A.J. and Denise were on their way to the hotel elevators when A.J.'s bodyguard tapped him on the shoulder. He hefted his radio apologetically. "No emergency, but they need you at the hospital."
"No emergency?" Denise repeated, confused.
"That's what they said. Brian wants you there, but there's no emergency."
Without even a sigh, A.J. turned himself towards the nearest way out. "I'll take care of it. See you later Mom." He left his mother wondering why seeing her son with the weight of the world on his shoulders made her so proud.
In the car on the way over, A.J. called Brian's room.
"What's up B-rok?"
"You're on your way, right?" Brian demanded.
"Relax, I'm almost there."
"Bob and Leslie just got here."
A.J. groaned. Somehow, almost any situation involving the youngest Backstreet Boy got ten times more stressful and complicated when his parents were involved. He took a wild guess. "Bob wants Nick in L.A.?"
"Help," was the only reply.
This time, A.J. swore.
By the time he got to the I.C.U., it was a battle zone. Brian and Nick's doctor were arguing with Mr. Carter, Howie was trying to console a sobbing Leslie, and Kevin looked on in stony silence. Deciding to get the simplest part out of the way first, he approached Leslie and Howie.
"Hey girl, what's wrong?"Nick's middle sister was sitting crosslegged on the floor, leaning against Howie's wheelchair, his hand on her shoulder. She looked up at A.J. through a curtain of blonde hair.
"What's wrong?" she demanded fiercely. "My brother is in there," she jabbed a finger at the heavy doors separating the I.C.U. from the waiting room, "he's hurt, he's unconscious, he's alone, he's probably terrified, and no one's letting me see him! That's what's wrong." She glanced over towards her father and A.J. had to look away. He met Howie's eyes and knew that they had both seen a very Carter expression on Leslie's face - the 'my parents are idiots, what's new' expression they had seen on Nick's face so many times.
"It's past visiting hours." Howie explained softly. "And Bob's making enough noise to wake the dead. They think she'll be another distraction."
"Come on." He pulled her up and led her to the intercom. "This is A.J. McLean. I have a young lady here who needs to visit Nick Carter."
"I'm sorry Mr. McLean, but it's past visting hours.."
"She just got off a flight from Halifax, she's family and she's scared. Not even five minutes?"
"We've bent the rules twice already today."
"Please!" Leslie pleaded. "Just let me see him. I'll be quiet, I swear!"
"I..."
"I'm not leaving this waiting room until someone lets me in. I don't care if I have to stay here all night." Another flash of Nick, eliciting a pained chuckle from A.J. The Carter kids were stubborn as mules, and fiercely united against the world. Suddenly he wondered if Leslie knew.
There was a pause. Leslie glared at the intercom until it finally crackled to life once more. "All right. One family member. Five minutes. No more."
"Yes!" she cheered and hugged him. "Thanks Aje." The door buzzed open. A.J. watched her move down the hall for a moment before turning towards problem number two.
Ignoring Kevin for the moment, but making a mental note to take advantage of the "no sleeping for twenty-four hours" rule later, he advanced on the three combatants.
"Could everyone just *shut up* for like, two seconds?" They all turned to stare at him. "*Thank*-you. Rok, you ain't lookin' so hot, scram and get some sleep. Take the other two with you." Brian stared at him for a moment or two longer before finally pointing his wheelchair towards the elevator. Howie and a somewhat reluctant Kevin followed.
"All right. Hi Bob, how was your trip?"
"Don't start with me A.J.." Mr. Carter warned. "I know you all cling to the myth about the 'Backstreet Family' but in times like these, Nick needs his real family."
"Right now, Nick needs medical attention," he pointed out. "Whether you like it or not, moving him anywhere isn't the best idea."
"Why not?" This time, Bob addressed the doctor. "You've told me he's stable; if they use an air ambulance and do it right, what harm could it do?"
"I don't know, Mr. Carter. But as I was telling you, I agree with Mr. McLean that the best option is to keep your son here until he wakes up. It may be that when he does wake up that a facility closer to home would be better for him, but it's too soon to say what his condition will be when he regains consciousness."
"But the final decision is mine? After all, I'm his father."
"He's twenty-one, Bob." A.J. grinned. He remembered how elated Nick had been by that idea. He loved his parents, but the idea that they could never control him again had been probably the best present he had gotten.
"And he's unconscious."
And he has a living will. A.J. fought to keep from revealing his surprise as Mindi's thought slipped into his mind. How on earth did she know that? And how could he 'find out' the information? He gnawed on his bottom lip. Bob Carter, seeing his hesitation, smiled. Suddenly something clicked.
Whipping out his phone, he hit 6 on speed dial. "This is A.J. McLean of the Backstreet Boys. Could you put me through to our lawyer, please?"