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Chapter 26
A knock at the door interrupted their conversation. Wade opened the door to see Chris and Danni and he could tell by their expressions that something was wrong. Looking closer, he could see that Danni had been crying.
Chris' voice waivered as he spoke. "Is Justin still here?"
Wade opened the door wider and ushered both Chris and Danni inside. Whatever was bothering them did not need to be discussed in the hall.
Justin took one look at Chris and he felt his heart pounding in his chest. "What's wrong, Chris?"
Danni began to sob and rushed into Justin's arms as Chris tried to speak.
"Justin, we just got a call from the police. There's been an accident."
Justin ran his hand along Danni's back, in an effort to comfort her while at the same time trying to comprehend what Chris had just said.
"They said we can meet them at the hospital," Chris continued. "They are taking him to St. Luke's.
"Chris, be honest with me," Justin pleaded. "How bad is it?"
"They don't have the whole story, Justin. Just bits and pieces. Evidently, some guy ran a red light and hit them, hard enough to flip the car. Lonnie is already on his way to the hospital. They said his injuries were minor. Gary's still in car. They're working now to get him out."
The visualization was more that Justin could take and he could feel his knees buckle beneath him.
Chris grabbed his young friend and held him tightly. He could feel the dampness of Justin's tears on his neck, and Chris himself could feel the tears welling up in his eyes. Justin was like his kid brother and to see him this upset, bothered Chris deeply.
"I have a car" Wade interjected. "I'll have them pull it around front and we can leave right now if you want to."
Justin took a deep breath trying to regain his composure. "Yeah, I want leave now. I want to be there when the ambulance gets there." He looked anxiously at Chris. "What about Mark?"
Chris nodded knowing exactly what Justin was thinking. "He's been paged. He'll meet us at the hospital."
While the hospital was only a short distance away, and Wade did his best to negotiate the Manhattan traffic, the trip to the hospital was painfully long for Justin. A million thought ran though his mind. 'How bad was Gary, hurt?' 'Would he be conscience when he got there?' 'Would they even let him see Gary?' He had no answers only the agony of waiting and wondering.
A New York City emergency room is never quiet and today was not exception. A city of this size had more that it's fair share of emergencies. Some critical and some minor, but none the less, enough of them to keep a full time staff running non stop.
Justin was out of breath when he reached the nurses station. "I want to check on a patient, please. He was just brought in. His name is Gary Martin."
The nurse never looked up. "If you'll have a seat in the waiting area sir, I'll check on that patient in a minute for you.
"No, you don't understand," Justin said emphatically, "I need you to check on him now!"
"No, YOU don't understand. I'll check on him when I have some time. Right now I don't. You'll need to take a seat.
Justin was furious. "Listen, I don't give a shit......." Mark grabbed his arm before he could finish.
"Justin, calm down. Yelling at the staff is not gonna help matters. Gary isn't here yet."
"What do you mean he isn't fucking here yet?" He looked at his watch. "We got the call almost half and hour ago. What the fuck is the problem?"
"He's on his way now. We just got the call from the paramedics on the scene. They had to cut him out of the car and it took longer than they thought it would."
He looked at Justin and found himself wanting to lie instead of telling him what the paramedics had relayed to him. He had become extremely close to all of the guys over the past few months, but there was that quality about Justin that had endeared him to the boy even more than the others.
"Justin, his condition is critical."
The words exploded inside Justin's head. 'This can't be happening. I was with Gary a just few hours ago in the hotel room. Everything was fine. He told me he loved me.'
Tears were streaming down his face. "Mark, don't let him die. Please don't let him die."
"Justin, don't think like that. He's gonna pull through."
Mark knew the ambulance would be arriving any second and wanted to spare Justin any more torment.
"Listen, you guys have a seat in the waiting room and as soon as I know anything I'll fill you in."
It was too late. As Mark spoke, the paramedics rushed though the emergency room doors. Apparently, the situation had taken a further turn for the worse. While two paramedics maneuvered the stretcher quickly towards one of the vacant emergency rooms, two others worked feverishly to find a pulse. It was a nightmare Justin didn't need to see.
Mark turned to Chris and Wade, "Get him out of here NOW!"
He rushed to join them in the emergency room and could hear Justin screaming as Chris and Wade pulled him toward the waiting room. His heart broke knowing what Justin must have been going through.
It was nearly 20 minutes before Mark returned to the waiting room. By this time, JC, Lance, Joey and Johnny had all arrived and were doing there best to console Justin. Fortunately, he had calmed down some by this point and sat on the waiting room sofa with his head lung low. Mark was grateful that he had a chance to catch Johnny's eye and motioned for him to join him in the hall without Justin noticing.
"How bad is it?" Johnny asked cautiously.
"It's bad. They're gonna take him down to surgery in a few minutes. I'm gonna let Justin see him before he goes." Mark found himself choking back tears. "This could be it Johnny. I'm not sure he's gonna make it through the surgery. He lost a lot a blood and really isn't stable enough for the surgery, but we don't have a choice. If we don't relieve some of the pressure surrounding his brain, he won't make it for sure."
"Is there anything we can do?" Johnny asked sincerely.
"Well, he needs blood. I was gonna see if any of the guys match his type. He's B negative and he is gonna need more than we have on hand. Other than that, I would suggest a lot of prayers."
Johnny shook his head in agreement and the two men walked slowly into the waiting room.
Justin immediately was on his feet. "How is he Mark? Can I see him now?"
"Yes, you can see him, but only briefly. They are getting an operating room ready for him now.
Mark inhaled deeply. "Justin, if there is anything you need to say to Gary, you need to do it now. He's not conscious, but I'm a firm believer that having a loved one close by helps. Somehow they know you are there."
Justin's red eyes filled with tears again. "What are you saying Mark?"
Mark took Justin in his arms and held him close as he stroked his soft curls.
"What I'm saying Justin, is that you may not have another chance."
Justin sank slowly back onto the sofa. He was starting to feel more numb than anything else. Unconsciously, he twisted the ring on his finger that you had given him that night several months ago atop the Empire State Building. It has started out as a nervous habit, but now whenever he was having a bad day, the ring reminded him of all the good that was in his life. He slowly slipped the ring off of his finger and read the inscription. It touched him every time he read it, but somehow today it gave him strength. You had been there for him, always. Now it was his turn.
He rose and reached for Danni's hand. "I'm ready to see him, but I want Danni there too. She was Gary's before I was ever in the picture. I want her with me."
"Thank you," she said in an almost inaudible voice. "I love him too."
"I know" Justin concurred understanding the depth of her love.
He held her hand tightly as they walked down the hall towards the emergency room as he tried to mentally prepare himself for the next few minutes. Mark had warned both of them of your condition, but seeing it first hand was still a shock and Justin could hear Danni's quiet gasp as they entered the room.
As if the site of your lifeless body was not distressing enough, the sounds of the heart monitor and ventilator only added the intensity of the moment.
Danni ran her fingers though your hair as she always did while Justin gently massaged her shoulders hoping his touch would give her the strength she needed.
"Hey sweetheart," she whispered. "Since daddy's not around to walk me down the aisle I was kinda hoping that you would take care of that for me. You've always been my big brother and I can't think of anyone else that I would rather have with me when I marry Chris.
A slight smile came over her face as she continued.
"You know you better hurry up and get well. I have a hard enough time keeping Chris under control. I don't think I can handle the two of them alone for long."
She turned and buried her head in Justin's chest, sobbing. He held her close as he sat on the edge of the bed and took your hand in his.
"Gary, I guess that island vacation we were planning is gonna have to be put on hold for a while, but you're worth the wait. I'll be here, for however long it takes. You're more than my lover, you're my best friend and my lifeline. Without you, I'm nothing. I love you, and not a day goes by that I don't thank God for bringing you into my life.
His voice was cracking, but he continued. "You know every time I sing it on tour I think of you, but I'm gonna say it one more time. God must have spent a little more time on you." He leaned down and gently kissed your lips and as he did Mark entered saying the operating room was ready.
"I'll let you guys know something as soon as I can. I'm guessing we'll be in surgery for about 3 hours. If its gonna be longer than that, I have someone notify you."
Justin nodded, still clutching Danni when he noticed your hand.
"Where's his ring?" Justin demanded.
"We have to take all the jewelry off before surgery, Justin." Mark explained. "I'm sure it's at the nurses station.
"I want it on him! I don't want him to go to surgery without it!"
"Justin, I'm sorry but that is just not possible."
Overhearing the conversation, a young nurse tapped Mark on the shoulder. "Excuse me Dr. Waters, I don't mean to interrupt, but we have this request all the time. If it's ok, we'll just tape the ring down towards the end of his finger. That way it's still on, but if there is any swelling, the ring isn't a problem."
Justin said nothing, but his eyes were pleading.
"Will that work for you, Justin?" Mark asked.
"It's perfect, as long as he has it on."
The nurse quickly retrieved the ring and once it was taped on your finger Justin and Danni made their way back to the waiting room to join the others for what they both knew would be an agonizing next few hours.
Walking down the eerie corridor, Justin heard a voice calling his name. He turned to see a young police officer hurrying toward him.
"Excuse me, your Justin Timberlake, right? I mean I guess I should recognize you, but to be honest, I'm not really into pop music."
Justin smiled slightly. "Yeah, I'm him. And don't worry about not recognizing me, in fact it's kind of a welcomed change. What can I do for you?"
"I need to talk to you for a minute. It's about your friend Gary."
He glanced over at Danni, not knowing if he should continue while she was present. Justin picked up on his nervousness immediately.
"This is Danni. She and Gary are very close. In fact, they grew up together."
He extended his hand to Danni. "Nice to meet you ma'am." He then turned his attention back to Justin.
"I was the first person on the scene, and Gary was conscience when I got there. I just tried to keep him calm until the paramedics arrived. To be honest I think he was calmer than I was. I've only been on the force a couple of weeks. Anyway, we talked for a few minutes and he wanted me to give you a message."
He looked at Danni and swallowed hard, still not entirely comfortable with the situation.
"He said to tell you that he loved you and that he would never give up."
Unconsciously, Justin twisted the ring the ring on his finger. "I really appreciate you finding me and telling me," Justin said softly. "You have no idea how much that means right now."
"Well, I promised him I'd find you. I had every intention of keeping that promise."
The young officer extended his hand to Justin saying, "Best of luck. I'm sure Gary is gonna be fine. He seemed like a pretty determined guy."
Justin bypassed the handshake and gave him a hug instead. "Thanks, for being there with him. You may not think you did much, but I'm sure just having someone to talk to helped a lot. And you're right, Gary is very determined. He'll never quit."
Danni and Justin finished their walk to the waiting room in silence, both deep in their own thoughts. As if on cue, they both stopped suddenly when they saw Chris in the waiting room. Wade's head was resting in his lap and Chris was gently rubbing his back.
Chris never gave them a chance to speak.
"Yeah, yeah, I know exactly what you're thinking. Never in a million years did you expect to see this. Well, trust me, I didn't expect it either, but the kid got to me."
Justin and Danni were totally confused as they often were. Chris had a remarkable knack for talking in circles, assuming everyone could read his mind. Danni had become quite proficient at if over the years, but the events of today had not allowed her the ability to interpret this particular conversation.
"Honey, what are you talking about? You've even lost me this time," she pointed out.
Chris grinned slightly understanding their confusion.
"Guess, which one of us ended up being B negative?" he said staring at Wade. "Since Gary really needed the blood, Mark asked Wade permission to take a bit more than they normally do. He said it wouldn't hurt him, but he would be tired and weak afterwards. He drank the Sprite that Mark gave him and was falling asleep in the chair. I figured he'd be more comfortable on the sofa, so I told him to come over and sit with me.
Throwing his hand up in mock disgust he continued. "Well, here is the result. I didn't expect him to fall asleep in my lap, but he did, and now he's kinda growing on me. Once you get rid of that smart mouth of his, he's really not too bad."
"Aahhh, that was sweet of him," Danni whispered as she kissed Chris on the cheek.
"Shit, here we go," Chris said. "I can tell by her voice. The mother bear has just added another cub to the den. I swear you get attached to any stray that comes along.
"Oh quit Chris," she scolded. "Exactly, where would you be if I hadn't picked up a certain stray?"
"Yeah, but I was cute and cuddly."
Justin smiled at their banter. The distraction was welcome change.
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