The sun was shining in Anaheim, CA that afternoon. The boys had just finished the first half of their rehearsal. Everyone was sitting in the air conditioned lounge room backstage of the arena. Catering had been provided for everyone. Rachel and Brian were sitting at a table with Sarah and Kevin.
"Good food!" Brian said then took a bite out his sandwich.
Rachel laughed. "Enjoy your food much?"
Brian smiled. "Not as much as I enjoy being with you," he said while gesturing for a kiss on the cheek.
Rachel snickered as she kissed him on the cheek and scooted closer to him.
Kevin laughed and shook his head. "You two are inseparable," he said.
"And that's a bad thing?" Rachel said with a smile.
"No comment," he said while standing up. "Come on Sarah let's go play pool."
"But I don't know how to play pool."
"I'll teach you come on," he said as he held his hand out to her.
"Okay," Sarah said as she took his hand and followed him to the pool table.
Rachel smiled and leaned against Brian. She watched everyone around the room. The band members and dancers were sitting in a large bunch telling jokes and wild stories. AJ and Amanda were sitting alone at the far corner of the room talking intently with each other as AJ glided his hand over her stomach. Howie and Nikki were sitting with Denise talking at the table next to her. Nick and Kristin were sitting at a small table alone having a serious discussion. Her eyes shifted back to Kevin and Sarah. Sarah was standing at the pool table holding the cue as Kevin showed her how to play pool. Rachel's thoughts were interrupted by Brian kissing her on the cheek.
"What are you thinking about?" he asked curiously.
"About how happy everyone looks. Have you ever seen such a happy bunch of people?" she stated as she looked up at him.
Brian smiled with a nod. "Yeah we are really happy," he said then took a deep breath in through his nose, letting it out slowly. He looked over at Rachel to find her smiling at him. "What?"
"Nothing," she said innocently.
"Yeah right, what are you looking at? Is there something on my face?"
"You know I never noticed this before, but your nose is really big. I mean from this angle it's really huge!"
"What?"
Rachel busted up laughing. "I'm sorry honey but the opportunity was right there. I had to take it."
"Oh you're gonna get it!" Brian said teasingly.
"Yeah, what are you gonna do to me? Blow me away?"
"Oh now you're asking for it," he said as he stood up. "Here comes the tickle monster!"
"Oh no not the tickle monster! Tickle monster bad!" Rachel squealed as she took off running.
"It's show time!" Brian shouted as she took off after her. Tripping over his own chair he quickly got up and chased her around the room.
"Kevin help me!" Rachel shouted, hiding behind him. "He's trying to tickle me."
"Big mistake choosing me," he said as he grabbed her arm.
"Hey cuz I got her for ya!"
Rachel screamed with laughter and wriggled out of Kevin's grasp. "Ha!" she shouted and ran to the other side of the room. Suddenly a sharp stabbing pain came to her chest. Gasping for air she doubled over in pain.
Brian ran over to her, oblivious to what was going on. "Ha now I've got ya!" he shouted as he started tickling her. When no he got no response from her, a strange feeling arose in the pit of his stomach. He turned her around to find her gasping for air with tears streaming down her face. "Rachel?"
"Brian..." she said weakly and collapsed in his arms.
"Oh my God! Kristin come over here quick!"
Kristin got up out of her chair and raced over to them. Everyone was crowded around them. "All right guys back up give her some air," she said as she scooted everyone out of the way. "Brian lay her on her back. Nick grab a pillow from the couch and place it under her head." Nick did as he was told. Kristin checked Rachel's pulse from her wrist. "She doesn't look too good. Her pulse is really weak and slow. Howie call 911."
"Oh God please let her be okay," Brian cried. "This is all my fault!"
Sarah reached over and pulled Brian into a hug. "She'll be okay. It wasn't your fault. It was an accident."
The ambulance soon arrived and Rachel was rushed to the hospital. Everyone waited patiently in the waiting room. Brian was pacing back and forth to each side of the room. Soon a doctor came in with an emotionless expression on his face. Brian raced over the doctor.
"Is she okay? What's going on? When can we see her?" Brian asked frantically.
"Are you her husband?" he doctor asked.
"Boyfriend," Brian answered.
"I suggest you take a seat before I tell you the news." Brian slowly took a seat next to Kristin. She grabbed his hand for support. "From what I see from Miss Crawford's records it shows she has had heart problems in the past. Surgery has been delayed for a long time, but at the point it needs to be taken care of as soon as possible. Her condition has gotten worse and there is no way around the surgery."
"Oh God!" Brian cried.
"How soon do you need to get the surgery taken care of?" Kevin asked, taking charge.
"My suggestion is to get her in to a hospital within the next week, but the sooner the better. If there are no further questions I'll have the papers printed up and Rachel will be free to go."
"Thank you doctor," Kevin said then took a seat next to Brian. "She'll be fine, Brian."
Brian shook his head. "This is all my fault! If I hadn't made her run around the room none of this would have ever happened."
Kristin's eyes filled with tears as she hugged Brian. "This wasn't your fault. If it hadn't happened today, it would have happened another time. There was nothing that could be done. You can't blame yourself for this."
Brian wiped the tears from his eyes and let out a sigh. "I want her to have her surgery in Lexington. By the same doctor who did my surgery."
Kevin nodded and patted Brian on the back. "I'll have Denise call and get a plane ticket for her." He looked over at Kristin. "Do you want to go with her?"
"Yeah, she won't want to go alone."
"Okay, I'll get one for you too."
"I'll go get the papers from the front desk so we can go home," Kristin said as she got up.
That night Rachel lay in bed with Brian. Their arms wrapped tightly around each other. Brian kissed her gently on the lips. Tears fell down Rachel's cheeks as she traced her finger down Brian's scar.
"I'm scared Brian," she whispered.
"I know....I know," Brian whispered back, holding her closer. "I wish I could go with you."
"I know, but you don't want to disappoint your fans. I'll be fine. Kristin will be with me."
Brian nodded. "I already talked to my Mom. She wants you to stay with her for a couple of weeks until you feel well enough to come back on tour with us. Do you want to do that?"
Rachel nodded. "Yeah, definitely better than staying in the hospital."
"Good," he said then kissed her on the top of her head. "Get some sleep sweetie. You're gonna have a long day tomorrow."
"OK," Rachel said as she closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.