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Never Fear, Little Doc Is Here! Disclaimer: This story is only true in my dreams ;*) I don't really know the guys, this story simply rooted from my personal fantasy of taking care of people I care about when they're sick. FYI, my dad really is a doctor though, hence my inspiration for the story ;*) 8:00 A.M.-Island on the Florida Keys, filming set for Back To Your Heart video. "Hey, anyone seen A.J.?" Kevin asked as the guys started to gather in the sound stage. "He probably just slept in," Nick offered. "Yeah, 'Bone' was out late last night." Brian winked and jabbed Nick in the ribs playfully with his elbow. Kevin didn't look amused or satisfied with the answer. "That's not like him, he's usually the first one down here, date or no date." Kevin pointed out. "Hey, I'll go check on him," Howie, ever the sweetie, offered. "Thanks, 'D'." Kevin called as Howie smiled then disappeared out to A.J.'s trailer. First, he knocked on the door a few times. When there was no answer, he knocked again and called out, "A.J. You alive in there dude?" Still no reply, so Howie eased the door open and peered around. Everything looked in place, but as he ventured further into the corner reserved as a bedroom, he found his crazy compadre awake but under the covers and looking pale. "Man, you don't look so good." Sick or not, A.J. was still A.J. right down to his sunglasses and funky hat. His deep brown eyes did look a bit worried over the glasses though and his voice shook slightly as he answered, "Yeah, don't feel much better either." "Should I call the Doc?" "I'd be very grateful." Even now, A.J. smiled to his friend and outstretched a hand in a sideways fist which Howie promptly bopped the top and bottom with his own fist in a little handshake of theirs. With that, Howie jogged from the trailer and down a few to the trailer shared by their resident doctor and his daughter who also wanted to follow in that profession. He wasted no time in knocks but gave the door a few light pounds. Groggily, Katie opened her eyes and glanced at the clock. She lifted a hand and slid it down her face in a measly attempt to wake herself up before swinging her legs over the side of the day bed and trudging to the door. Seeing who it was, an automatic smile came to her pale pink lips but it faded some as she saw Howie's expression. "What's wrong, 'D'?" Her grey-blue eyes blinked in the early morning light and she slid a hand back through her tousled shoulder length caramel hair. "It's A.J. , he's not feeling so well. Is the Doc in?" Katie glanced over her shoulder and her gaze quickly darted around the trailer before her foggy mind cleared enough to remember that her dad said he would be in meetings all day. "No, he's stuck in meetings up in Tampa. He left me in charge though, let me change and I'll be right over. I'm sure I can handle whatever he has and if not I'll give my dad a call." Howie was content with that and he smiled thankfully and winked. "Thanks, Little Doc." As he walked back toward the sound stage, he looked over his shoulder to wave as she called out, "Anytime, 'D'!" It took roughly fifteen minutes but Katie threw on some jean capri's, a baby tee and her Sketchers before pulling her hair back in a pony tail and packing a back pack full of odds and ends that she found useful in taking care of the guys. This wasn't what you'd call an often occurrence, but more than once, she found herself sitting bedside with a sick sweetie. She'd been through fevers, sore throats, chills and flus, and she knew the right TLC for each one. Guessing that knocking would be pointless, she opened the door and smiled softly when she saw him. She walked over and set her pack down, but she couldn't tell if his eyes were closed behind the shades so she took a seat beside the day bed and patted his upper arm gently, her voice almost a whisper, "Hey, 'Bone'." His brows arched causing the glasses to slide down his nose enough to look over them and he smiled some. "Hey, Little Doc. Where's Pop?" He pulled his arms out from under the blanket and rested them by his sides, sitting up a little more. Katie winced slightly as she explained, "He's in meetings in Tampa all day, but I'm here. That okay with you? If you think you're really sick I'll call him but he's due back tonight around seven anyway." "Nah, I'm not on my death bed. I'm sure I'm in capable hands." He winked and she couldn't help but laugh softly. "Alright, lets check you out." She set the back of her hand against his cheek then removed his shades to do the same to his forehead. He looked almost nervous without the glasses and she grinned lightly to him before replacing the shades, and he seemed to relax. She then set her hand on his stomach and pressed gently before moving to his sides. There were no complaints which was a good sign, it wasn't anything serious. "Well, you do have a bit of a fever. What else hurts?" "It's just my stomach. Got this nauseous feeling goin on down there." As he said this, one of his hands slid up to rub over his tummy to accentuate his words. "It's like I'm really tired. But really sick. And I keep shaking." That much was quite noticeable, he quivered constantly. He leaned toward her a little, peering over his glasses to catch her eyes and spoke quietly, "I'd never admit this to anyone. But it scares me being sick..." A warm, reassuring smile creased her lips and she touched his nose lightly with a single fingertip. "I'm the same way, and I know just having someone sit with you makes all the difference in the world. You need a hand to hold?" "Actually, that does sound nice." He laid back again and let out a long slow breath in relaxation as she slid her hand in his and gave it a small squeeze. With her free hand, she dug through her backpack and pulled out a few extra pillows. After helping him get propped up, she rummaged some more to find Zinger, the stuffed bull dog she kept for cases like this. A.J. blushed some but accepted it under his free arm with a lopsided smile. Her thumb gently rubbed the back of his hand as she found a bowl in case his nausea got any worse. Looking back up to him, she asked quietly, "You have to go to the bathroom? If you can, I think it'd make you feel better and then maybe you could get some sleep." He considered her words for a few minutes before nodding and slowly sitting up, setting down Zinger and pulling the blanket back. He stood and wavered, his hand gripping her shoulder for balance. In an instant, she was standing and slung his arm around her shoulders. With anyone else, he would have been embarrassed, needing someone like this, but he'd known Katie long enough to be comfortable with leaning on her. At fifteen, she was young enough to be his sister but she had more motherly qualities that he didn't mind depending on. With her arm around his waist, they managed to make it to the bathroom where he smiled sheepishly as he closed the door. Katie leaned her back against it and let out a soft sigh, smiling and shaking her head lightly. It'd surely been a blessing from God, getting to tag along in the summers. Her dad met the guys at some charity concert in San Francisco and they were so impressed with his revival of a heart attack victim that they asked him to be their personal physician. Of course, she had to take the opportunity, and was allowed to go with them during the summer for videos, concerts and the meet and greets. Lost in her thoughts, she started a bit as the door to the trailer opened and Brian's baby blue eyes peeked inside. He smiled seeing Katie and stepped in, glancing around. "Hey, Howie said 'Bone' was sick, we just came to check on him." It was then that she noticed Nick step in as well. "Hey, Lil Doc," he said with a smile. "Hey, guys. A.J.'s in the bathroom at the moment. He'll be fine, just a little stomach thing." She smiled gently then stretched and yawned. They walked over and each patted her head. Brian wasn't that much taller, but Nick, being 6'1", towered over her petite 5'3" frame. She grinned lightly up to them and playfully did a boxing stance, giving each of them a light jab in the arm. Brian made a Jim Carey face and repaid the favor, bonking her arm as well. She laughed softly and ducked a swat from Nick, but was caught by his other hand tickling her stomach. She doubled over laughing quietly and catching his hand to return it to his side, preventing further torture. The door to the bathroom opened slowly and A.J, emerged. Once again, Katie slid his arm around her shoulders and hers around his waist. He stood a bit taller than before, seeing Nick and Brian, some of his macho maleness kicked in. Katie smiled to herself but looked between them. "Hey, 'Bone', you doin okay?" Brian asked, gently gripping his friend's upper arm for a minute. "Yeah, 'Rok', I'll be fine." His voice took on a weird accent, his face contorting in humor as he added, "Got the best Doc in the world right here." Everyone laughed and Katie patted his side in thanks for the compliment. "Yeah, you're in good hands," Nick said, lightly yanking her ponytail. Her head tilted back at that and she grinned before wrinkling her nose. "Oh sure, I see how it is. Everyone pick on Lil Doc." A resounding "Awwwww" came from them as they closed in for a group hug and she was smooshed. "Well, 'Bone', we can't stay, but we wanted to make sure you were alright and to tell you the director said today we can shoot everyone else's parts and your stuff and the group shots can be done whenever you're better, no rush." Brian said, taking a step backwards. Nick followed and nodded as he glanced down to straighten the Orlando Magic jersey he wore over light blue jean shorts and his Nikes. A.J. nodded, feeling relieved about not totally messing up everyone's schedule. "Thanks guys, see you tonight?" "Yeah, we'll all get together for dinner, watch a movie or somethin," Nick replied. He waved before setting his hands on Brian's shoulders, following him out of the trailer in a conga dance, rousing a laugh from A.J. and Katie. Once they got him settled in again, A.J. soon fell asleep after securing Lil Doc's hand in his for support, Zinger carefully tucked under his arm, and a lullaby almost whispered to him. Katie leaned back in her chair and smiled thoughtfully as she watched him sleep. Her hand still in his, she was careful not to wake him, and she glanced over his peaceful form, admiring his tattoos before studying his mysterious and charming face. She held in a chuckle because he refused to take off the cowboy hat even now, which was tipped down to his sunglasses. It wasn't long before she too fell asleep, her head tilted to rest on her shoulder. When the guys had a break in the shoot, they all came in and woke her for an hour long game of b-ball. Careful not to wake 'Bone', she teamed up with Kevin and Howie against Brian and Nick. The afternoon sun felt wonderful but after a while of playing they all started to sweat bullets. "Okay, guys, if we don't get some water, we'll all be joining 'Bone' in bed because of dehydration." She laughed as she leaned over, taking a breather, hands on her knees. "That's our Lil Doc, always watching out for us." Nick said. "Nah, she just wants a break cause they're losing!" Brian teased with that heart-stopping grin of his. This roused a cackle from Katie, throwing her head back before adding, "You're both right!" and jogging over to the bench, grabbing her bottle, then squirting ice cold water down her throat. The guys followed suit but Nick, always the prankster, aimed his bottle at Katie and drenched her back. She shrieked and spun around, charging after him with her own bottle. He ran backwards a few yards but squatted before rolling on his butt laughing with his hands up in defense. She drenched him as well, making sure to cover his hair before letting her bottle drop and laughing so hard her sides hurt. The other guys were also laughing and chasing each other with their bottles, squirting every chance they got. Even Kevin joined in and doused his cousin from head to toe. By the end of this escapade, everyone was dripping as they walked back to A.J.'s trailer. Before walking in, Katie turned to them and outstretched her arms. "Hey, give me hugs before you go." Used to this, each of them hugged her enough to smush the breath out of her, Brian even almost lifted her off her toes and she chuckled lightly as she pulled away. "Hit the showers, change then come back here and we'll all plan out what to do, sound good?" They all replied the affirmative, Brian with a Bugs Bunny impression, "You got it, Doc!" Back inside A.J.'s trailer, she checked to find him still sleeping and smiled to herself. Katie leaned over and softly kissed his forehead before pulling an extra set of clothes from her backpack and heading to the shower. She was toweling her hair dry at his bedside when 'Bone' finally awoke and stretched like a cat before smiling sweetly and glancing her over. It was obvious she had showered and changed, now wearing a baby blue ribbed summer dress. "Don't you look dashing?" He quipped, wiggling his eyebrows. Katie grinned and leaned back in her chair to toss the towel into the bathroom hamper before buckling her white sandals at the ankle. "You look better, how do you feel?" "Almost good as new, Doc. Yuh done did a fine job," He said in a southern accent, tipping his hat. She laughed and playfully slugged his upper arm which he melodramatically cradled and cried out before laughing himself. A.J. showered and changed into a black tank top and black pants with matching fisherman's hat before the others joined them. They decided on salad's and pasta to go easy on 'Bone's stomach. The day ended with everyone in the back of the tour bus sprawled out on the large couch watching Beetlejuice. Katie sat next to A.J. with her head on his shoulder and her knees pulled up to her chest. Brian was on the opposite side of her, shoulder to shoulder, breaking out into Michael Keaton impressions every now and then. Nick sat in front of her, leaning his back on her legs, occasionally tilting his head back with a silly grin whenever a funny part came on. Kevin was on the opposite side of 'Bone', his arms folded contently across his chest, and Howie sat by Nick, in front of A.J. The scene was serene and could be likened to heaven, but near the end of the movie when Lydia was singing 'Senora' and dancing in the air, Nick sat up, glanced at everyone and announced somewhat shakily, "Hey guys, I don't feel so good." In unison they all had one thing to say, "Uh Oh!"The End!! Thanks for reading my lil piece O'heaven and please send all comments to DKScully@Juno.com!! |