Chapter 4



Monday - September 16, 2002



"are you sure you're okay? you dont have to work today Kate. I've got it all covered" Jeanne said to me as soon as I walked into the gym a week after the accident.



I just smiled at her, knowing how worried she has been about me. "Jeanne, I need to work. I cant sit at home and watch TV any longer. I'm fine, really. hell, I was fine when I got back from Marathon, but you wouldn't let me work!"



"wrong. you're doctor told you not to work. he said that moving around too much would reopen your burns and I dont want that. maybe you should take another week off"



"Jeanne! I'm fine, I promise" I said. while I know she loves me and she just doesn't want me to be in pain, this is getting out of hand! "do you want to see the burns? they're almost completely healed. I'm fine"



"let me see" she said, with that stern 'mother' look on her face. I rolled my eyes at her but untucked my t-shirt and lifted it so she could see most of the burns on my back. right now they are more just like red marks. "oh hon" she said once she saw them



"Jeanne, honest I'm okay. they hurt every now and again, but nothing like before."



"are they going to scar?" she asked



I shrugged "Dr. Dickerson says a few of the deeper ones might. he wants to give them a month or so to heal on their own, then he'll check me again and see if I need to have any skin grafts"



Jeanne shook her head at me "if you dont feel well at anytime today, you go home. you hear me?"



I smiled at her "yes Jeanne. I promise"



"and you are never going anywhere near Nick Carter or Marathon again" she said with a smile, walking off to help a member while I just laughed at her.



********



"hey" I said to Kris as I walked into our house after work. to say Jeanne hovered over me all day would be an understatement and I'm drained from telling her over and over that I'm okay!



"you're not gonna believe what I have to tell you" was all she said



I laughed at the complete look of seriousness on her face "I'm not?" I asked, going into the kitchen to get a drink of water



she just shook her head "guess who's looking for you"



"looking for me? the mafia?" I teased



"Kate, I'm serious" she said, following me into the kitchen



"fine. who's looking for me?"



"Nick fucking Carter" was all she said.



I practically spit out my water and just stared at her "what? how do you know?"

"he was on MTV today and ......"



"ohmigod! did you tape it! does he look okay? is he completely recovered?" I asked her all at once



"he walks with a cane and he has some scaring on his cheek, but otherwise he looks okay. did you not hear what I said though? he fucken went on MTV in search of you Kate!" she said



"huh?" I asked, stunned



"he says that he wants to find the woman that helped him out of the bus. says he's pretty sure she's a fan since she knew his name and stuff. he fucken left a phone number to call him at!"



"on MTV! is he insane! do you know how many fans are gonna be calling that number!" I said, shocked.



"uh, yeah. that's what the VJ said too. but Nick said that he didnt care how many people called, he just wants to find you"



"do you realize how many people are gonna call saying they are the one who was in that bus with him? Jesus, the guy's tapped" I said



Kris just shook her head at me "Nick said that y'all were talking and only the two of you would know what was said. he's pretty determined to find you hon' she said. I just stared at her, letting it all sink in 'so anyways, I wrote down the number. why dont you give him a call?"



I looked at her for a second then turned away from her, looking in the fridge for something to eat "no" was all I said



"excuse me? did you just say no?" she asked



I nodded "it's over Kris. all I did was help him as much as I could. there's no need for us to talk"



"are you fucking on drugs? you saved his life Katie! he knows this! he said on national TV that you saved his life and he needs to thank you for that. he said he knew you were scared on the bus with him but that you never left him. he really wants to talk to you hon"



"I'm not calling him Kris. let some other fan take credit for it. I dont care" I mumbled, heading towards my bedroom



"what the hell is wrong with you?! Jesus Kate, Nick Carter wants to talk to you! to thank you! call him"



"Kris, I said no. I'm not calling him" I said. she started to say something then decided not to. I took one look at her and knew exactly what she was thinking "and dong you even think of calling for me. I dont want to talk to him Kris"



"but why? you're not making any sense!"



"it's my choice Kris and I'm choosing not to call him. you need to respect that" was all I said to her, cringing as I tried to lift my shirt over my back.



"fine. even though this has got to be the stupidest thing I've heard, I'll respect it" she muttered then walked out of my room.



I just sighed and changed into my pajamas and climbed into bed, not caring that it's only around 8pm.

Chapter 5

Saturday - September 28, 2002

"you sure you dont want to go out? we're going to the Dog House" Kris said to me, coming into the living room with her car keys as I sat on the couch watching TV

I shook my head no "nah. I dont feel like going out. thanks though. have fun. call me if you need a ride home" I said, barely glancing at her as I watched Trading Spaces.

"you okay? does your back hurt?" she asked gently

I shook my head no "I'm fine. just tired" I lied. actually, my back has been hurting like a son of a bitch, but not everyone needs to know that. my doctor knows and I'm going to see him Monday.

"ok. flip back and forth to MTV. I'm sure you'll see Nick begging you to call him" Kris said, giving me a stern look. I just rolled my eyes at her. she has nagged me everyday for almost 2 weeks about calling him. thankfully she has kept her word though and has not called him herself.

"he'll give up eventually. either that or some lucky fan will be able to convince him it was her." was all I said

"yeah. too bad the 'lucky fan' wont be you - who it should be" she muttered

"whatever. go. have fun. be careful" I said, turning the volume back up on the TV.

"I will. call me if you need me for anything" she said.

I just rolled my eyes at her with a smile. "I'll be fine mom. I'm old enough to stay home alone" I teased her.

"bitch. if you get bored, Nick's number is in the junk drawer. bye!" she said with a laugh, leaving before I could glare at her once more. I shook my head with a laugh then went back to watching TV.

I finished watching Trading Spaces, hating the fact that I'd flip channels to MTV on every commercial. at 8:50pm I flipped to MTV, seeing Nick on the MTV News Brief, basically just saying that he still hasn't found 'her' but that he'll keep looking. I sighed then shut the TV off, slowly going into the kitchen and opening the junk drawer. I pulled out the piece of paper that Kris had written his number on and just stared at it for a minute, still unsure what to do.

does a part of me want to call him and talk to him? sure. I mean come on, Nick Carter wants to talk to me. but honestly, I'm scared. what if he turns out to be a jerk and I risked my life for him? and even though it makes no sense at all, a part of me is mad at him. I'm in pain 90% of the time because of the burns on my back. because I went into the bus to get him out. like I said, it makes no sense. I sighed and walked into the living room, grabbing the cordless phone and dialing the number before I could think anymore about it. I guess I can always hope to get his voicemail. it is Saturday night and all. I'm sure he's out partying somewhere.

"hello?" I paused for a second. well, so much for the hope of getting voicemail. "hello?"

"uh, Nick?" I asked

"yeah" he said with a sigh.

"hi, uh ... I saw your number on MTV. I uh...." I stammered. Jesus. why the hell cant I talk to him??

Nick sighed again "yeah, I know. you were the one in the bus. you and every other fan in the country"

I had to fight not to laugh "no one told you to give your phone number out on national TV. not the smartest thing you've ever done, eh?" I said

he paused for a second and I wondered if he had hung up for a minute "what did you keep telling me on the bus?" he asked quietly

"besides yelling at you to stay awake?" I asked him with a small laugh, starting to calm down about talking to him. honestly, he sounds drained at this point. I'm sure thousands of people have been calling, yet he still answered his phone . "you kept trying to fall asleep on me and I was getting mad. once we got to the front of the bus, you told me to shut up and let you sleep. I told that I was going to be as annoying as I could be to keep you awake until help got to us. then I told you to think about being out on your boat. I told you to think about how relaxing it is out on the water and tried to get you to think about anything but the pain" I said, my voice barely above a whisper

Nick was silent as he listened to me. "it's you" he said quietly once I finished

I had to giggle at that "yep. got the burns on my back to prove it too" I said

"are you okay?" he asked me in a gentle voice

that question actually surprised me. I guess I just never thought he'd want to see if I was okay "uh, yeah. they're healing. I go back to the doctor Monday. I might find out then if I need any surgery or anything"

"surgery?" he asked, sounding shocked

"yeah. I may have to have a few skin grafts for a few of the burns that were deeper than the rest" I said

"I'm sorry" was all he said

"it's not your fault." I mumbled, even though I'm still fighting with the part of me that blames him. "how's your dad doing?"
"fine. pissed me off though that he didnt know your name. or your friends name. it would have been a lot easier to find you had he just gotten a friggen name" Nick muttered

I laughed "I think he was a little too busy worrying about you." I said

"can I ask you something?" he asked suddenly

"uh, sure" I said

"why'd you do it? Dad told me that the bus was already smoking a lot when you jumped in to help him. he said you made sure he was okay then just started crawling towards the back looking for me"

I took a deep breath. now this question I expected I guess "I just ..... you were trapped. I heard you call for help and I knew I had to try to help you. I would have done it no matter who you were. yeah, I'm a fan but I didnt risk my life just because you're Nick Carter. I climbed in that bus because you needed help"

we were both quiet for a minute then I heard him take a deep breath "where are you?"

"where am I?" I asked, confused

he chuckled "where do you live? were you down here on vacation?" he asked

"oh. uh, I went to Key West that weekend but I live in Ft. Lauderdale"

"really?" he asked "cool! we can meet sometime soon. I can get to Lauderdale in a few hours"

huh?!?! oh hell no! I called him, isn't that enough! "Nick, I'm sure you're busy. you dont have to come all the way up here. I just wanted to call you so that you could change your number and stop getting hounded by fans" I mumbled.

Nick laughed "tell me about it. I know they mean well but Christ! did they honestly think I'd just believe they were in the bus with me? I dont remember everything, but I definitely remember you not letting me sleep. and telling me to think about the ocean. I knew if whoever called knew about the ocean, it'd be the right person"

"well, you found me. so go change your number" I said with a small laugh, trying to get off the phone with him.

"huh? wait! that's it?" he asked "I really want to see you. I want to thank you"

"Nick, it's fine. you're welcome, ok? you've thanked me" I said

"but I dont even know you're name still!" he whined

I had to fight not to laugh at that. guess he really does have the whine down pat! "it's Katie" I said to him

"Katie. now that you say it, I kinda remember someone yelling your name a lot"

I laughed at that "that would have been Kris, my roommate. she kept yelling at me to get out of the bus. like I wasn't trying!" I giggled

"you could have just left me and gotten out. why didnt you?" he asked softly

I sighed. didnt we already go over this? "I couldn't Nick. you needed help and I wasn't going to leave you in there. I told you in the bus, I didnt climb in there just to leave your ass. I wasn't leaving without you"

"let me come up to Lauderdale and meet you" he said again

I shook my head. persistent shit, isn't he? Christ, at this point I'm really regretting calling him "I have to go. my friends just showed up and we're going out" I lied to him, avoiding his last statement.

"oh. okay. uh, yeah" he stammered, quietly

I sighed, feeling bad now. he sounds upset that I dont want to meet him. but honestly, I dont see what good would come of us meeting? just so he can thank me in person and we can relive the accident? no thank you. I'm doing all I can to forget it as it is "I'm glad you're okay Nick" I said quietly.

"thanks to you" was all he said "thank you"

"you're welcome. bye"

"bye Katie" he said almost sadly and we hung up.

Chapter 6



Monday - September 30, 2002



"phone" I said to Kris with a grin when the phone rang as we sat in the living room eating dinner.



"bitch" she said with a laugh, getting up to get the phone. "hello? .... no she's not in, can I take a message? ...... huh? oh wait. hang on, she's here" she said, turning to me with a shocked look on her face as she covered the mouth piece with her hand "uh Kate. did you happen to call Nick this weekend?"



I just looked at her. oops. did I forget to tell her that I called him? "uh, yeah." I muttered, knowing she's probably going to be mad that I didnt tell her.



"really? nice to tell me. here. it's for you" she said, handing me the phone "it's Nick"



I stopped mid-reach, my arm freezing in air. "what!" I said, stunned. how the hell did he get my number?! damn it! friggen caller ID! argh! I just shook my head at her, telling her I dont want the phone.



"take the phone Kate" she hissed at me.



"thanks a lot" I muttered, grabbing the phone. I took a deep breath, glaring at her "hello?"



"hey, it's Nick" he said



"hi" I said, trying not to sound too surprised.



"how'd the doctors go today?" he asked



"what?" I asked, stunned at this point



"you told me the other night that you had a doctor appointment today. I wanted to see how it went" he said.



I just stared at the phone, completely shocked. first of all, he actually remembers that I had an appointment today (Christ, I practically forgot myself!) secondly, he's calling to see how it went! uh hello! "um, I have to go to the burn center in Miami next Monday for some tests. he's pretty sure that I'll need at least some grafting done."



"really? shit. do you have insurance? if not, I can pay for it. whatever you're insurance doesn't cover, just let me know and I'll send you a check" he said



"uh, no. but thanks" I said, getting more and more stunned with each of his sentences



"no? Katie, yes. you're hurt because of me. the least I can do is pay for your medical treatment. this burn center in Miami, is it good? cause you need to go to the best. if they're not the best, we'll find out who is"



I just sat there, staring at the TV as I listened to him. "it's one of the best in the country." was all I could think to say.



"good. what about the doctor? do you know his name?" he asked.



"her name is Dr. Varas" I muttered



"ok. I'll check into her." he said and I could hear him writing something down.



"Nick. stop. my doctor referred me to her. she's fine. and you're not paying for anything. I've got insurance" I muttered. Kris looked over at me with a shocked look on her face and I just shrugged at her.



Nick sighed "give me your address so I can send you a check"



"are you not listening to me? I said no Nick. my insurance will cover everything but my deductible. stop trying to send me money" Kris' head snapped up and she just stared at me with her eyes wide. all I could do was shrug at her again.



"then let me come up there and meet you" he said



oh. my. God. had I known he could be this infuriating, I never would have saved his ass! "why is this so damn important to you?" I asked him



"uh, because you saved my life and I want to meet you" he said. I just sat there quietly, trying to figure out how to get him off this "I'm not giving up Katie. when I want something, I usually get it"



"gee, with that attitude how could I not want to meet you?" I asked him sarcastically while Kris practically went ballistic next to me on the couch wanting to know what the hell he is saying.



"it's all part of my charm. it makes girls and women swoon" he said with a chuckle.



I had to laugh at that "I hope you're not really this conceited. you never seemed it in interviews" I said



he laughed and I smiled at the sound of it. "nah. I'm just fucking with ya. personally, I dont get the screaming at all but whatever. seriously though, I do want to meet you. you said you're gonna be in Miami Monday to go to the burn center?"



"yeah" I said



"you driving down that day or earlier?" he asked



I sighed and shook my head "Kris and I were gonna drive down Friday after work and spend the weekend down there." I admitted



"cool. I'll book you a room at the Marriott then I'll drive up and stay there too. that way we can meet up" he said



"Nick......" I started



"Katie, please. let me do this ok? have a weekend in Miami on me. it's the least I can do. we can meet up and if you totally hate me, I'll never bother you again. I just .... I need to thank you in person" he said, practically begging me.



I sighed "fine. but you're not paying for our room"



"uh, yeah I am. I'll call you later this week to find out what time y'all are gonna be down there. we can either meet up in the lobby or I can just give you the fake name the reservation will be under and we can meet up in the rooms or something"



"Nick......" I started again. at this point I'll agree to meet him just so I can kick his ass!



"I gotta go Katie. Aaron just came over. I'll call you later in the week. bye" he said then hung up.



as soon as I hung up the phone Kris muted the TV and stared at me "when the hell did you call him?!" she demanded "and why the hell didnt you tell me!"



"I called him Saturday night." I muttered



"and?" she asked me. I shrugged and told her about our conversation. "so let me get this straight. he wants to meet you and you said no?" I just nodded "why"?



"I dont really see any reason for us to meet" I muttered



"excuse me! uh, how about the fact that you have all but obsessed over the man for 4 years! Jesus Katie, you were ready to follow every Escalade we saw in Marathon that day! so now you have Nick friggen Carter wanting to meet you and you dont want to? Jesus. this makes no fucking sense at all"



"why meet him Kris? so we can relive the whole fucking accident? what if I dont want to do that!" I yelled, jumping up from the couch.



Kris gently grabbed my arm before I could walk away "hon, talk to me. tell me what's going on. I know you'd kill to meet him. what are you afraid of?" she asked me gently



"nothing" I mumbled



"bull. something is going on inside that head of yours. tell me what it is"



I sighed but sat back down on the couch "what if he's an ass? I’ve practically idolized him. what if meeting him is a let down?" I practically whispered, knowing how stupid that must sound.



"that's a valid point. but hon, I just dont see that happening. when I first told him you weren't here, he said he just wanted to find out how your doctors appointment went. that doesn't sound like an ass to me" she said and I just nodded. Kris looked at me for a second then she just kind of nodded her head "you blame him, dont you?"



"what?" I asked, stunned.



"for getting burned. a part of you blames him for that" she said, more than asked.



I looked at her for a second then slowly nodded "I know it's stupid. I went into that bus all on my own. but ..... I just ..... whenever it hurts real bad or I think about it maybe scaring, all I can think about is that had he not been trapped on that fucking bus I wouldn't be in this pain" I admitted.



"believe it or not, that makes sense. it's natural for you to be mad about it. I just dont think you should blame him."



"I know" I muttered.



"is he meeting us in Miami? I thought I heard you saying something about this weekend"



I sighed "yeah. he's booking us a room at the Marriott. he's gonna drive up for the weekend too so we can meet" she just looked at me for a second then died laughing "what the hell is so funny?"



"sorry. I'm just picturing the look on your face when you see him. oh, this is gonna be good!" she laughed



I tried to glare at her but just ended up laughing with her "yet another reason why meeting him is not going to be a good thing!"



"ha! for me it will be! I'll have to make sure to get lots of film and charge the battery for the camcorder"



"evil bitch" was all I said to her as I stood up and brought our dirty plates into the kitchen.

Chapter 7

Friday - October 4, 2002

"hi, my name is Katie Johns. I have a reservation with the Mario Perry party" I said to the front desk clerk. Kris died laughing as soon as I said the fake name and I had to fight not to laugh out loud as well. when Nick had told me the name the reservation was going to be under last night when we talked I had laughed so hard that I had tears in my eyes. Mario is for Super Mario Bros. and Perry is for Steve Perry. Nick's two favorite things apparently.

"ah, yes Ms. Johns. everything is all set. you are in room 1255, a joined room with Mr. Perry. I'll have Jerry bring your bags up" the desk clerk said

"we've got it" I said to him.

he just shook his head "I have strict orders from Mr. Perry to 'treat you like a queen'" he said and I blushed a deep red as Kris just shook her head with a laugh. "here's your key Ms. Johns. Mr. Perry is in his room awaiting your arrival. I hope you enjoy your stay".

"we will. thank you very much" Kris said with a smile as Jerry suddenly appeared and started putting our bags on a cart.

"miss, if you could follow me. I'll bring you up to your room" Jerry said to me. I just looked at him for a second then Kris and I followed him around the corner to the elevators. once we got to the 12th floor, Jerry led us to our room and showed us in, placing our bags inside for us "is there anything else I can do for you Ms. Johns?" he asked

"no, thank you very much Jerry" I said, reaching in my purse for some ones

"that's been taken care of miss. enjoy your stay" Jerry said, refusing to take the money then quietly leaving, shutting the door behind him.

"Jesus! look at the view! it's gorgeous!" Kris said, immediately going over to the sliding glass doors and opening them - stepping out onto the balcony. I just nodded, looking around the room. I'm sure they have smaller rooms in the hotel. "so queenie, enjoying your stay so far" Kris teased me.

"shut up" I said to her, shaking my head. "this is ridiculous"

"not to Nick. enjoy it girlfriend. I know I will!" she said as the phone in our room rang "I'm sure that's for you"

I rolled my eyes and went over to the phone, just staring at it for a second. I took a deep breath then picked it up "hello?"

"hey, when did you get in?" Nick asked

"just got here" I said

"cool. unlock your side of the adjoining door and I'll come in" he said and I could hear him moving off the bed through the phone.

"yeah. okay" I said quietly, my stomach doing flip flops at the thought of seeing him. Christ. he's right on the other side of that door. wanting to meet me. I glanced over at Kris, giving her a panicked look.

"come on Katie. hang up and unlock the door. I wanna see ya!" he said with a laugh

"ok. bye" I muttered, hanging up the phone "I dont want to do this Kris"

she saw the look in my eyes and came into the room with me "I know you're nervous hon, but you can do this. just be yourself and he'll love you. hell, you could probably kick him and he'd still think you were 'all that'" she said, trying to get me to laugh. I just looked at her, honestly wanting to throw up. we heard a knock on the door between the rooms then we both heard Nick call my name. "go. you'll be fine. I'll be right out on the balcony" Kris said gently

"what!" I asked her, my eyes wide. she cant leave me in here to face him alone!

"I'll be on the balcony. I think you two need to meet alone. I'll come back in, in a few minutes. now go" she gently pushed me towards the door as she walked back out onto the balcony, sitting down on one of the chairs.

I took another deep breath and went over to the door, unlocking it then slowly opening it - backing up so that he can come into the room with me. as soon as Nick saw me his face lit up.

"Katie!" he said with a huge smile, throwing his arms around me and giving me a big hug.

okay. I'm sure I'd be way more excited about this hug if it weren't for the fucking pain shooting up and down my back right now! "Nick, my back" I said, trying to pull away from him

"shit!" he said, letting me go "I'm so sorry!"

I looked up at him and shook my head "it's okay. honest" I said. my God. by the look in his eyes you'd think he just shot me or something! "I"m okay"

"that was such a stupid thing to do. fuck, you're down here to go to a burn center and I go and hurt your back more" he muttered, looking embarrassed and mad at himself.

"Nick, it's okay" I said to him with a smile. he really does look upset about it "how're you doing? how's your leg?"

"it's good. I still have to walk with a cane and the doctor says I might always have a slight limp, but other than that I'm doing good"

I glanced down at his left leg, seeing the cast and his cane for the first time "a limp?" I asked him. so much for dancing on tour anytime soon I guess.

Nick just shrugged "yeah. I guess the TV was mostly on my left leg and it cut off the circulation for a bit. it's broken in 6 different places so he's just not sure if I'll always have a limp or if it'll go away"

"Jesus" I muttered. "I'm sorry. I should have gotten the TV off your leg quicker"

Nick just looked down at me, looking at me like I have three heads. 'what? Katie, Christ. if it wasn't for you, I probably wouldn't even be here"

I shook my head at him "you'd be here. all I did was keep you awake Nick" I said, moving further into the room and sitting down on the edge of the bed.

Nick just shook his head stubbornly at me "wrong. the nurse and doctors all told me that whoever got me out of that bus saved my life. the said that had I been trapped under the TV when the back of the bus exploded I probably would have burned to death. so dont sit there and tell me what you did was nothing. you fucken saved my life Katie" he said, actually starting to sound mad.

I just looked up at him, not even sure what to say to all that. thank God Kris decided to come back into the room at that point

"hey Nick. I'm Kris, Katie's friend" she said with a bright smile

Nick looked down at me for a second with a stern look then turned and looked at Kris, a big smile on his face "so you're the one that helped pops, eh?" he asked her

Kris laughed "I guess. although I hate to admit I was screaming at Kate the whole time to just stay away from the bus" she said

Nick just laughed at her "I hear ya" he said "you two hungry? I haven't eaten yet and I'm starved"

"sounds good to me. I know I'm hungry. Kate?" Kris asked me.

"yeah. that's fine" I muttered, standing up "I gotta go to the bathroom first" I turned and walked into the bathroom, leaving Nick and Kris standing in the room.

"she okay?" I heard Nick ask Kris

Kris paused for a second "this has been hard on her. I know she's worried about Monday, so lets just try to keep her mind off it"

I sighed to myself in the bathroom as I washed my hands. great, they're already talking behind my back. before Nick could say anything else I went back into the room, glaring at Kris so she would know I heard her. "k. let's go" I said, grabbing my purse

"do you need a wheelchair or anything? we can get you one" Nick said

I turned and looked at him, trying not to laugh "for my back? uh no, I'm fine" I said

"not nice to laugh at me Katie. I might not give you an autographed picture now" Nick teased me.

I'm sure my face immediately turned bright red as Kris died laughing "oh, use that all weekend Nick. that'll get her to behave" she said to him, going through the door as he held it for us

"oh yeah? really? I was just teasing her" Nick said with a laugh as we slowly walked down the hallway.

"you better have an autographed picture of yourself with you. cause she's gonna want one" Kris said, being completely serious.

I turned around and glared at her, seriously hating her at this moment "shut up" I hissed at her.

"what! he already knows you're a fan Kate. he said so on MTV when he was begging you to call him everyday!" Kris said

ok. please just let this wall swallow me and end this right now. please.

"if you want an autograph I'll give you one Katie" Nick said as we got to the elevator.

"can we maybe just talk about something else, please? if you two are going to gain up on me and tease me all weekend, I'm going home"

"yeah right. I drove. good try" Kris teased me.

"I hate you"I said to her, having to laugh.

"yeah right. you love me. where we going for dinner?" she asked, changing the subject.

"wherever Katie wants to go. my treat" Nick said as we got off the elevator on the lobby level.

"sweet!" Kris said with a laugh.

"Nick....." I started.

he just rolled his eyes at me "Katie" he said back to me "I told you this weekend is on me and I meant it. dont fight me on this ok? I'm pretty nasty when I dont get my way."

I just rolled my eyes at him as I laughed. jerk. he's gonna make damn sure he gets his way all weekend, I can tell already "whatever."

Nick just laughed at me "so what do you want to eat?" he asked me

"McDonalds" I said

Nick just gaped at me as Kris stared at me "McDonalds?" they both asked me.

"yup. that's what I want" I said. ha! he wants this weekend to be 'on him', fine. I'll just eat fast food all weekend! ah-ha!

Nick looked at me for a second then turned and looked at Kris "what's her favorite restaurant?" he asked Kris

"Outback" she said.

Nick nodded then slowly walked over to the concierge. he talked for a few minutes then came back over to us. "ok. let's go. I'll drive" he said with a smirk, heading towards the front doors.

"you better have been asking him where the closest McDonalds is" I called after Nick as Kris and I started following him. he just kept silent as he gave his valet ticket to the man outside. "Nick"

"do you seriously think I'm going to take the two of you to McDonalds? we're going to the Outback Katie. will you please stop fighting me on this?" he said

"oh look. a pearlized off white Escalade. imagine" Kris said, grinning at me as soon as Nick's truck pulled up in front of us. I just laughed, feeling my face getting red yet again.

"what's wrong with an Escalade?" Nick asked as we all climbed in.

"nothing. honest." Kris said from the back seat. "Jesus! look at all these controls! this is sweet!"

Nick laughed, shaking his head "you have a TV/DVD player back there too. you're own speakers and sound system plus controls for the air"

"Jesus" she muttered, touching everything "can I turn the TV on? I just wanna see it"

"go ahead. you wont hurt anything" Nick said, turning to grin at me "she never been in a truck before?"

I just laughed "you'd think not, huh?" I asked

"fuck you both" Kris mumbled to us, enthralled with all the buttons back there while Nick and I just laughed at her.

Chapter 8

Sunday - October 6, 2002

"hello?" I answered the room phone as Kris headed to the bathroom to shower

"sick of me yet?" Nick asked me with a chuckle

I had to laugh at him "surprisingly, no" I teased him. yesterday he had taken Kris and I out on his boat (well, yacht I guess considering it is 45' long! and bigger than most apartments I've lived in!) he just sailed us around Miami and then took us over to the ocean, cruising right along South Beach for us and showing us all the clubs and celebrities houses. it was a very relaxing day and it's funny how at ease I am with him. usually around new people (never mind a celebrity!) I'm pretty quiet and dont say much. but there's just something about Nick that makes you want to talk to him.

"nice Kate. real nice. you and Kris have anything planned for today?" he asked

"we haven't really decided. we were thinking of maybe trying to do some shopping though"

"cool. I was gonna ask y'all if you wanted to go to Bay Shore. it's the outdoor shopping area just down the street."

"you sure you're up to it? that's a lot of walking around on a broken leg" I said, having noticed him limping more and more over the past two days the more he's on it.

"it's cool. I've got my cane. unless you guys wanted a day without me. I know I've been hovering around like a lost puppy"

"Nick stop. you have not. you took us out on your boat yesterday and sailed us around for hours. we're the ones that should be asking you if your sick of us yet. you're the international pop star. you probably cant wait to get rid of us tomorrow!" I said with laugh

"hardly. I like hanging out with you Katie, honest. you and Kris both just treat me like any other person. yeah, you both tease me by calling me 'pop star' and all, but I love the fact that you do tease me. so many people I meet just clam up or treat me like a fucken king or something. with you and Kris ...... I dont know. I guess I can be just me and it doesn't matter. I can be as goofy as I want and I know you two wont care. that means more to me than you know" he said quietly.

wow. that was pretty deep. damn. but honestly, I cant even explain the feeling of pride inside me right now. knowing that Kris and I were actually able to treat him 'normal' and that he enjoyed yesterday with us as much as we did with him (yes, even Kris mentioned that she really likes him and he's 'cool'. hmm... wonder if I could get her to willingly listen to Backstreet Boys now? nah, probably not!) "be as goofy as ya want Carter. we wont tell anyone" I teased him, not really knowing how else to respond to that.

Nick laughed "see? that's what I like! anyways, wanna go to Bay Shore?" he asked

"wont you get recognized? I dont think Kris and I could keep you safe from a group of fans" I said, actually worried about that. I certainly dont want to watch the man get mauled today!

"nah. I'll be fine. I'll wear a ball cap"
I just rolled my eyes "just so you know. that whole disguise of a ball cap is pure shit. any fan can tell it's you" I said

"nu-uh! I always wear a ball cap and go unnoticed! it works all the time" he insisted.

"ok Carter. we'll see" I said

"shut up!" he said with a laugh "how long do you need to get ready? 20 minutes?"

I scoffed at him "yeah sure. Kris just got in the shower. give us an hour and a half."

"oh, come on! I'm starving!" he whined

"Jesus. order something small from room service and eat it while you wait for us to be ready. I'll try to be quick"

"fine" he sighed "but hurry up. I'm lonely too"

"good Lord. play video games or something. we'll see you soon" I said with a laugh then we hung up.

***********

"ah look! dolphins!" I said, taking Kris by the arm and dragging her into a store with me as Nick rolled his eyes with a laugh and leaned up against the wall - used to this by now. for the past hour or so I have done the same exact thing every time something caught my eye - grabbed Kris' arm and dragged her in the store with me. 5 minutes later Kris and I were back outside with Nick.

"and yet again, you didnt buy anything" Nick said dryly as we stood next to him with no bag or anything in our hands

"listen pop-star. maybe you dont get the concept of 'window shopping'. you just look at stuff that you'd like to buy if you could. it doesn't mean I'm gonna rack up my credit cards just cause something caught my eye" I teased him

"did you see something you liked in there?" he asked, standing up and ready to go into the store

"no, I did not" I said, grabbing his arm and trying to keep him from going in the store. sure, I loved the beautiful dolphin painting I saw, but it's $350 and I know Nick would just go in there and whip out a credit card to buy it. and I dont want him to do that. he's spent way too much already this weekend. hell, he hasn't let me or Kris pay for so much as a friggen soda!

"you did. I can tell" he said, looking down at me

Kris just shook her head at us with a laugh "I'm going to get a soda while you two fight this out. you want anything?"

"diet Coke" I said to her

"coke" Nick said, reaching for his back pocket

"I swear to God Nick. if you reach for your wallet I'll break your arm. let me buy you a friggen soda" Kris said to him

Nick's arm immediately froze as he realized how serious she is "k. thanks" was all he muttered to her, actually looking just a bit unsure of her right now "what'd she see in there that she liked?" he asked Kris, nodding his head towards the store we just came out of.

"oh hell no. you're not dragging me into this! she saw something, that's all I'll tell you. be right back" Kris said with a laugh then went to get us sodas.

Nick turned and looked back down at me "what'd you see?" he asked me

I sighed "nothing" I insisted

"damn it Katie...."

"stop" I said to him sternly "you need to stop whipping out your credit card every other minute. you've spent more than enough on us this weekend. too much"

Nick just rolled his eyes at me "not enough is more like it. you saved my life Katie. you're a hero. my hero"

"knock it off Carter. I told you not to call me that" I muttered to him as Kris came back with the sodas.

"so, you getting it or what?" Kris asked me with a grin, handing me my soda then giving Nick his.

"no" was all I said to her "we ready to walk around more or do you want to sit?" I turned and looked at Nick, noticing him favoring his left leg more and more as we continue to walk around.

"I'm good" he said

"liar. let's sit" I said, going over towards a bench.

"Jesus. why even ask me then?" Nick asked with a smirk, hobbling over to me and sitting down.

"asshole" I said to him, lightly hitting him in the arm as Kris sat on the other side of Nick.

Nick started to say something to me then all of a sudden looked down at the ground muttering "shit"

"huh?" I asked him

"fans" he muttered

really? I looked up and indeed noticed 4 girls staring at us, as if they're trying to figure out if it is indeed Nick Carter sitting in front of them.

Kris leaned over Nick to look at me . "wonderful. I cant take all 4 of them" she muttered under her breath, making me and Nick die laughing.

"just ignore them. maybe they'll go away" I said, putting my leg right up against his right leg, trying to cover his tattoo the best I can. that alone will surely give him away if nothing else.

"yeah. right" Nick scoffed, trying to move his leg away from mine

"stop" I said, taking his knee in my hand and pulling his leg back towards mine. Nick just looked at me. "I'm trying to hide your damn tattoo loser. you moving away from me wont help" Nick just laughed and I glanced up, seeing the girls starting even more. "this isn't gonna work. they know it's you. cant you just sign their stuff so they'll stop staring?"

Nick just chuckled at me "you're the one trying to hide tattoos and everything hon. not me." he stood up, grabbing his cane and slowly walking over to the girls with a big smile on his face. Kris and I just sat there, watching him interact with them. Jesus, I think one of the girls is about to faint! Nick stayed with them for a few minutes, signing autographs and taking pictures then he came back with the 4 girls right behind him "that's Kris and this is Katie" he said to them.

"uh, hi" Kris said, looking like she wants to be anywhere but here right about now.

"hi" I said to them with a smile. did he seriously need to bring them over to us! I'm sure they could care less about us! hell, I can already see the anti-Kris and anti-Katie sites on the web now! hell, by tomorrow I'm sure Kris and I will both be dating Nick according to the message boards!

one of the girls looked at me for a second then another girl nudged her from behind "um, we just wanted to thank you" she said quietly.

I just stared at her "for what?" I asked, confused

"for saving Nick. he told us you're the one that pulled him from the bus. and we wanted to thank you" she said quietly, starting to look embarrassed for having to be the one to talk to me.

"it was nothing" I muttered. Nick immediately started to say something but I glared at him and he shut up.

the girl nodded at me then looked up at Nick "thanks for taking the time to talk to us. we wont tell anyone you're here" she said to him.

he smiled down at her. Christ, that smile alone just melted my heart and it wasn't even directed at me. damn. "thanks" he said.

"bye" the all said then reluctantly left us, glancing over their shoulders at Nick every other step.

"you wanna get back to the hotel? I have a feeling you're going to be recognized a whole bunch more now" Kris said to Nick

"it's okay. I'll deal with them. most of them just want a picture and an autograph" Nick said, sitting down and winching as he rubbed his leg.

"come on. let's go back and watch a movie. that way you can put your leg up" I said, standing up and looking down at Nick

Nick started to fight us but once he saw the determination on our faces he just nodded "okay" he said, getting up then we slowly walked towards the front to catch a cab back to the hotel.

Enter supporting content here