| Chapter Two |
| “Nik? Are you awake, hun?” He brushed a piece of hair out of her eyes and smiled down at her. She let out a soft groan and flickered her eyes open. The bright hospital room illuminated, and she shut them tight again. “Oh man Josh, please turn the lights out. Can you do that?” He obliged and pulled a chair over to her bed. “You okay? You slept for over 20 hours, and that gave me quite a scare.” He pulled her hand into his. “Did I really? Oh, I’m sorry. What… what did the doctors say?” He stared at the ceiling, “Look Nik, they did some tests, and they told me… they don’t know. They have to take more.” Nikki’s eyes widened, “Wow. That’s not common, is it? The tests not showing anything I mean. You see “ER” and they’re like ‘I don’t feel good’ then BAM.” She laughed softly, making herself wince, “15 minutes and two commercial breaks later they have AIDS.” “Don’t say AIDS. I’ll die if you…” “Jayce, they tested my blood. I think that would be one of the first things that would pop up. I swear, you’re more nervous than I am. We both need to chill out.” “I think we both need a vacation. Whaddya say? Next time you feel like it, we’ll take a weekend. Just the two of us.” “Can’t wait.” She gasped as another wave of pain hit her. “Ugh, aren’t these places supposed to give out tylenol or something? My head is beating itself up.” “Oh, is our patient finally up and at ‘em?” A rather round, warm-looking nurse said all too brightly for Nikki’s taste. “Well, I’m at ‘em, but ‘up’ is an entirely different story. Unless I get something to drown this out, ‘up’ won’t come for a looong time.” Nikki eyed the breakfast tray she was holding, and the nurse, her tag said Arlee, laughed sweetly. “Ya hungry honey?” She snickered. “Its no wonder. I was starting to think you were Snow White or something. Looks like it took the real Prince Charming to wake you up.” Nikki blushed and stared towards the bathroom door, where JC had dissapeared, “No. He’s just my best friend.” Arlee snorted, “Well, if my husband was half as attentive as your best friend, I could die a happy woman. You know that 20 hours you slept?” Nikki nodded, “By the way you needed that. And he was here every second of it. I just brought your meals in and let him eat them. That man would’ve used the bed pan if I hadn’t convinced him otherwise.” Nikki grinned and bit into a piece of toast, “That’s my Josh. He’s more loyal than a dog.” “Dog, wha…?” JC asked, stepping back to her side, “Are you okay? Still want some tylenol?” Arlee nodded in understanding and handed Nikki the capsules. “Down those after you eat. Oh, and Mr. Prince?” Nikki choked down a giggle, “Here’s ya an extra meal. Thought you might like to keep a steady diet out of all this.” With a final wink in Nikki’s direction, she bustled out to continue her rounds. “Nik…. Prince?” JC gave her a puppy dog look. “Exactly what….” For a single moment, Nikki forgot her pain. One look at JC’s face and she burst into laughter. |