Title: In Another Life. Author: Jezebel the Temptress Feedback: eh_oh_po@yahoo.com
Disclaimers: This story is fiction and it is not intended to imply anything about the true sexuality of the celebrities mentioned or any personal knowledge about their private lives. If you are underage for your area, if it is illegal for you to view such material or if you are opposed to two men in a loving situation then this story is not for you either.
Notes: It's fiction. Kevin is, was and always will be a Backstreet Boy in this universe.
The hospital was clinical, green paint covered the walls as if someone had bought a job lot of it at a discount price as no one else wanted walls the colour of mildew, there was a cloying smell of disinfectant and Kevin wondered why anyone would frequent this hospital. Then it struck him, all of the sick people in the waiting room were dressed well enough but there was a sense that they were somehow hopelessly waiting. This was the free hospital, the one where those without insurance went, and it made him wonder what Kyle was doing here.
"Hello, I was wondering if you can help me, I'm looking for Kyle Maddox..." Kevin said to the woman on reception.
"Ward?" She asked tiredly, her face not even coming up to make eye contact with him.
"I don't know." Kevin said. "I just got a call to say he was here..."
"If you don't got a ward I can't tell you where he is." She said, turning back to the job at hand.
"And I'm telling you that when the nurse called me she didn't say which ward. Look, her name was Anne Collins, she called me a little over half an hour ago." Kevin said.
" Anne Collins, Ward C." The nurse said. "You'll probably find him there."
"What's Ward C?" Kevin asked curiously. But she was already typing away at her computer again, dealing with some accounts or other and there was no one that was there to answer his question. So as he headed off to find Ward C he wondered what it was that could have put the boy here in the first place. Knowing Kyle it was something dangerous or gang related.
Ward C was a lighter ward than Kevin had expected, someone had splashed out on some white paint to break up the unpleasant green and the ward actually had a sense of hope on it. There was a picture of St. Christopher on the wall, in the famous pose with the young boy Jesus on his shoulders. Kevin smiled up at the image and then turned towards the Nurse's station.
"Hi, I'm..."
"Kevin, Kevin Richardson." The young female said, she was dressed up as a candy striper and Kevin wondered if she really volunteered here. "Wow. I just... Wow."
He was guessing that she was a fan, that was not really a good sign as he wanted to keep his attendance here a secret. He hoped that she would not tell all of her friends that he was there.
"Yeah, hi. Look, I don't mean to seem rude, but I'm looking for a nurse, her name is Anne Collins, I was told that she worked here." Kevin said, trying his best to remain polite over her stares.
"Mr. Richardson?" A familiar voice asked from behind him. Kevin turned and saw a greying older woman, one that reminded him a little of his mother. This was obviously Anne, she had a gentle smile and the voice was similar. He hoped that Kyle was not giving her too much trouble. "If you'd like to follow me, I'll take you through to the relatives room so that the doctors can speak to you."
"Can't I just see Kyle?" Kevin asked. "Isn't that why you called me here?"
"I think it's best if you see the doctor first. He'll prepare you for it."
"Prepare me for what?" Kevin asked. "Is Kyle okay? Where is his mother?"
"You mean you don't know?" She asked sympathetically. Kevin frowned. Know what? It was not as if he was in Julia's life all that often. "Let's go and get a cup of tea." She said. "There is a lot to talk about while we wait for the doctor."
Kevin followed her reluctantly, wanting to know the truth but knowing that he ought to just visit Kyle, deal with whatever it was that the boy needed and then leave. He had not expected what came next.
It had taken a while, AJ was not certain that he had the right hospital, at first he had not even been sure that it was a hospital, but finally here he was. Ward C, Saint Christopher's Hospital. He was here to see Kyle.
"Hi. I'm looking for Kyle Maddox." AJ said sweetly to the girl on duty. "I know it's probably family only but he's my best friend."
"Are you here with Kevin?" The girl asked excitedly. "Is that why he is here?"
AJ mentally kicked himself, realising that if they didn't already know then he had given away which patient they were here to see. It would not take a genius to work out why they were here for him either.
"I guess so." AJ said non-commitally. "Where is Kevin?"
"He's in the relatives room with Anne." The girl said. "Just down..."
Before she could finish the sentence AJ was off down the corridor, walking briskly to his destination and nearing the room just in time to hear Kevin's scream. Whatever it was it was clearly not good news. AJ wasn't sure if he wanted to know.
She was dead.
Kevin could not believe that Julia was dead.
He had known that she had problems, but then everyone did, and while she had betrayed him and hurt him there was a part of him that had never stopped loving her. To find out that she was dead hurt parts of his soul that he had long ago locked away. He wasn't sure if he was ready for them to resurface.
Kyle was in a coma. The nurse had said that there was not a lot more that they could do for him and that usually in this case there were homes that could be provided. He was a fighter she said, and cynically Kevin wondered if that meant that they had tried to let him die but that he had held on. Kevin didn't really want to know what had caused this, he just wanted to know what he could do.
"Can I see him?" Kevin asked.
"Of course." Anne replied softly. "He's in a shared room, with another patient, but he won't mind." Anne smiled softly.
Kevin assumed that this meant the other patient was in a coma too. He wasn't really sure what he was doing, all he knew was that after all of this time he at least had to see Kyle, to check that it was his Kyle that was there and that the boy was still alive. He would work out the future from there.
When they opened the door he noticed AJ lingering in the background.
"What are you doing here?" Kevin asked shocked to see his friend there.
"Same thing as you probably. Came to see Kyle."
"Did you hear?" Kevin asked. "He's in a coma, so he won't be able to talk or anything."
"You also need to prepare yourself for some scarring and bruising that you might not have seen before." Anne warned.
Kevin tried not to think how it had happened.
"Can we see him now?" Kevin urged.
She nodded and led them to a small room where two beds lay. In one there was a dormant middle aged man, two or three days stubble grew on his face and he looked asleep. In the other was Kyle, he too looked as if he were sleeping, small and fragile, despite his nineteen years. His face was swollen slightly, one arm was in plaster with three fingers in splints and there was an IV in his arm but there was nothing else to explain why he was unconscious.
"Good Afternoon Kyle, Bill." Anne greeted as if they could hear her. "Bill, I hope you don't mind but Kyle has some visitors today. Kyle, guess who's here?" She asked. There was no way that he could answer but she suspected that he might be listening, you never knew when they were. "Go ahead. Let him know you're here." Anne urged the two men.
"Hey kid, bet you can't guess who this is." AJ said, he felt a little self conscious about it but figured this was no worse than yelling out to a crowd when you could see none of their faces. "I know, you're still pissed at me over the Johnny No Name thing, right? Well, tough. If you wake up you can shout at me about it, but not till then."
Kevin swallowed the tears that rose as he tried to get over seeing Kyle again. There was a mix of emotions coursing through him and Kevin wasn't sure which ones he should give precedence to. There was anger, hurt, pain, empathy, compassion and forgiveness all bundled into one, as well as his own feelings of guilt at never having spoken to the boy again.
"Kyle, It's me. It's Kevin." He said as the tears won the battle and fell. "Don't worry, I'm here now. Everything will be okay."
And AJ, who was sniffling a little himself knew that Kevin truly believed that. He was glad that Kevin felt that hope because if Kyle ever woke up it was that which he would need to get through the trying times ahead.
Both Kevin and Kyle would need all of them to get through this, but get through it they would. There was no other way.
TBC