TWENTY EIGHT The phone rang again and Brian and Angela were both getting a bit annoyed. They just wanted some time to themselves. "Not again!" Angela managed to get out in between kisses. "Hold on," Brian said. "I'll put an end to this." He reached over and pulled the plug out of the phone jack. "No more phone ringing. I like the sound of that," Angela whispered. At the hospital.... "I was disconnected for some reason," Nick said, as he reentered Krista's room. "Oh well. Let's get out of here. Thanks for everything Dr. Robertson." "No problem," she smiled as they left. When they got to Nick's car, Krista said,"I just wanna thank you for being there for me. It means alot." "Don't worry about it. I'd do it for you again and again." She smiled and gave him a small, but sweet kiss before they started home. *** The following morning, Angela woke up and rolled over to see that Brian was still asleep. She smiled at the thought of last night. Her love for Brian grew even more. She didn't know that it was possible to be any more in love. She leaned over and placed a soft kiss on his lips to wake him up. His eyes fluttered and he looked over at her. "Good morning Princess." "Morning," she smiled at him. "No regrets?" "Absolutely none. You?" "I wouldn't have had it any other way." "Well," she said, getting out of bed. "I'm going to take a shower." "While you're doing that, I'm gonna cook you breakfast." "Brian Littrell, you are too much!" "I know," he grinned and left the room. Later that day... "Where are they?" Krista wondered. She had rung the doorbell about five times and no one answered. But she knew that they were in there. "Why did I leave my key in the house?" "Why do you keep asking questions that I can't answer?" Nick mocked her. "Oh, shut up!" she said as she elbowed him playfully. Just then, Brian opened the door. "Hey guys! Come on in!" "I love how I have to get invited into my own house," she remarked. "I figured you would," Brian replied. "So where's Angela?" Krista asked. "And what happened last night?" Nick added. "That's what I should be asking," Angela said, coming out of her bedroom. She saw Krista's thumb and ran over to her. "You poor thing! Did that bowling ball eat you up?" she teased as she hugged Krista. Krista pulled away and smacked her. "Yes, it did. And thanks for being so concerned." "Hey! I was very concerned! Nick told us that we didn't need to come to the hospital. The situation sounded so funny over the phone. I mean look at Brian; he laughed until he cried." Angela pointed toward her boyfriend. "Hmmm. I recall that you were the one crying from laughing so hard," Brian said. "Maybe I did," she admitted, sitting down between Brian's legs. "You wanna tell us the whole story now?" "I suppose so," Krista replied. She and Nick both sat on the couch. They told their story over again, but in detail this time. Brian and Angela were both rolling on the floor in laughter. They didn't even try to hold it back. Krista would have been mad at the fact that they were laughing at her, but when she thought about it, the situation did sound funny. "So tell me," Nick started. "Why was I disconnected from you guys last night?" "I unplugged the phone," Brian answered. "Why?" he pressed. "We were busy," Angela answered for Brian. "Doing what?" Krista asked curiously. Angela and Brian looked at each other and turned deep shades of red. They didn't exactly want to discuss what happened between the two of them with Krista and Nick. "Oh you didn't!" Krista exclaimed. They both looked away, very embarrassed and turning even redder still. "Well, well, well. I guess you two were pretty busy last night," Nick teased. Krista just smirked at her boyfriend's smart remark. "Perhaps," Angela said. "Well, not to cut this embarrassing moment short or anything, but I believe that we have a meet-n-greet and a meeting with management today?" Brian looked straight at Nick when he said this. "OK, OK," Nick said in surrender. He turned to give Krista a kiss and got up to leave. "I'll call you later," Brian said to Angela, gave her a kiss on the cheek, and left. "So are you gonna tell me what happened?" Krista gushed. "Most of it. I'm sure that Brian wouldn't appreciate it if I told you everything," Angela laughed at her. "Alright." Angela sighed with contentment and proceeded to share with her best friend her feelings and dreams for this relationship. TWENTY NINE Over the next couple of months, Angela spent all of her free time with Brian and Krista in between classes, studying, and when Brian had free time from promoting the Backstreet Boys' latest single, "All I Have To Give," and recording their new album. She was having the time of her life with them. "I absolutely love the rain," Krista remarked. "I love it when the house is quiet and you can hear it on the roof." She got up off the couch and looked out the window. "Well, if you weren't talking right now, you'd be able to hear the rain and I'd be able to do my homework," Angela said from the kitchen table. "You and your stupid homework Angela! That's all you've been doing all day. Let's do something!" "Alright then," Angela said, getting up. "Let's go out and dance in the rain." "Are you serious?" Krista demanded. "Yeah!" Angela flung open the door and ran outside. She started dancing around in the pouring rain, getting soaked. Krista just stood in the doorway, not believing that her best friend was actually doing this. "Are you coming out or what?" Krista ran out the door, shutting it behind her. She grabbed Angela's hands and they started spinning in circles. "You are so crazy!" "Or so you think!" Angela said devilishly. She broke out into song. Krista laughed at her and then joined her. For almost an hour, the girls danced around and sang every song they knew. People in passing cars stared and their neighbors looked at them funny, but they didn't care. They were having so much fun that they didn't even notice half the time. A couple of times, they even got the guts to make faces back and stare them down. "I feel like I'm eight years old again!" Krista exclaimed. "Yeah, me too!" Just then, Krista felt a chill going up and down her spine and a yawn coming on. "I think I'm gonna go take a shower and then take a nap." "Oh come on! You're the one who wanted to do something and here we are! Stay out here a little bit longer! Please?" Angela begged. "No. I don't wanna get sick." Krista looked over Angela's shoulder at the oncoming jeep. "Look. Here comes Brian. Maybe he'll dance with you." "Oh he won't dance with me," she pouted as he pulled up. "And what are you two lovely ladies doing?" Brian asked as he rolled down the window. "Well, we were dancing in the rain, but now Krista wants to go in, but I don't want to. Angela shot Krista a dirty look. "I'm going in!" And with that, she was gone. Angela turned back to Brian and said, "I don't suppose that you would like to come out and dance with me, would you?" "I don't know," he debated. Just then, Angela leaned into the jeep and gave him a big, wet hug. "How about now?" "Well, I guess I don't have much of a choice now do I?" he laughed. So he got out of his jeep and joined his girlfriend in a round of dancing in the rain. They danced for a little bit before Brian pulled Angela close to him. "Let's slow dance for a while." "OK," she said. They didn't move much, but rather enjoyed being so close to each other, even if they were soaking wet. No words had to be said right then, but Angela wanted to tell Brian how she felt at that exact moment. "Brian, I don't know what I'd do without you. I love you so much," she said without lifting her head off his shoulder. "I love you too Princess." He stroked her hair, comforting her. Suddenly, Angela lifted her head and cupped Brian's face in her hands. She gave him a kiss full of such passion and love. He was taken aback by how much she put into this one kiss, but then returned it. They broke apart, coming up for air. Then, they walked back to the house, soaking wet, hand in hand. CHAPTER THIRTY Sure enough, a few days later, Angela was sick in bed. She was sneezing, coughing, had the sniffles, and couldn't keep anything she ate down. Krista was getting fed up of hearing her best friend complain, and she just didn't want to get sick herself. "You're going to the doctor," Krista stated. "No, I'm not. I'll be fine," Angela said stubbornly. “You said that three days ago. And you haven't gotten any better since then." "I'm not going." "Oh yes you are! I'm calling right now." Angela sighed in frustration and threw herself back on the bed. Suddenly, she felt a wave of nausea sweep over her and she ran to the bathroom. She tried throwing up, but there was nothing in her stomach. This sucks, she thought, out of breath on the bathroom floor. "Angela! Where'd you go?" "I'm in here," she moaned from the bathroom. "You alright?" "Yeah." "Good. The doctor can see you at 2:15pm. So rest up!" Angela crawled back into bed and fell asleep. Krista went out to the living room to watch TV for a couple of hours. *** "Get in the car!" Krista said exasperated. "I'm going," Angela whined. Angela eventually made it into Krista's car and they left. "Are you feeling any better?" Krista asked. When she got no response, she looked over to see Angela nodding off. She just smiled and went back to driving. They eventually reached the doctor's office, and Krista woke Angela up to help her in. She gave the receptionist Angela's name and they took her right in. "Do you want me to stay in her with you?" Krista wondered. "Yeah. You think I'm gonna make any rational decisions while practically falling asleep?" "No. But do you ever make any rational decisions?" "Hey now! I get a couple in there once in a while!" Krista just smiled at her as the doctor came in. "Hello," he said, "Hi," the girls replied. "I'm Dr. Stevens. You two new to the area?" "Yeah," Krista replied. "We moved here from Lexington, Kentucky about six months ago." "Well, welcome to Orlando then. So," he said, looking down at his folder. "Angela, what seems to be the problem?" "I was dancing out in the rain a few days ago. I know it sounds weird, but it was a lot of fun at the time. Anyway, now I'm coughing, sneezing, I'm all stuffed up, and I'm constantly sick to my stomach." "OK," he said, writing everything down. "Let me take your temperature." He stuck the thermometer in her mouth. It wasn't long before he pulled it out and looked at it. "You do have a slight fever Angela. It sounds like you have the virus that's been going around. I can't prescribe any medications for this; you have to ride it out. You'll just have to rest for a few days and drink plenty of fluids. Only eat what appeals to you and when you do feel a bit hungry. If you do feel achy, take some Tylenol. You should be feeling alot better by the end of the week. Take care Angela. It was nice meeting both of you," Dr. Stevens concluded and was out the door. "That wasn't so bad," Angela yawned. "No. It wasn't," Krista agreed. "But for some reason, I have a funny feeling about his diagnosis." CHAPTER THIRTY ONE "What do you mean by that?" Angela asked, suddenly awake. "Think about it. I haven't heard of any virus that's going around. The guys haven't been sick, I haven't been sick, and I don't know anyone at school that's been sick. It just seems a little weird to me," Krista explained. "Who's to say that we just to happen to know anybody who has this virus?" "Yeah I guess you could be right, but I still just have this feeling...." Krista trailed off. Angela just shrugged it off for now. She plodded behind her best friend out the door of the office thinking about her bed. ******* "My poor Princess is sick. I order you to get lots of rest and to get better soon!!" "Yes sir, Dr. Littrell," Angela giggled. "I'll do whatever you say." "Good. Then I will be coming over to talk to you for a few minutes since you are so willing to do whatever I say." "Yay!! I can't wait to see you!" "On a serious note, I do need to talk to you and that's why I'm coming over," Brian said in a more serious tone. "Why? Is everything OK?" Angela asked, very concerned. "Yeah, everything is fine. I'll be over in a little bit. OK?" "OK. Bye." "Bye." A little while later.... "Angela," Krista yelled down the hall. "Brian is here!!" "Send him in!!" Brian made his way down the hall into his girlfriend's room. "I don't know if I should go in there; You might get me sick!" he joked, peering into her room. "But I really, really wanna see you," Angela pouted. "Alright, I hate to see you sick and pouting. That's just not right." Brian walked in and sat on the edge of the bed. "So how are you feeling?" "I'm still a bit stuffy and my stomach hurts right now. But OK. So what did you have to talk to me about? Brian took her hand in his and said, "It's not a bad thing Princess. I'm just gonna be going on tour in a couple of weeks." He watched her face fall. "But here's the good part; I'll only be gone for a month on the first leg of the tour. The I get two months off before I leave again. The bad part is the second leg is five months long. But it won't be as bad as we think. " "Well I can handle the part with you being away for one month, I don't know what I'll do for the five months that you'll be gone." "It's not like you won't ever see me. It's a US tour. When we come around here, I'll come see you. I mean, I tried asking to see if you could come on the tour, but because we haven't been together that long, management won't let it happen. They're afraid it's just a fling or something. But I promise that I'll call you all that I can and I'll write. I promise." Angela blinked back the tears in her eyes. " Brian, I'll miss you so much." "I'll miss you like crazy too, but we can get through it. We're meant for each other; I can feel it." He smiled at her and gave her a huge hug. He heard her sigh and then yawn. Brian saw that as his cue to go and let her rest. "I'm gonna go now. I want you to rest up cause as soon as you're better, we're gonna spend every minute together." Angela smiled at him as she felt her eyelids grow heavy. Brian blew her a kiss and turned to leave. A few days later.... "Are you sure you're feeling better Angela?" Brian asked with worry all over his face. "Yeah, my stomach just hurts a little bit." "I really don't think that this is healthy. I mean, I haven't see you really eat in the last six days." Angela sighed realizing that Brian was right. They were out to dinner and Angela had run to the bathroom twice afraid that she was going to throw up. Not only that, but she had eaten very little as Brian had pointed out. "I guess I'll make an appointment to see the doctor again tomorrow." "I know you really don't want to see the doctor again Angela, but do it just to be on the safe side." "I will Brian. I promise," Angela said. "I just want you to be OK. I hate seeing you like this." "Hey! I hate feeling like this. I'm just a bit nervous to go back to see what it is because Krista has this weird feeling about my stomach problems." "I'm sure that it's nothing," Brian reassured, giving her a warm smile. "Yeah, you're probably right. But for now, let's go to the beach or something and just be with each other." Brian smiled again at Angela. He was really sure that everything was going to be OK with her. And even by that slight chance that they weren't, he knew that all of this was meant to be for the two of them. CHAPTER THIRTY TWO "Angela, it's only been a week since I last saw you. What brings you back in here so soon?" Dr. Stevens asked as his walked into the room. "Well, I rested up and did what you said. The sneezing, coughing, and stuffiness went away, but my stomach is still bothering me. I haven't eaten much in the past week still and whatever I do eat, I just end up throwing it back up," she explained. Dr. Stevens scrunched up his brow in thought. "Let me take your temperature." He proceeded to put the thermometer in her mouth and sat down in thought. Minutes later, he pulled it back out. "You're normal. Well, there could be a couple of things that could be causing your stomach pains. You could have appendicitis, it could be your gall bladder, or you could possibly have an ulcer. It could be a few things. I'm going to run a few tests on you to see what the problem is. Is this alright with you?" "It's fine," Angela nodded. "I just want to know what's going on with me." Dr. Stevens felt her stomach for pain, took blood, and looked for any abnormal coloration or swelling. He sent everything with his nurses so they could sent the blood out to be tested. "OK," he said. "I'm leaning toward an ulcer with you. I don't think that it's appendicitis or anything along those lines. It'll be a couple of days before we get any results back. Once we do, we'll give you a call and bring you back in. Any questions?" "Nope," Angela said, hopping off the examination table. "Well, have a nice day then," Dr. Stevens concluded. Angela slowly walked out the doctor's office confused, worried, and anxious for the results. She had to go home and talk to Brian and Krista in hopes that they would be able to make her feel better. She knew it was going to be a long few days. Days later.... "Angela, the doctor's office called while you were in the shower. They want to know if you can see Dr. Stevens in an hour," Krista said. "Finally!!" Angela exclaimed. "I'm going crazy here not knowing what's going on!" "Well, hurry up and get dressed!! Brian, Nick, and I are just as eager to find out!" Brian, Nick, AJ, and Krista took Angela out to dinner and a movie to get her mind off of her stomach. Kevin and Howie were at a radio interview that night. All of them were hoping for the best for her and all had their fingers crossed. While Angela was grateful for her boyfriend and her friends, they just couldn't understand what she was going through not knowing if this was life-threatening or just something that she would have to deal with. After she called Dr. Stevens' office to let them know she was coming and she got dressed, she headed over. She was a bundle of nerves and couldn't hide it. Even the receptionist saw it when she gave the woman her name. "I'm sure that everything is fine honey," she said as she took out Angela's folder. She hasn't been sitting too long before one of the nurses called her in. She was shown to her room and was told the doctor would be in shortly. Even the minutes seemed like eternity to her. But in reality it was only 20 minutes before Dr. Stevens came into her room. "Is everything OK?" Angela blurted out. She turned red immediately afterward. Dr. Stevens smiled at her and took out the results to share with Angela. CHAPTER THIRTY THREE Angela forced a smile in return and closed her eyes, bracing herself for the results. "Congratulations!" she heard. "You're two months pregnant!" "You're kidding me!" she said in disbelief. Dr. Stevens chuckled to himself. "I only tell you what's on the paper. I'm going to set you up with an obstetrician that many of our patients have been happy with. I wish the best for you Angela and we'll be calling back for a checkup in a couple of months. Hand these papers to the ladies at the front desk and they'll take care of you. Good luck and take care." He shook her hand and held the door open for her. Angela slowly walked out of the room, down the hall, and to the front desk. She hardly heard anything the woman was saying to her because the fact that she was pregnant was still sinking in. The woman took notice of this and decided that she would write everything down for Angela since she really wasn't paying attention. She knew what Angela was going through. As Angela walked out the door and to her car, something clicked inside of her. "I'm gonna be a mommy," she said aloud. "And that means.....that Brian is gonna be a daddy! Oh my God!!" She quickly got into the car and drove home. A smile grew on her face more and more as she neared her house. She couldn't wait to tell Krista the good news. Or Brian for that matter. She would just have to figure out how to do it. Angela ran into the house and into Krista's room. "I'm pregnant!! I'm gonna be a mommy!" Angela shrieked, and ran over to hug Krista. Krista screamed with her best friend for a couple minutes. "I'm so happy for you!! But do you know what that means? You have a little person growing inside you right now." "Wow!" Angela whispered. "I never thought about it that way." "Does Brian know yet?" "No. Not yet." "So how are you going to break the news to him?" "I don't know," Angela said thoughtfully. "I wanna tell him as soon as possible, but I don't know how." "Why don't you just tell him straight out?" Krista suggested. "No, it's gotta be something special. Something I can do tonight." "Why don't you make dinner for him?" "You know that I can't cook!" "Just make something easy." "Alright," Angela said reluctantly. "But now I need a way to tell him." "OK. Um, what if you went out and bought one of those Daddy cards that are just to say 'I love you?' That would be like the baby is telling Brian that they're here." "Oh yeah!! That's so cute! Come out with me right now. I'm gonna need your help with this," Angela said excitedly. The got in Angela's car and drove the five minutes to the nearest drug store. Angela couldn't keep still because she was so excited. She couldn't wait to tell Brian. The look on his face was going to be a good one. When they got there, they both headed for the card isle. Both girls started shuffling through the cards trying to find the right one. It wasn't long before Krista called Angela over. "What about this one?" she asked. It had a baby on the front. Angela looked at it for a minute. "No," she said. "I want something that won't give it away until he opens it. I want to keep in suspense for as long as possible." "Pure torture," Kirsta smiled. "I love it." They looked around for a couple more minutes. "You ready to leave?" Krista asked. "Hold on a minute. I think I found one," Angela replied. The card had a teddy bear on the front and it said, "I bought this card just to say..." When opened it read, "I love you Daddy in every way!" "Awwww!!! That's a cute one! Get it." Yeah," Angela said, feeling proud of what she found. "I'll get this one. Now all I have to do is call him." "He's gonna die!" Angela just smiled. And the smile never left her face after that. She just couldn't help it. When the girls got home, the phone was ringing. They both ran for it, hoping that it was for them. But Krista got to it first. "Hello?" "Hi Krista! Whatcha doin'?" It was AJ. "Hi," she replied. "What's up?" "I'm just calling to see what happened with Angela." "Oh, well, um, hold on one second." Krista put her hand over the phone and whispered, "What do you want me to tell AJ?" Angela shrugged. "Just tell him that I know, but I want to tell Brian first." Krista nodded and told AJ exactly what Angela just told her. He bugged her for a little bit because he really wanted to know, but finally gave in. "It's a good thing that you want to tell Brian tonight because AJ will be at it again soon enough," Krista said as she hung up the phone. Angela just laughed. Just then, the phone rang again. Krista picked it up hoping that it was Nick. "Hey! Where's Angela?" It was Brian. "Tell him now!" she hissed as she handed the phone over. "Hi!" "Hello Princess! You sound very happy this morning." "Well, I have a pretty good reason to be," she replied. "Oh really? What is it?" he asked curiously. "I can't tell you that right now. But I want you to come over tonight. I'm gonna cook some dinner for you. OK?" "Food is fine by me. What are you making?" "No, no, no!" she laughed. "That's another surprise. Be here at 7:30 PM." "Oh, alright," Brian pouted. "So what are the results of your tests?" "Oh it was, um, nothing. It was just really a virus." "Well, at least your OK. Well, I gotta go pick up Nick so we can go to a promo for our tour, but I'll be back for tonight. Love you!" "Love you too! Bye." "Bye." Angela looked over at Krista. "That damned tour! This means he'll be in the middle of the second leg when I'm supposed to be having our baby." "I'm sorry," Krista said. "But, I'll worry about that later. Things are all set for now though. I just have to get started on cooking so I have enough time to make another dinner if I mess this one up." Krista just smiled. "I know I have to be out of the house tonight, but promise me you'll tell me everything." "But of course!" BACK NEXT |
| Once And Again |