~ Chapter 9 ~

Bob and Jane Carter came running into the emergency. Brian spotted them and called them over. Jane ran to him and hugged him. "Where is my son? What happened? Is he okay?" she rambled on, breathlessly.

Brian gave her and Bob a grin. "Nick's going to fine. He has a concussion, a nasty cut on the side of his head and a gash in his left arm."

Bob and Jane let out big sighs of relief. "That's my son." Bob said. "He's a fighter." Jane walked over to the nurse's station. "Can I go in and see my son, Nickolas Carter?" she asked the nurse on duty.

"There's someone with him now. Please wait for the doctor."

Jane nodded and turned to Brian. "I guess Maria is with him." It was a statement more than a question.

Brian nodded. "Yea, you couldn't drag her out of there with the jaws of life."

Bob broke into the conversation. "Brian, can you tell us what on earth happened? AJ wasn't making much sense on the phone."

Brian shook his head. "I really don't know. We were all rehearsing when all of a sudden, Maria screamed, and next thing I knew the light structure above us came crashing down. I pulled Howie out of the way just in time. The others, except for Nick and Ashley, unfortunately, weren't in harm's way."

"Who's Ashley?" Jane asked.

"Ashley Johnson. She's the ballerina that Fatima hired to be in the video with Kevin. She and Kevin seemed quite smitten with one another. He confided in me the other night that he thinks he might be in love with her. She has a six-year-old daughter named Emily whom Kevin is crazy about. Ashley's a strange one, though. She wouldn't let Kevin near her after the accident. She was really screaming at him."

"Is she going to be ok?" Bob asked. "Where is she now?"

"You know, I was wondering the same thing. She left in the ambulance after ours, but I didn't see her being brought into emergency."

A doctor came up to them. "Mr. and Mrs. Robert Carter?"

They nodded. "Hello. My name is Doctor Harold Stoffer. I'm attending to your son, Nickolas. He's going to be just fine. However, he does have a bad concussion and cannot go to sleep for 12 hours. We want to keep him for a while to make sure everything is fine. His friend Maria's with him right now. I believe the young lady may know certain methods for keeping him awake. He was laughing when I left his room." The doctor smiled. "Other than that, he had a nasty bruise on the side of his head and some cuts and bruises on his arms. Those will all heal in time and he will be as good as new."

"Can we see him now, doctor?" Bob asked.

"Yes, go right in. Room 109."

"Thank you doctor." Jane said gratefully. When they walked into Nick's room, Maria was singing to him. They stood there quietly, letting her finish.

Nick spotted his parents. "Hey!"

They went over and took turns hugging their eldest son. "Nicky, I'm so glad that you're alright." Jane smiled, holding back the tears. "You had us so scared."

"That was AJ, right? Did he tell you I was on my deathbed or something?"

"No." Bob said. "We were just concerned. But from the look on your face when we walked in, it seems like someone is giving you all the TLC that you need." He smiled gratefully at Maria.

On the other side of the hospital, a doctor was just finishing his examination on Ashley. "You're one very lucky lady." he commented. "Especially in your condition. Things could have been worse."

Ashley smiled wanly and touched her tender arm. "Thank you Dr. Jones. How long do I have to stay here?"

The doctor looked at the chart. "Well, I would say until the day after tomorrow. We want to make sure that nothing else occurs -- just to be on the safe side."

Ashley nodded. "Just one more thing, could you please make sure that I don't have any visitors."

The doctor gave her an odd look, but nodded. "I'll go to the nurses station and let them know right away."

"Thank you doctor. I don't want anyone to know where I am, especially a gentleman named Kevin Richardson who'll no doubt be calling looking for me. Please let admissions know that no one is to know where I'm at."

"Fine Ms. Johnson. I'll do that right away and a nurse will stop by periodically to check on you. I'll see you in the morning."

Ashley thanked and he left her room. Dr. Jones was on his way to the nurses' station to relay Ashley's message when the head nurse who said she had an emergency in Room 410 stopped him. He never got to deliver Ashley's message.

Brian was wandering around the hospital looking for Ashley's room. He found it odd that she hadn't been taken to emergency like Nick had. He went to admissions and asked which room Ashley Johnson was in. The girl gave him the info and Brian's almost choked on his coffee. "Are you sure?" Ashley Johnson, check again. She was just brought in a couple of hours ago."

The girl gave him a weary look. "Sir, I'm positive. I only have one Ashley Johnson in the computer and she's in that ward -- room 404."

Brian mumbled his thanks and walked away in complete shock. He couldn't believe it. Not Ashley. Man, this was gonna kill Kevin, he thought to himself. Heck it's killing me and I'm not even in love with her. Why didn't she say anything?

Suddenly he remembered the accident and his face went white. Brian threw the rest of his coffee in a nearby trashcan and went flying out the door.

Dr. Stephen Parker was doing his last rounds of the day. He was tired and wanted to go home. Dealing with this all day drained him emotionally as well as physically. He was ready for a medical career switch. He was looking at some charts when Dr. Jones walked over to him. "Dr. Parker, I think you should take a look at this patient's chart. I think you may know the patient in question."

Dr. Parker took the chart and gasped when he read the name on it. "Ashley Johnson's here?" Why's she here?" he stammered.

"She was in an accident. She hurt her arm and has a concussion. It doesn't have anything to do with-"

Dr. Jones stopped talking as he realized that Dr. Parker was already walking away from him. He looked back. "Thank you Dr. Jones."

Ashley was reading a magazine when Stephen walked into the room. She looked up and her expression froze. Stephen didn't move. He just looked at her. He hadn't seen her in a little over two years. After he had given her the heartbreaking news. She looked pretty bad now. She was really thin and pale. He found his voice. "Ashley, how are you? Long time no see."

Ashley's expression was still frozen and she was trembling. She knew this moment would come. "Hi Stephen. How am I? Well, I can't be very well if I'm sitting in a hospital bed, now can I?" She tried to make light of the situation.

"What happened?" he asked her. "What are you doing in Orlando? Last time I heard, you were in NY dancing on Broadway."

Ashley looked at him. "I retired from the ballet, Stephen." He looked stunned. Before he could ask her questions, she continued, "I decided this a year ago when I started to see the signs. I decided to retire and go down to Key Largo where my parents died, you know, and stay there until... Anyway, Donald, my manager, set up one final gig for me. So here I am." She looked down at her hands.

Stephen walked over and sat down near her bed. "How long have you been here?"

Ashley couldn't look him in the face. "About three weeks and a half weeks."

Stephen raised his eyebrows. "Why didn't you call me or come to the hospital to see me?"

Ashley didn't know what to say. "I'm sorry, I just...I didn't have time."

Stephen was getting angry. "That's bullshit, Ashley! You didn't want to come because I represent fear to you , Ashley. You didn't want to hear what I had to say two years ago and you still don't. Obviously you've realized what's wrong since you're making plans to "retire" to Key Largo. Have you told anyone, Ashley?"

Ashley started trembling. "Ye, yes..I did. I told Donald and two of my friends."

Stephen shook his head. "What about your sister?"

She looked startled. "I don't have a sister."

Stephen got up and paced the room. "Yes, you do, Ashley. She may be your half sister, but she's still your sister. I know you haven't seen her since you were both kids, but I think you should contact her."

Ashley was mad. She didn't want to hear this. "Np. I don't know her, what she looks like, where she is and I don't care."

Stephen shook his head. "What about Emily Rose?" What's going to happen to her after you ...leave?"

"She'll be taken care of. I've already found someone to take care of her when I go to Key Largo."

Stephen wanted to shake her. "Ash, you sister lives here in Orlando. She does some work for some local artists. She's a-" Ashley had her hands over ears. Stephen gave her a dirty look. "Oh, that's very mature Ashley. Look, I want to pass a test and see how this is progressing. From the look of you, I would say not too well. Have you been taking your medication?"

Ashley glared at him. "Yes, I have. I don't need another test. I know what I have."

Stephen refused to listen to her. "I'll schedule some tests for tomorrow morning. If I were you Ashley, I would reconsider contacting your sister. It might be the smartest you ever do." He squeezed her hand and walked out. Ashley buried her face in her pillow and cried herself to sleep.

Lou Perlman was pacing the floor in the conference room. He hadn't slept all night. Why did that stupid accident have to happen. Nick and Ashley were still in the hospital, Bob Carter had called him, angry, asking him why this had happened. All he needed was Bob Carter or Ashley Johnson suing him -- as if he hadn't had enough problems last year. He had called a meeting with the BSB and Fatima. Now he looked up as the door opened and everyone filed into the room. They all sat down. Kevin looked like he hadn't slept a wink and Brian's face had a stunned look on it. "Good morning everyone. Thank you for coming. I wanted to get together so that we could discuss the video and the implications of this unfortunate tragedy. I..." his voice trailed off as Maria burst into the room.

"Unfortunate? You're a bastard, Lou!" Everyone gasped and looked from Lou to Maria. "This accident it YOUR fault. You wanted to cut costs so you hired some two-bit hoodlums who don't know their ass from their face to install the lights and look what happened? You almost killed Nick, not too mention Ashley." Maria was shaking and her face was red.

Brian got up and put an arm around her. "Honey, relax, take a deep breath. Sit down."

Maria pulled away from him. "NO! I want him to admit that it's his fault." She went over and stood in front of Lou. "You know that you might get sued over this, don't you? Of course, you'd feel right at home there. Legal brouhaha seems to be your style. Nick better be okay or I'll sue you myself."

Kevin, who had been silent and looking down at his lap, spoke up. "Maria has a point, Lou. Why didn't you hire professionals? It's not like we can't afford it. That was stupid and not very smart on your part."

Lou looked at Kevin and sighed. "Alright, I take full responsibility for this. I'll pay Nick and Ashley's hospitals bills and I'll call Bob Carter and talk to him. Is there anything else, Maria?" He gave her a look that could kill.

She smiled sweetly at him. "No. I just wanted you to know that I'm on to you so watch your back from now on." She walked to the door and turned around. "Oh, and Lou?"

He turned and glared at her. "What?" he barked.

"Have a nice day." Her voice dripped with sarcasm.

"I knew I should have never let Tommy bring that girl backstage," Lou muttered. "Now, about this video. Jane told me that Nick is only getting out of the hospital tomorrow morning and she doesn't want him at rehearsal until Monday. Ashley hurt her arm pretty bad and the doctors tell me she needs to rest it and put it in a sling for a few weeks. We only have so much time to shoot this video. Or we will go over budget. So, I think we should pick one of the other girls to dance with Kevin and rearrange the dancing a bit. What do you think?"

"No," Kevin said, gritting his teeth. "I don't want to dance with anyone else."

"Just do it," Brian said.

Kevin gave Brian a weird look. "Why?"

Brian hadn't said anything to him and this wasn't the time either. "Because we need to get this video done and out before our tour. We only have two weeks left. Ashley won't be well enough to dance anytime soon."

Kevin got a weird tingle down his spine. "Alright. Who?"

Fatima spoke up. "I was thinking about Christine. She was doing some of Ashley's steps the other day. She's pretty good and she's tall enough to dance with you. Otherwise I would have chosen Maria."

Howie spoke up. "But now we're short a dancer. Christine was dancing with Nick."

Fatima pondered for a minute. "What about Ann? She was telling me that she took jazz ballet when she was a teenager. I think she could easily fit into this."

Howie smiled. "I like that idea."

Fatima stood up. "If we're done here, I have appointments."

Lou stood up also. "Meeting is adjourned."

After they left, AJ spoke up. "How could he do that to us?"

Brian looked at them. "Maybe it was a blessing in disguise."

They all looked at him. "WHAT?"

Brian got up. "Never mind. Everything happens for a reason." He gave Kevin a look and left the room.

Stephen walked into Ashley's room. She seemed to be asleep. He nudged her. "Ashley, I have your test results." Ashley didn't open her eyes. She wasn't sleeping, but she didn't want to listen to him tell her what she already knew. Hearing it would only make it real. "Ashley, I know you're awake. Now please, open your eyes and look at me. This is very important."

She opened her eyes and looked at him. "Alright, Stephen, what? Do you want to give me some more bad news like you did in 1997?"

Stephen took her hand and sat down. "Ash, I'm sorry, but you have-"

Ashley yanked her hand from his and turned her back to him. "I don't want to hear this!"

Stephen got up and went over to the other side of the bed! "Ashley, I'm so sick and tired of your running away from this. What on earth did you tell your friends? You said that you told them, but did you tell them the truth or some hashed up disease that was convenient for you? What about Emily? Does she even know what is happening? Who are you trying to fool, Ash? Yourself? Because you're not fooling anyone else."

Ashley looked down and said, "I told them that I have Cancer."

Shock registered on Stephen's face. "Cancer??? You told them you have Cancer?? Ashley, how could you?" He couldn't believe her.

"What's the difference? A disease is a disease. It's my damn life and I'll do what I want and tell people what I want." Ashley never swore, but she was mad.

"Ashley, it may be your life, but you have a daughter to think about. Responsibilities. You're a 27 year old woman acting like a kid who doesn't want to go to school."

"GET OUT! LEAVE ME THE HELL ALONE!"

Stephen was nonplussed by her tantrum. "Say it Ashley, say it dammit!" He grabbed both her hands. "NO! GO AWAY!"

Stephen was not going to leave until she admitted it. "If you don't say it, I will," he threatened.

"Stephen, please just go."

Stephen heard a noise coming from the hall. He looked at Ashley and at the same moment the door opened. "YOU HAVE AIDS, ASHLEY! AIDS! NOT CANCER! NOT JUST HIV, BUT FULL BLOWN AIDS!!!"

Ashley looked towards the door and went as white as a sheet. Stephen turned around.

Kevin and Brian were standing in the doorway. Kevin was staring at Ashley. He felt his body swaying, felt his knees buckle, and then everything went black.