned the doctor in perfect English.

”You could speak English? Complete asses!” Pearlman muttered.

“Yes, all along and we are not fucking dirty Krauts for your information,” the younger of the two paramedics replied.

With help from Doctor Grost, Kevin filled out the necessary paperwork that gave the proof that they needed about the mistreatment that Lou Pearlman and Johnny Wright had done to the group, Nick especially. After all that was going on with their young brother did Brian finally get the courage to speak up and tell Kevin and Dr. Grost that Lou had told him that he would have to wait to have surgery on his heart until the following year when the tour was overwith.

“He told you that it was okay to put off heart surgery?” Kevin questioned, shock in his eyes.

“He said I had to,” Brian quietly admitted.

“That man isn’t human,” Dr. Grost sputtered. “Heart problems are very serious issues. You shouldn’t be running around and going from country to country with a hole in your heart.”

“I’m fine,” Brian lied.

“No you’re not! If I recall, there have been a few times you needed to take some oxygen backstage,” Kevin stated. “And come to think of it, I remember your lips looking a little blue too.”

Brian rolled his eyes. “C’mon, it’s not that bad. I just wanted to tell you that Lou has had his grip on all of us.”

“Well, we’re taking the steps to get that man out of our lives and out of this contract.”

“If you’re ready, I can take you down to see your friend. I must tell you, his kidneys aren’t doing very good but I’m keeping a close watch on his BUN and Creatine levels.”

“Which are?” Kevin questioned.

“They keep track of how the kidneys are excreting wastes from the blood,” the doctor explained.

“Oh,” both Brian and Kevin replied dully.

“I must warn you that he will look a little more puffy but that is from the fluids that have been building up in his system, nothing to get too alarmed about, he’s in good hands.”

Quietly, Kevin and Brian followed Dr. Grost down the antiseptic smelling hall toward the room where Nick was in. It had been a long night and they were happy to see that he was sleeping soundly in the hospital bed; heart monitor beeping quietly off to one side.

“His face does look a little fuller,” Brian whispered. Kevin nodded in agreement.

“When do you think he will be fit to go home?” Kevin asked.

“That all depends on Nick and how his body responds to treatment. If he didn’t have to fly home for a month, I’d be happy.”

“A month!?” Brian and Kevin gasped.

“Give or take.”

“I’ll go with less than a month, I’m sorry I know we’re talking about Nick’s health, but wouldn’t he be better off at home than in a German hospital? No offense doctor,” Brian wondered outloud.

“None taken,” Dr. Grost smiled. “I’ll see what I can do to speed up the process to get him in shape.”

“Yes Jane.....I’m sorry but we can’t let Nick fly home until the doctor gives his okay,” Kevin sighed as he spoke into the receiver to a very impatient Jane Carter. “Yes ma’am, I know ma’am......I’m really sorry but he’s doing all he can for him right now......”

Brian could only shake his head as he listened to his cousin’s side of the phone conversation. Knowing Mrs. Carter as he did, he knew no doubt that Kevin was getting an earful from her right now.

As Kevin pulled the receiver away from his ear as Jane yelled, Brian’s suspicions were instantly confirmed. “NO! Are you crazy? I’m sorry, I don’t mean to be disrespectful, but Nick is in the hospital because of Pearlman!......no, I really can’t explain it right now, it will have to wait......no ma’am.......yes I promise I will.”

Kevin softly hung the phone up, leaving his hand on the receiver momentarily before Brian spoke.

“She in a bad mood?”

“Worse.”

“Worse? How?”

“She thinks this is ridiculous and that it’s some type of crazy game that Nick’s playing and that he really isn’t that sick or at least sick enough to be in a hospital in Germany. She wants Nick to just get up and leave the hospital....I don’t understand that woman at all.”

“I hate to sound disrespectful about Mrs. Carter,” Brian sighed before he continued, “but I think all she cares about is the money she is loosing the longer Nick is out of commission.”

Kevin shook his head negatively as he folded his arms across his chest. “I’m never going to be able to figure out that woman as long as I live.”

”YO....are you guys having a party or something in there!?”

Kevin and Brian winced hearing AJ beating on the hotel room door, yelling in the hall.

“AJ! Keep it down....there are people in the hotel,” Kevin admonished as he flung the door open.

“I tried to keep him quiet, but you know how uncooth he can be,” Howie quietly apologized.

“Uncooth? Since when have you become better than me?”

“Than I,” Kevin corrected.

“What-the-fuck-ever,” AJ sputtered as he sauntered into the hotel room, placing a cigarette to his lips.

Brian reached out, snatching the cigarette. “NO SMOKING!”

“I’m not smoking,” AJ defended.

“Well you were going to....”

Kevin sank down onto an empty bed, rubbing his closed eyes. “Guys.....please quit the bickering and let me think...”

“Got a headache Kevy?” AJ taunted.

Brian shot a warning glare at his tattooed brother. After patiently waiting a few moments for Kevin to fill them in on what he was thinking about, Howie broached the silence.

“Kev, tell us what you’re thinking about, maybe we can help whatever is bothering you....I know it’s about Nick, but remember, we’re a team.”

Sighing as he laid his body back onto the bed, Kevin stared at the ceiling for a moment before he replied. “Well, I guess we’re in this deeper than we’d like to be and I’m trying to figure out a way for us to fly home when Nick is ready to be discharged from the hospital....”

“We’ll just get the tickets transferred to a later flight, no problem,” AJ stated with confidence.

Kevin shook his head. “I wish it was that simple, Pearlman told me that he was pulling our tickets if Nick didn’t get out of the hospital by Friday....tomorrow.”

“He can’t do that!” AJ rasped.

“He can and he will,” Kevin corrected. “I guess the only thing I can do is have you, Brian and Howie go on and fly out tonight as scheduled and I’ll have to figure out how Nick and I will get home.”

“We’re not leaving you,” Brian replied.

“That’s right, we’re a family and families stick together,” Howie agreed.

“But how can we come up with the funds to get our flight home? No, you guys are better off just going on as planned.”

“There is still someone we can talk to Kevin....”

The dark haired singer raised himself up on his elbows, looking at his cousin.

“We’ll have to talk to Johnny, it’s our only other option and I’m sure he won’t be as cruel as Mr. Pearlman has been to us.”

“Why the hell do you think Johnny will listen to anything we have to say? He’s in this so deep with Pearlman that he’s too scared to take a shit without Pearlman’s permission,” AJ spat.

A solemn expression washed over Brian’s face. “Because we can make a deal with him to leave him out when we file the lawsuit.”