The legal stuff: This is a sexually explicit story (at times) involving homosexuality. By continuing to read, you affirm under penalties of perjury that you are not a minor or in the company of a minor and are entitled to have access to sexually explicit material. The content and opinions expressed in this story do not imply anything with regard to the sexual preference of any member of 98 Degrees or other celebrities named herein. This is a work of fiction entirely.
Author Notes: This is my first piece of work and I would just like to say thanks to HR for being a great friend and a wonderful and inspiring writer. I hope you enjoy the story.
Dizzy
It was the day after New Years and Andrew sat in his hospital room pondering the events of the last week. After spending Christmas night making out and falling asleep in the arms of his long time celebrity crush, one could say his and Drew's relationship was turning into a romantic whirlwind.
True to his word, the Tuesday after Christmas, Andrew called Dr. Hill. He spent a week in the hospital for tests. All of his friends, new and old were there by his side throughout the week. Heather, Abbey, and Morgan came by around their work schedules and the hotel owner, Ms. Alexandra Darling, stopped by as well and told Andrew that when he got better he had to let her know immediately so she could get him back in the restaurant. Morgan had stepped up to help Abbey in Andrew's absence even though she and everyone would say she was no where near as good as he was at managing.
Emma finally told Andrew she had transferred and got accepted into Harvard Medical School right in Boston. He was upset at first but was glad she had got into Harvard and was happy to spend the time he was laying around in the hospital looking for a bigger place. Hunter refused to call or take any calls from Andrew but his and Emma's parents called to check on him everyday and promised Andrew that they would not come up to Boston and worry over him.
Once the storm cleared, Lance decided he would stay in Boston longer to be there for his best friend Drew once he found out about Andrew's situation. Lance liked the guy and he knew Drew would need all the support he could get if he was going to see his new love go through a struggle with cancer.
Drew and the rest of 98 Degrees, including Vanessa, had decided to stay in Boston a little while longer. They finally were able to snag rooms at the hotel once the blizzard died off and people were no longer stranded in Boston. Once the press got wind of them still being in town, long after their charity benefit, rumors flew and the reporters were anxious to uncover the truth, making it harder for Drew and his bandmates to keep his secret and found it hard to make it to the hospital to see Andrew as often as he wanted to.
Andrew didn't even hear the knock on his door until he heard it open and saw Drew standing at the door with a single rose. Andrew smiled brightly and put aside the real estate paperwork he forced Emma to print out and bring him.
"How are you feeling?" Drew asked as he kissed Andrew and sat on the bed next to him.
"I'm ready to go home. I don't think I've ever had this much free time." Andrew said holding the rose Drew had given him and sniffing it. "It smells like outside."
Drew laughed. "I'm sure Dr. Hill will let you out today. You've been through all the tests he can come up with haven't you?"
"I hope so. I have got so much to do. I have to get back on my classes, find a bigger place for Emma and I, go back to work...get to know you more."
"Well...I have to say that your list is way out of order. I think you should take a long vacation from work and school, and get to know me since you won't have any distractions. Emma can live in your apartment and I can whisk you away."
"You may have to put those plans on hold." Dr. Hill said coming into Andrew's room. "I have some bad news."
Dr. Hill explained that the tumor originated in the frontal lobe of Andrew's brain and spread its way to the hippocampus.
"What does that mean Dr. Hill?" Drew asked fearfully.
"The tumor will need to be surgically removed. We will go in, cut as much as we can out, and then we will start radiation therapy to remove the last of the tumor. There are a lot of risks to this surgery but it may be the only option you have for surviving."
"What kind of risks?" Andrew asked.
"Well, if you can through the surgery without complications. The frontal lobe of your brain, where the tumor originated, controls the body's motor functions. Because of the surgery on it, the chance is high you may have to go through intense physical therapy to retrain your brain to coordinate your movement should the surgery be successful."
"Oh no." Andrew said somberly.
"That's not so bad Andrew." Drew said trying to reassure him but Andrew shook his head in disagreement.
"Yes it is. Just learning to walk again will be difficult enough let alone lifting or doing anything else to take care of myself."
"Even dancing." Dr. Hill said much to Andrew's surprise. "I always get as much background information on my patients as possible. I know you used to compete in ballroom dance and you were quite good. I also know you gave it up when you lost your parents."
"Dr. Hill, I must say you go above and beyond. How did you find out about all this?" Andrew asked.
"Your family doctor, Dr. Young; I contacted her when you first came here and she told me of your family history and you. I am only bringing this up because I like to be prepared for reasons patients may object to surgery and losing the ability to do something you love is usually why I have patients turn down surgical options."
"There is another problem you should be aware of Andrew and this may be the ultimate deciding factor on whether you choose to go ahead or not with treatment." Dr Hill continued. "The hippocampus, the area of your brain that the tumor spread to, controls your memories. You may very well lose some if not most of your memories."
Andrew sat in silence as he pondered this new information. Thoughts of Drew, Emma, Heather, and his many other friends were running through his mind. Drew looked over and saw the hesitation on his face.
"Do not even think about it." He said to Andrew sternly. "Dr. Hill, he will have the procedure."
"Andrew?" Dr. Hill said causing Andrew to look at Drew who scowled at him for hesitating to make a decision. Andrew sighed heavily and looked at Dr. Hill nodding his head in agreement.
"Very well then. I suggest we stop this in its tracks before it gets any worse. I will schedule the procedure for tomorrow evening. That will give you time to visit with all of your friends and make arrangements for the worst."
Dr. Hill left Drew and Andrew alone and as soon as the door was shut, Andrew fell into Drew's chest and started sobbing uncontrollably. Drew did nothing but held him tight and reassured him he would be ok.
"How can you say that?" Andrew asked between sobs. "I might as well die...its not like I will remember my life if I live."
"Yes you can. You have a lot of people who will help you remember your life and you can always make new memories."
"But I don't want to forget my family." Andrew said crying even more. "What about Emma and Hunter, and Heather and Abbey? What about you and the guys? What if I live through the surgery but I wake up and I can't remember that I love you? What if I wake up and I don't remember I'm gay?"
"Now you are being overdramatic." Drew said trying to make Andrew laugh. "You get yourself cleaned up and looking cute. I'm gonna call everyone over and we are gonna get your mind off of this."
A few hours later, all of Andrew's friends had gathered in his hospital room. There was barely enough room for Abbey, Heather, Emma, Morgan, Drew, Nick, Vanessa, Jeff, Justin, and Lance. Andrew told everyone about the surgery he was going to have and the risks. He pretty much put a damper on the mood but he wanted to be on a realistic level with everyone in case he didn't get a chance to say goodbye. Once visiting hours were over, Andrew managed to persuade the nurses to allow Drew to stay the night with him.
That night, before his surgery, Andrew stayed awake lying on the bed with Drew. Drew held Andrew all night and talked about all the things he wanted to do and experience with him when he was able to leave the hospital. The next day, everyone came back to see him one last time and Andrew made them all promise that they would help him remember everything in case he couldn't. Hours later when the doctors came to take Andrew away for his surgery, he bid goodbye to everyone one last time before they took him away and put him under.
"What is taking so long? It has been four hours." Drew said agitated as he paced back and forth in the waiting room.
"Bro...I'm sure they will give us an update soon." Nick said trying to calm Drew down.
"Nick's right. The doctors said that surgery was going to be tough. No news is good news in this case." Lance said.
"Why don't we go get some coffee?" Vanessa offered getting up from Nick's lap. "You look like you need some caffeine."
"No...what if the doctors come with an update and I miss them? What if I'm not here and something happens?"
Justin, the voice of reason in the group, stood up and grabbed Drew by the shoulders. "Drew...you need to calm down. You are not helping anybody by being so uptight. You are worried...we are too...but it isn't any good to freak out until we know if there is something to freak out about."
Drew sighed heavily. "I know...I know...I just can't help it. I guess Vanessa's right. I could use some coffee."
"Good." Vanessa said taking Drew by the hand and leading him toward the cafeteria. Justin decided to go with them and invited Lance to join him, much to the Lance's surprise.
Nick, Emma, and Jeff were left behind to talk amongst themselves. Emma laid her head on Jeff's shoulder, who put his arm around her to comfort her. Soon, she was passed out from sheer exhaustion leaving Nick and Jeff the only two left waiting for news on Andrew.
"I hope he pulls through this." Jeff whispered to Nick while looking at Emma. "She is too sweet to have to go through something like this."
"What about Drew?" Nick asked. "Drew got so attached to him so fast...I'm worried about what will happen to him if Andrew dies. Does that make me a bad person? Does it make me selfish that I'm more worried about my brother than Andrew?"
"No...it doesn't." Jeff said to Nick while watching the clock strike twelve and adding a fifth hour to their wait.
Three hours later, the group still remained on edge eagerly awaiting any news on Andrew's condition. Dr. Hill finally found them and they jumped to their feet at once.
"I was successful..." Dr. Hill said somberly. "He is alive but I'm not sure when or if he will wake up. Until he does, we will not know his mental or physical condition. He will need to undergo chemotherapy as well as a precautionary measure to ensure we got the entire tumor."
"Can we see him?" Drew asked eagerly.
"You can...but I can't promise when he will wake up." Dr. Hill said motioning for the group to follow him to Andrew's room.