Nick tossed his Game Boy onto the bedstand. He had played all of the video games he had packed one too many times - not that he wasn’t used to passing the time away by being entertained with the games - it was the fact that he was trapped or more like imprisioned. That was a lot different than being on the bus or in a hotel room during a tour. At least there was things going on to occupy his mind.

Being cooped up in the hospital was starting to wear his patience thin. He was hoping that Dr. Andersen would have come in this morning on her rounds telling him that he could go home, instead she ordered more tests. More tests ontop of the other tests that still have yet to be started.

Sighing, Nick turned his head toward the window. From the bed he could see the puffy white clouds; the patches of brilliant blue sky.

“This sucks,” he grumbled as he turned his attention to the IV pole. Three bags of IV solution was hanging. At least he was down from his all time personal record of twelve IV’s, but the number of bags weren’t going away fast enough to please him. The squeaking of shoes on the tiled floor indicated to Nick that another nurse was entering the room.

“Hello Nick, I’m Kaye,” the young nurse sing-songed as she breezed into the room.

“Hi,” Nick replied dully.

The dark haired woman cocked her head to one side, folding her arms across her chest. “Well, aren’t you the happy one today?”

“Sorry.”

“Don’t be, I know this place starts to suck after a day or two.”

Nick managed a slight smile which faded as fast as it came. He furrowed his nonexistent brows as he looked at the empty handed woman. She picked up on his concerned expression.

“Something wrong?”

“Yeah....why did you come in? You don’t have anything with you.”

Kaye pulled her arms away from her chest, feigning surprise. “Oh my gosh....I forgot!”

Nick stared at her skeptically. “Yeah, sure.”

“Well.....I did come in for a reason.”

“Enlighten me,” Nick said dramatically.

The nurse moved over toward the sink opening one of the cupboard drawers. After getting what she needed, she washed her hands vigorously before snapping on a pair of latex gloves. “I’ve got orders to discontinue your IV’s,” she smiled.

Nick could have sworn he felt his heart skip a beat. “You’re serious?”

“Now would a girl like me lie to you?”

“So I get all this shit.....eh junk taken away?”

“Most of it, you still get to keep the chemo pump and the J-tube.”

“One more day of pure hell on the chemo then, eh?”

“Sorry, but it’s not my choice.”

“Mine either,” he grumbled.

The nurse pulled the IV lines from the Brovac port, draping the tubing over the top of the pole. Without missing a step, she hurried with the pole over to the sink. Nick watched as she took the bags down and laid them into the sink.

“Ugh....no, not that!” he moaned when she returned with a large syringe and a bottle of sterile saline.

“Sorry, but you don’t wanna get an infection.”

“But it hurts like you know what when you flush that port,” Nick protested weakly.

“I’m sorry but I have to follow Dr. Andersen’s orders.”

Nick gave her his best ‘puppy dog eyes.’ “I won’t tell on you....”

“Nice try, won’t work on me though, I took Notorious Bitch 101 in college.”

Smoothing the wrinkles on the blanket, Nick muttered, “Figures.”

The sharp pain that shot across his chest, made Nick draw a quick breath in, causing the nurse to slow down the flush. “I’m sorry.”

With his eyes watering, Nick decided to reply with a wave of his hand that he was okay, not trusting his voice at the moment.

“There done.....that wasn’t so bad was it?”

“Nah, the best time I’ve had here so far.”

Kaye pulled the gloves off after she dumped the saline into the waste basket and the syringe into the beige biohazard container that hung on the wall next to the sink. As she turned the faucet on, she quickly scrubbed her hands. “Well, now that’s done guess what we’re gonna do?”

“I can’t wait to hear,” Nick replied, voice dripping with sarcasim.

“At least you’re excited......we’re going out for a walk...”

“Oh God, please not now,” Nick begged.

“Nick you won’t get better until you move around.”

“But it hurts to stand up let alone walk.”

“You can protest all you want, you’re gonna get up because---”

“Because why?”

“Because I said so,” Kaye sighed. “Why do you have to be difficult?”

“I dunno, I was hoping I could change your mind.”

“Sorry but not today,” she replied as she lowered the bed to it’s lowest level. “C’mon, sit up, please.”

Nick slowly obeyed, pulling his body gingerly into a sitting position. “I don’t have a robe.”

The nurse grabbed the hospital gown that was laying across the foot of the bed. “Nice try, I came prepared. Put this on backwards, it will cover your butt.”

Nick grumbled as he accepted her help in getting the gown on. “This is really gonna suck.”

“Well you won’t be disappointed then......and when we get back you can do your J-tube feeding.”

“Yippee,” Nick grumbled.

Kaye walked alongside Nick as he slowly edged his way toward the doorway. He protectively placed a hand across his stomach as he walked with slow, calculated footsteps.

“Why do you have your hand over your stomach? Does it still hurt that much?”

Nick sighed. “Kinda sorta but not really.”

Kaye looked at her patient with one eye closed. “Kinda...sorta?”

“Well ya know...it sorta feels like if I don’t have my hand on where the surgery was my insides are gonna fall out or something.....”

Kaye couldn’t help but snicker quietly. “Okay, that’s a new one to me but have you tried walking without your hand on your belly?”

Nick shrugged his shoulders in reply. Kaye gently placed a hand ontop of his.

“It’s okay, try it....I’d hate to see you go through life hanging onto your stomach.”

Cautiously, Nick did as she requested and took a few steps. “Okay, now can I go back to my room?”

The nurse looked behind her and then back at Nick. “You realize you’ve only walked less than 200 feet. Besides, this is where I wanted you to stop at,” she stated, gesturing at the floor scale.

Nick’s eyes widened. “You gotta be kiddin’ me.....I don’t wanna do that!”

“Just get on the scale for cryin’ out loud,” she commanded, taking his arm.

Nick’s mind was racing as he took a hesitant step toward the scales. It wasn’t that he was afraid of getting on them; it was more that he was afraid of what the scales would tell him once he got on. Years ago, he avoided the scale like a cat avoided water. The numbers were never his friend and always pointed his failures and undiscplined eating habits and pizza binges. Now the scale meant something quite different to him. Now it showed lower numbers and to him lower numbers meant that he was losing weight; losing his battle.

“One sixty-two.....”

“Huh?”

“I said one sixty-two.....” Kaye repeated, looking at her patient’s expression.

Nick couldn’t believe what he heard the nurse say. When he entered the hospital for the surgery, he was told that he was down to one hundred fifty-nine pounds, now almost a week later she was saying that he had gained weight!

“You seem to be pretty happy with those numbers.”

Nick smirked. “Actually, I am.”

“Wait right here, I need to grab your chart and write down the numbers....”

’Three pounds! I actually gained three whole pounds!’ Nick mentally cheered.

“Ah-ha, now I see why you’re beaming..... you gained three pounds, that’s pretty good.....see now aren’t you glad about that J-tube?”

Nick absently placed a hand over where the tube jutted from his side. “Um...yeah I guess. Does this mean that this can come out now?”

The nurse finished scribbling her notes on the page, closing up the file. “Well as good as three pounds are, you still are far away from where you were before all this happened, am I right?”

A blush stained Nick’s cheeks. “Well yeah, but I had been needing to lose weight for a long time.....”

“You turkey, I’m just saying that a tall guy like you should weigh more than one hundred sixty-one---”

“One sixty-two,” Nick quickly corrected.

Kaye smiled. “Well, I’m proud of you, you’re doing a good job. Let’s finish up this walk so you can get back to your room, okay?”

“Finish up? I’m fine with where we are now.”

“You have to be one of my most stubborn patients by far Mr. Carter,” the nurse teased. “C’mon.”

Kevin stared at his cousin, unsure of what to say. He always had the right words to smooth over a bad situation, but this time he was clueless on how to calm Brian down. To make matters worse, AJ volunteered himself to calm the recording manager down and Kevin’s thoughts were distracted with what mess he would have to clean up after AJ finished speaking his ‘words of wisdom’ to the angry man.

Hesitantly, Kevin reached out and placed a hand on Brian’s shoulder which he immediately shrugged off. The young man’s face was a mixture of emotions but the look that clearly came through was one of pure anguish.

“Bri....”

“Don’t,” he snapped, drawing a hand through his hair.

They sat for a few moments in silence; Kevin quietly observing his cousin, worried that he was going to snap mentally. Finally, in what seemed like forever, Brian sighed in a shaky breath.

“I’m sorry I’m acting like this.......I just don’t know what to do anymore.....Leighanne needs me home......Nick needs me here.......Leighanne won’t come here.......I just don’t know what to do......”

Kevin kept silent as Brian rambled on, his heart aching for him. He knew the termoil his young brother was going through. So many obligations and so many demands. He wished there were some way that he could help him in this situation.

After a few moments when he was certain that Brian was done speaking did Kevin quietly offer his advice. “Brian, you should go home to Lee, she needs you.”

Brian shook his head sadly. “Nick needs me too.”

“He has us, Leighanne has no family with her at home right now.”

”I know.....I know,” Brian sobbed as he rocked back and forth.

“How about her mom?”

“Huh?”

“Shirley, what about Shirley? Isn’t she there already?”

Not offering any explanation, Brian could only shake his head negatively.

Kevin drew a tired breath in. “Okay what about your mom.....that’s it! I could call Aunt Jackie and get her to go down to Marietta to stay with Lee...”

Brian stood up quickly, making his way toward the door. ”It won’t work.....stop trying to fix my life, okay? I think I can take care of my own problems without you butting into it!”

Without saying anything further, Brian flung the door open, sending it slamming against the wall as he stormed out of the small office.