Kevin shook his head in disbelief. "And those are the same people who practically wrote a diary on my honeymoon. I don't get it. No one even hinted there was anything strange about the accident at all. How could they miss it?"
"I know you got bumped on the head Kev, but if you're remembering any press around the bus that morning, you're hallucinating." A.J. offered, chewing on a fry. They had sent someone out for McDonald's and were sitting around Brian's room after the press conference, having lunch.
"I see your point." Brian nodded, waving a McNugget about. "We've learned that no matter what, there's always a leak. So far, there hasn't even been anything in the tabloids."
"You checked?" A.J. looked at him over his shades.
"Your Mom's a very thorough press secretary, man" he was reminded. "I just asked her for a rundown of all the stories so far. Nada."
"That was a good idea, Bone." Kevin spoke up.
"Huh?"
"Calling Denise. She does a great job, without interfering in how we want to do things. Good call."
A.J. shrugged. "I couldn't handle it all myself, and I wanted someone to help me keep management off our backs. Who else would I call?"
"Whoo! A.J. McLean being modest. Never thought I'd see the day." Brian teased.
"If you weren't so fragile Rok, I'd whup your ass."
"Who you callin' fragile?"
Things were about to escalate into an all-out pillow fight, when A.J. suddenly froze, looking concerned. He started shooing the other two out of the room. "Nick's in trouble. Let's go."
"What the hell is going on?" Kevin demanded.
"Mindi's with him. She gave me a heads-up."
"What's Mindi doing around so much?"
"We need someone to explain what's going on." A.J. replied "She's been there since I found you guys.
"Doesn't it bother you, having her in your head?" Brian shivered, stepping into the elevator. "It would give me the creeps."
"Not really." He ran a hand through his hair, considering. "It's like talking to someone in the next room. I can hear her voice fine, I just can't see her."
"If Nick ever does that to me..." Brian shivered again. But A.J. wasn't paying any attention.
"What? Mins you're asking the impossible. There's no way to cover that up."
Brian raised his eyebrows and tried to catch his cousin's eye, but Kevin was doing his utmost to ignore what was going on right under his nose.
Mindi was sure she was going to go insane. Although she had been quite prepared for things to start getting a little out of hand that day, all things considered, she had *not* expected Howie to be sitting right next to Nick when they did. Now, on top of trying to keep anyone from noticing the gale force winds and tremors around Nick's bed, alerting A.J. to the problem, and debating the fastest solution with Nick's teammates, she also had to concentrate on keeping Howie from freaking out.
She had almost succeeded on her last task when yet another tremor shook Nick's bed. Exasperated, she snapped out, "Suzanne and I can't do this all ourselves. Someone get down here and *hide* this before I slip!"
"Mindi?" Seeing that his eyes had become two brown question marks, she realised she'd spoken aloud again and cursed.
We've got to get Nick out of here. Too damn many witnesses. A zillion complications
"What? Mins you're asking the impossible. There's no way to cover that up."
Wasn't talking to you, Alex. Concentrate on getting Brian here fast. In the meantime, she turned to the only available, very frightened Backstreet Boy. "Howie, you have *got* to calm down."
Howie clearly thought she was out of her mind. Nick was behaving like something possessed, no one was answering his calls for help, she was yelling at people who weren't there, and she wanted him to calm down?? Normally Mindi could have compelled him with a little mental nudge, but she had discovered what Nick had during the rescue - Howie was one of those rare people whose minds instinctively shied away from psychic contact. She racked her brains for another solution.
Another tremor shook Nick's bed, his right arm thrashing about so hard, Mindi grabbed it to keep him from getting hurt. "Stop it!" she admonished, as if it was going to do any good. "You manage to keep away from telekinesis for weeks at a time, you couldn't have waited five more minutes?"
"What difference would five minutes make?" Howie snapped at her. "This is insane!"
"Five minutes more and you'd have been back in your room," she pointed out. "You could have kept on being blissfully unaware, and I wouldn't have to deal with a hysterical idiot on top of everything."
"Hysterical idiot? You're the one talking to thin air! At least I've buzzed and yelled for a doctor."
"Exactly what kind of doctor did you have in mind, Mr. Dorough?" Not that any of Howie's calls had gotten through. Suzanne had thrown up a protective shield around the area the moment she sensed a surge in Nick's energy.
"I..." He suddenly looked so defeated, so lost, Mindi finally felt a little sorry for him.
"Look Howie, I know it looks terrifying. Hell, I know what's going on and I'm not happy about it either. But you've got to trust that the best thing you can do right now is to stay calm. Might even help if you tried to talk to him a little."
He shook his head. "I can't. I... I just want it to stop."
Verbalising, this time for his benefit, she asked, "Can we get him out? He's not helping down here, it might even make it worse later on if he stays." Recieving an affirmative answer, she nodded. "All right Howie. When I say go, you can walk out of the ICU and head back to your room. I'll send A.J. to talk to you once they all get here. I don't have to tell you not to mention this to anyone else?"
He nodded, and Mindi watched sadly as he walked slowly away.