Chapter 18



It had been 2 weeks since AJ's surgery and everyone was getting geared up for the the start of the tour.
"Geez, can you believe we start touring in less than a month?" Allyssa asked Sandy while back in Nick's summer house.
"I know, this is gonna be so much fun."
"I'm glad AJ will be coming along too. He won't be letting any fans down." Allyssa added. "It's a good thing nurse Cartigan was a phisical therapist too."
"Yeah," Sandy agreed. "She seems really nice." Just then, AJ walked in the door, escorted by Nick and Brian. You could still detect a limp in his step.
"Hey girls." Brian smiled. Allyssa got up and greeted Nick with a kiss.
"How's it goin' sweetie?"
"It's goin' good. AJ just got done with another session with Ms.Cartigan." Allyssa looked at AJ's cringing face.
"How was it? Still painful?"
"Just a bit." AJ answered.
"Awww. Is she coming on tour with us?"
"Who, Amy? I think so. If the nerve damage hasn't fully recovered yet."
"That's cool." Sandy chimed in. "At least we know Derek's in jail though. One less thing for us to worry about." AJ squinted his eyes under his sunglasses at the rememberance of that night.
"Yeah, he's got 30 years for attepted murder of a Backstreet Boys." Brian added.
Sandy laughed, "Yeah he messed with the wrong boy band." You guys are gonna have a lot more body guards this tour aren't you?"
"Probably." Nick said as he flipped on the TV.

"Hello, I'm Brian McFayden with an MTV news brief. One of the most talked about stories these past couple of weeks had been Backstreet Boy AJ McLean's gunshot wound he took after being held hostage by a man named Derek Black. Black now has a minimum of 30 years in prison with no chance of parole. Officials say though he's still recovering, McLean will start touring this fall with the rest of the Boys, and the assistance of a phisical therpist backstage. More on this story next time, 10 to the hour, every hour, right here on MTV."

Allyssa's mouth dropped. "...Didn't we just say that??" Nick turned off the TV and tossed down the remote.
"God, who tells them his stuff? Do they know everything about us?!"
"Yep." Brian said, patting his shoulder. "That's the price we gotta pay, bro."
"Speaking of price, didn't Kev say he wanted to meet us at that nice restaurant down town?" AJ asked.
"Oh yeah! We better go." Brian remembered.
"I'm assuming everyone else knows about this?" Allyssa questioned, grabbing her coat.
"I think so. Kevin probably took care of it. You know him."
"Alright let's jet." Sandy said getting off the couch and reaching for her purse. Brian lead the pack out the door, letting AJ lean on his shoulder as the rest followed behind.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
AJ, Nick, Brian, Allyssa and Sandy walked in the quaint Mexican restaurant to see Kevin, Vikki, Howie and Gwen patiently waiting for them.
"Where's D and Nicole?" AJ asked.
"I invited Amy to come with us after you left therapy. I figure if she's coming with us on tour, we should get to know her. Howie and Nicole are going to drive her over." Kevin explained.
About five minutes later, the three had arrived and they were seated.
"So Ms.Cartigan, is AJ being a good patient?" Howie joked.
"Yes he is. And please, call me Amy." She smiled. "I think he should be fine very early into the tour."
"Oh, that's good news." Gwen commented.
"So how old are you Amy?" Brian asked. "Of you don't mind me asking. You just look very young for a therapist." Amy laughed.
"Thank you. I'm 27. I actually just got out of school a little while ago. I never dreamed I'd be doing this when college was over!"
"I bet not." Kevin smirked.
"To be honest, I didn't even realize who you guys were until the day of AJ's surgery. I was reading the clipboard with all his information on it and it just hit me. I wasn't really a fan of yours before, I didn't listen to much pop music, but after hearing you guys rehearse...wow."
"Well thank you." Brian said. "We appriciate it."
"Well you can order whatever you want Amy, 'cuz it's on me." Aj announced. "This is now a welcoming lunch."
"Awww how sweet! Thank you AJ." Amy grinned as she and everyone else picked up their menus to decide on their "welcoming" meals.

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